Sweat poured into already-soaked clothes while intense lights beamed down as the modestly sized stage heated up. Fans rushed into the rain to try and cool off their bodies for a moment of refreshing bliss.
Sugarcult was the culprit of a sold out show at the Icon in Buffalo Saturday night with The Spill Canvas, Halifax, Maxeen and So They Say backing up the act.
The Icon was crammed with teenage punk rockers and emo kids. There were piercings, oddly colored hairstyles and big plastic jewelry as far as the eye could see.
There was a sea of The Spill Canvas t-shirts, and a wave of people at the show came just to see this Buffalo favorite. It was obvious by the echo rising from the floor that there were countless fans that could recite the lyrics by heart as they sang every word with the group.
"I love Spill Canvas. I was with the band way back when it was just Nick and a guitar," said Ashley Soper, a fashion design major and sophomore at Buffalo State.
Trying to navigate through the Icon was difficult at best, especially closer to the stage as people packed in right on top of the bands.
"Buffalo is one of the first places we had such a cool following in... and a band isn't anything without its fans," said Nick Thomas of The Spill Canvas. "It doesn't matter if you know who we are, you (Buffalo fans) love the music and that's the damn point."
When Sugarcult took the stage the room filled with fog and a purple and white light show commenced. The crowd surfing was relentless as they played old favorites like "Pretty Girl," "Memory" and "Stuck in America," as well as new releases such as "Los Angeles" and "Do It Alone."
Newcomers So They Say were a surprise to many with their guitar-pumping hooks and commanding vocals. Even with a short 20 minute set they started the night off right.
"I love the feeling of performing live and getting a chance to share with people that don't get to see us a lot," said Joseph Hamilton, the lead singer from So They Say. "It was a good experience because we get to reach a different crowd that we haven't gotten to see here."
Halifax had a much heavier sound than the rest of the bands and had explosive lyrics, like in "Our Revolution" as everyone shouted "hell yeah" throughout the song.
It was undoubtedly a punk concert and Maxeen kept to the popping guitar and rhythmic drum beats of punk rock with heavier guitar riffs on top of it all.
Each group's performance had something that set it apart from the rest, but the sounds of punk rock, alternative rock and that thing called 'emo' all extract the same response.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
