Snapcase, Refused, Elliot, Madison, Sunday, June 20.
This was one of the best shows that I have ever been to. It was very crowded and excruciatingly hot, but that did not matter because the bands were so good.
The first band to play was Madison. Madison is a band that has come a very long way since the first time I saw them. Their singer has improved 5.9 x 1032 times, they have become much tighter and they have learned how to tune their guitars.
Madison has a very Louisville sound, but they are still distinguishable from other Louisville bands. They have very catchy guitar parts, however, at times they wear them out. They also have fairly intricate, very emo bass lines in many of their songs. All of this is complimented by a fairly simple but quite effective drumming style. On a scale of one to ten I'd give Madison a 7.934527.
Elliot, playing second, did a fairly short set due to the extreme heat. Despite the shortness of their set, Elliot played very well. One might expect this band to sound like Falling Forward, having three former members in the band. They do not; they have a very different style. Elliot is much more rock n' roll-y than Falling Forward. Give Elliot kudos for their singing. Their singer is one of the best I have ever heard. The rest of the music is good but does not stick out in one's memory nearly as much as the vocals. Elliot usually has tons of stage presence but not on this particular evening. If you have not seen Elliot yet, I definitely recommend seeing them.
If Sweden were still a feudal society, Refused would not be serfs, they would not be nobles, they would be the king, because they rule! This band was so crazy and soooo heavy. They had chunky deathmetal-esque parts and really fast, wild parts.
Every member of this band was excellent. Their singer was great, their guitars kicked butt, their bass was incredible, and their drummer was so good I wanted to spit. They had so much stage presence that I almost cried. I'm at a loss as to how to describe this band, I've never heard anything quite like them before, you're going to have to go listen to them yourself to understand. This band is the bomb!
Very few bands could follow Refused and not be dwarfed in comparison. Fortunately, Snapcase is one of those bands and definitely my favorite band to see live. Their sound is not just heavy but also very powerful. Everything they play is creative and catchy. Their guitar sound is excellent, and they make excellent use of two guitars by often playing totally different things.
Their bassist plays very creative bass lines; they often set the tone of the songs. Their drummer has a very distinguished style that adds a lot to their sound. This is all topped off by their singer's distinct voice. If any one of these elements were missing Snapcase would not be nearly as good of a band.
Despite the heat, which caused Snapcase to have half time during their set, and the crowded conditions the show was enjoyable. I should have worn a raincoat to this show because it rained up a storm.
What a show.