Too Bright to See ... Too Loud to Hear ... Too Old to Appreciate? No.

Every once in a while, it's good to get out of the routine and put yourself in an unfamiliar environment.  So, last night Dolberry headed over the Lincoln Theatre to catch an Underoath/August Burns Red/Emery triple bill w/ some friends from church.  Dolberry was not the oldest person there, but I was probably in the top 10.  Average age at the show was probably ~20.

As part of their end-of-the-decade recap, NPR's music blog listed 10 musical genres from this soon-to-be-past decade and the key artists of each.  Underoath was listed as the key artist in the "screamo" category.  Most songs include a 50/50 (20/80?) mix of normally sung lyrics and those shouted out in a growl/scream mix.  As an old geezer, I think less is more when it comes to screaming in a song.  My favorite scream in any rock song is over 40 years old and punctuates the searing beginning to the Beatles "Revolution".  I think the singularity of the scream is what makes the song.  In Dolberry's opinion, screaming in a song is sort of like using an exclamation point or all caps in text.  Last! NIGHT'S! CONCERT! was SOME!THING!! LIKE!!! TH!S!!!

That said, I do really enjoy 2.5 Underoath songs and they did two of them.  (During the show, I discovered another one that was good for most of it, so I'm bumping the tally up to 3.25 songs that Dolberry likes.)  Not coincidentally, these two songs probably contain the lowest ratio of lyrical action to total aural content.  Strangely, the lyrics are quite intelligent (for rock music) and all three bands had singers who appeared to sing just fine when the situation called for it.

Anyway, they don't need my advice.  The show was sold out (~ 1000 capacity?) and one of Underoath's albums debuted at #2 in Billboard a few years back.  For DCV readers, I'll link a video from the show on the sidebar.  (Facebook readers are on their own.)  If you look closely, I think you can see Dolberry in the circle pit.  I'm the one w/ multiple bright purple 33 dB reducing earplugs crammed into my ears.  (You can get two in your ear canal ... for 66 dB reduction ... if you force them.)

Whether it was Stockholm syndrome or a growing appreciation of screamo, I was enjoying the whole deal by the end.  Of course, I immensely enjoyed the company and conversations.  And while I'd spent most of the day somewhat anxious about the whole scene, can't underestimate how polite/respectful the entire crowd was while having considerable fun.  To quote some other old geezers ... the kids are alright.

(Unfortunately, the night was not w/o mishap.  Never again w/ the Taco Bell at 11:15.  Never! AGAIN!!.)