Take a trip 45 minutes outside of Chicago to a suburb named Tinley Park and you’d fall upon a band named Alesana playing a heart-stopping show Sunday, April 13th at a shopping plaza known as Mojoe’s Rock House. Although, the venue was god-awful and didn’t hold justice for Alesana’s crazy vocal range, an appreciation would grow for the hardcore emo-screamo scene.
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Alesana
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 Entertainment
Art
Mojoe’s Rock House
Tinely Park, Ill.
April 13, 2008
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North Carolina natives that make up the six members of Alesana, Dennis Lee (vocals), Shaun Milke (vocals), Patrick Thompson (guitar), Adam, Fergason (guitar), Shane Crump (bass) and Jeremy Bryan (drums), headlined their first world tour with a few other bands like The Chariot, Our Last Night and the absent Lovehatehero, who’s tour bus broke down in Omaha, Nebraska.
Their 45 minute set and additional encore song was short but an intense spectral of antics like flying guitars, rocking fans and switching positions on stage in a blink of an eye. Accompanied with matching clothing, hair color and styles, the boys of Alesana have logic behind the madness. “We intentionally have the same color hair and dress the same for shows,” says Milke. “Unity is key, we are not just six guys that are playing together; we are one band.”
Alesana opened their energetic set with Ambrosia from their first album On Frail Wings of Vanity and Wax. And fans went completely nuts. The problem that they were faced with immediately was the small proximity of the venue. “The sound we could hear on stage was muffled,” says Lee, “I don’t even want to know what the back of the crowd heard.” Mojoe’s Rock House, which is literally in a shopping plaza located next door to a liquor store (ironic, right?), has extremely low ceilings and small enclosed spaces. The sound from afar bounced off the walls; many of the songs were echoed. But that didn’t seem to pose a problem for the listeners, who could just careless because the animation of the band held true.
“Play until you puke is motto we have,” says Milke. “We have a lot of emphasis on our live shows and we never let up.” Lee says, “Kids don’t go to a show to hear the album; they go to the show to get rocked.”
More songs from their first album echoes through the crowd like This Conversation is Over and The Last Three Letters. But a few new songs from their upcoming album like Obsession is an Ugly Word and The Unveiled 13th still made the concert a cohesive mix of new versus old tracks.
“The guys have grown so much,” says 19-year-old fan Janna Lawson. “I saw them two years ago, and it is crazy to see how much they have grown and how popular their fan base is.”
The vocal ranges of Milke’s belting of high notes and Lee’s dark tone of screaming made a strong performance, identical of their album. They finished up with their quai-love ballad Apology, a five minute song about getting over past lovers. A surprising trait of the boys from Alesana, they finished their set only to go out to the crowd and have an hour long meet and greet with everyone at the concert.
“We really are a different group of guys than a lot of bands,” says Milke, “We never take this for granted, ever. And all of us have such a high appreciation for what we do every day.” Personable and pleasantly humble was the attitude portrayed from every band member.
Did you miss them this time around? Well, another opportunity is given to see a live performance, Saturday August 2 at First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre for the annual Vans Warped Tour. They will be headlining the Smart Punk stage for the second year around. Tickets are $35 and are available through ticketmaster.com.
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Written by Guest on 2008-05-15 02:02:11
That Janna chick you mentioned is ridiculously good looking. |
Written by Guest on 2008-06-22 16:44:29
finally a positive review of alesana. I love these guys and all I hear is how bad they are. They are awesome in concert. great review |
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