Alkaline Trio, Cursive, and The Dear and Departed The Metro Chicago, IL February 28, 2010

From the balcony, avoiding the rising crowds and inevitable moshing, one can look down upon the massive sea of fans. At 7p.m. the floor was crowded but nowhere near its capacity. I had come just in time to catch the last song of the first opening band; The Dear and Departed. Despite their morose name, the band’s sound is an indie/ new wave mix reminiscent of The Clash and Bloc Party. The vocalist, Dan Under (Smith), is a strong singer, adding smooth and bright tones to the darker, heavier sounds of the music. The crowd used a fraction of energy to cheer and whoop for The D & D as they shuffled off stage, harnessing in the remaining volts for the next two acts.

The second band to take the stage was Cursive. A college roommate of mine had a poster of them on her wall, so I knew their name even though I had yet to hear their music. I can honestly say it was worth the wait. The sold out crowd was now packed, anticipating those first few notes. The band came out, manned their stations, and started strong. Heads began bobbing to the sounds of melodic dissonance. While I couldn’t understand the lyrics due to Tim Kasher screaming them out, his voice was full of raw emotion, pleading to be heard.

Their songs were expertly mixed in a set list containing Art is Hard and Some Red Handed Slight of Hand. Surprises like a trumpet and reoccurring tempo changes kept my ears amused and my brain happy. A gaggle of Cursive fans shouted and sang along during the set, warming up the rest of the crowd. The space on the stage was small, but the band rocked out as best as they could by head banging with every strum and flitting in circles with effortless energy.

The drummer, Cully Symington, played non-stop as the band unfortunately rushed through their time slot. Perhaps they too sensed the same urgency from the crowd as I did; the high schoolers were ready for the Trio.

What happened next was the longest set change known to man. Anyone who had attended high school from 2000 and on knows Alkaline Trio . With seven albums and a catchy and reliable punk-rock sound, they provide an outlet of understanding for the pains of life and love that every teenager ultimately feels. They must have known they were such a staple in the lives of their fans because they took about thirty minutes to make sure everything was set up, even though their instruments had been on stage the whole time.

Finally, around 8:30 p.m., the lights went down as the crowd screamed. Each fan pushed forward, the already packed front rows were now straining against the fence as racing hearts beated together with anticipation. The band walked about with drinks in hand, announced they were, “Good to be home,” and played the first chord of album and song title “This Addiction.”

As those first notes resonated through their teenage eardrums, the crowd began to mosh. While the back half was housing a mosh pit, the front half of the crowd was mixing first pumps with crowd surfs.

The security at the Metro was amazing, pushing the surfers back into the crowd when they neared the stage, squirting water in the parched mouths of babes and keeping the fans from severely injuring themselves.

The crowd favorites were clear, they sang along to “Stupid Kid,”” My Friend Peter,” and “We’ve Had Enough”; their voices a united force that took over the sound of Matt Skiba’s.

Unfortunately, the crowd was more amusing to watch than the band. For having the whole stage, Dan Andriano and Skiba barely moved, and when they did, it was to strum a few chords in front of drummer Derek Grant. While I found I was bored halfway through due to repetitive punk-rock music and un-relatable lyrics of teenage angst, the sold out crowd evidently got their money’s worth. From flinging their bodies against strangers to artificially capturing the moment with pixels, they expelled all their energy in the presence of the Alkaline Trio.

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