No Bragging Rights, a melodic hardcore band from Riverside, California wasted no time getting the crowd warmed up for the upcoming bands. Vocalist Mike Perez sang the band’s songs with conviction, with some of the lyrical content coming from life experiences, according to the bio on the band’s site; “Repeater” carries on the theme of perseverance and carrying on against life’s challenges and obstacles. “When you get knocked down, get back on the horse,” Perez says simply.
“Hope Theory,” the second track on Cycles, was inspired by the deep connection No Bragging Rights have made with the people who come to their shows. “I am constantly talking with kids coming from broken homes, or the social outcast who is ready to give up. I tell them it will get better. It is always darkest before the dawn. Things can change.”
I chatted up Hundredth vocalist, Chadwick Johnson before the doors opened for the show and asked him if they’ll ever perform my favorite song, “Remain & Sustain” (the music video was inspired by The Sandlot). He said they probably never play that song even though there’s a video for it. They did, however, play a handful for their 25 minute set, including the songs, “Carry On”, “Weathered Town”, and “Ruin”, a new song from their Revolt EP coming out March 19th. I was hoping the vocalist from Vanna would come out and do Jonathan Vigil’s (The Ghost Inside) part on “Desolate” but Chad let the crowd sing that part instead.
I’m gonna be honest; I didn’t watch most of Vanna's set because an awesome ska band called Hermits of Suburbia were playing downstairs around the same they played. I managed to catch Vanna’s last song though; the crowd was rowdy but I could tell they were saving their energy for the last two bands.
Before the started playing, Vincent, vocalist for The Acacia Strain, brought out a dog they rescued from a Walmart parking lot earlier in the tour and asked for some donations so they could take it to the vet. He said they’d put the above picture (or a slight variation) on a shirt and raise money that way. The lights finally dimmed and TAS got the crowd moving with “Beast”, a song from their 2010 release, Wormwood. TAS showed no signs of wear and tear after flipping their van TWICE in one week earlier this year, as Vincent noted.
Some might say they’re out of place on this tour but ETID/TAS have toured together previously, so those complaints fell upon deaf ears. During the end of their set, Vincent asked the crowd who had seen the band when they played downstairs on the smaller stage and dedicated “Whoa, Shut It Down!” to the fans who had been there since the beginning.
After a 15 minute changeover, Every Time I Die took the stage and opened with,”Floater”, a track from their second album Hot Damn!. As mentioned on the bands Twitter account; “…tonight we’re playing the extra good, top secret setlist that we only play for our favorite cities.” There were plenty of sing-alongs as ETID played the best songs from their discography. “Wanderlust”, “Bored Stiff”, “The New Black”, “No Son of Mine” (The band played a breakdown medley of Pantera songs in the middle of this song; Domination/5 Minutes Alone/This Love) and one of my favorites, “Kill The Music” (This site is named after that song!) all made appearances during the band’s set.
Keith mentioned when they played The Masquerade a few years ago, they played downstairs cause Marcy’s Playground had taken over the main stage. He said after they played, he went upstairs and caught a bit of their set and only saw a handful of people and never imagined starting a band that would end bigger than Marcy’s Playground. For their last song of the night, “Indian Giver”, vocalist Keith Buckley and his brother/guitarist Jordan invited members of the crowd on stage to help sing and maybe even get 5 minutes of fame. This tour has quite a few dates left on it, so don’t miss out on the action!
