If you follow my posts, at least since April, you've done one of three things - you either listened to, and weren't impressed by Audrye Sessions (review here) or Paper Route (review here), you didn't take my advice at all, and completely disregarded both bands, or you took the leap (and my word) and went and saw the two bands on the New Deal Tour, because face it, I raved about them. I'm going to go ahead and hope we all went with option three, but I know that isn't necessarily the case. So allow me these five paragraphs to remind you what a terrible decision that really was.The first band to play was Good Sir Con Artist, who were just added to the bill that day. They were doing a DIY tour and needed a place to play in the area, and I guess they found it. I wasn't super impressed, but they certainly weren't bad. I talked to the guys after their set, specifically to ask what they listen to, and their vocalist's taste was almost identical to mine (think Kevin Devine, Manchester Orchestra, and the likes of) and that did show through in their performance without a doubt.
Another (extremely pleasant) surprise on the bill was the second band, A Voice Like Rhetoric. A band based in Pittsburgh and Akron, Ohio, I'm somewhat familiar with their work. I have their full length and I've seen them once before, but I didn't get the full affect of their live show the last time, being that I was stuck in a crowd of Chiodos fans. Still, AVLR are definitely one of the coolest things that Pittsburgh has going. Skillfully combining math rock with it's much simpler counterparts in the scene, and making it sound (and look) effortless, A Voice Like Rhetoric are one of the few local bands that I won't pass up seeing at the given opportunity again. They're all very humble guys too, really easy to talk to. Definitely worth the listen. Definitely worth repeated listens, and probably seeing them live if you get the chance.
I knew two things coming into this show, it was a co-headliner, and both bands who could be headlining are fantastic live. What I didn't know was who would be headlining, and it turned out to be Audrye Sessions, which meant Paper Route would be playing third. I also didn't know who is actually better live, even though I've seen both bands. Well, as it turned out, Paper Route is the better of the two. The first time I saw them, the lighting in the venue was fantastic. This time, the venue was a lot smaller, but they made due by wearing flashlights on their arms and legs and shutting off the rest of the lights. It was really kind of indescribable. They sounded amazing too, so much better than they are on record. Paper Route is the best band I've ever seen live. That's all I can really say.
set list:
Wish
Carousel
Are We All Forgotten
Last Time
Tiger Teeth
You Kill Me
Gutter
Dance On Our Graves
That isn't to take anything away from Audrye Sessions. They're in the top five as far as bands I've seen live, without a question. Ryan Karazija, the band's vocalist, consistently steals the show. His range is mindblowing. The whole band is so together too, most of the songs are played much differently than the album versions. "Nothing Pure Can Stay" was without question the highlight of their set, the bridge of the song was dragged out for a good seven minutes, every second of it stunning. This whole tour was a dream come true, once you've seen these bands live you'll know why.
set list:
Where You'll Find Me
Turn Me Off
Hands Full (new song)
Awake
New Years Day
Nothing Pure Can Stay
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