Hand in hand with the devil, singing "Hallelujah."

(July 19, 2009 Pittsburgh, PA - Garfield Artworks)
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

You know when it rains in this town I get washed away.

(April 18th, 2009 Millvale, PA - Mr. Small's)

Copeland is a band I've always liked, but I've never loved. Maybe it's because I've never seen them live, because right now I love them. This is a show I almost didn't go to because I've just never been that into any of the bands on the bill, but it was on a Saturday night, so I opted in. I couldn't be happier that I did.

The bill could not have been any more diverse. The first act was Brooke Waggoner, a gracious young lady and a few of her musically inclined friends. Brooke plays piano and sings, and she also had a cello player, violin player, guitarist, and backup vocalist, all female save for the guitarist (who had an AMAZING beard f.y.i.). She plays a refreshing brand of very piano driven singer-songwriter rock that fans of Copeland would certainly be, and certainly were, happy with. Her set was fantastic, each little musical quirk brought about by the strings or the sparsely included guitar parts really managed to stand out. Brooke also has a fantastic voice and is a really nice girl. If you ever manage to catch her live show, listen, and afterwards walk right on up to her, she's more than happy to talk.

Following Brooke was a band called Paper Route. I'll come right out and say it, I could not have possibly been more impressed. They sounded like Mae playing Dredg songs. Or maybe Dredg playing Mae songs. It was actually very different, and a very captivating live show. I only hope the songs that they played, mostly from their upcoming album Absence, are as good on record as they are live. If this is the case, this record (which I'll be ordering shortly) is sure to be on my top ten of 2009. Their set was downright mesmerizing. More mind-blowing than anything though was the fact that it was the first time several of the songs had ever been played live, something I'm grateful I witnessed. If you get the chance, go see Paper Route. You won't regret it.

Next up was This Providence. I have heard many good things about their live show (I was with a couple girls who had already seen them three times), but I had trouble getting into their newest work, Who Are You Now?. I was pleasantly surprised and equally impressed by their live set though. It was fun to listen to. They're one of those bands that plays a style of music that I'm not particularly fond of, but I can still enjoy them, because they're good at what they do. Very poppy stuff, likely coming to a city near you very soon. Note: thank Lua for the set list.

set list:
Sure as Hell
Playing the Villain
Sand In Your Shoes
Letdown
A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing
Keeping On Without You
That Girl's A Trick
My Beautiful Rescue
Somebody To Talk To
Waste Myself

After three really great bands and meeting a few very cool people, I had actually forgotten why I was in a humid church at ten o'clock on a Saturday night. Then I saw Aaron Marsh carrying equipment on stage and it hit me: I was in the same room as Copeland, one of the better bands making music today. I got very, very excited, and was immediately gratified. Two songs from You Are My Sunshine opened the set, as expected, but I was glad. YAMS is a fantastic album as far as I'm concerned. Still, I was hoping for some old songs, because, well, Copeland's entire back catalog is also wonderful. My wish was granted with "When Paula Sparks" and "No One Really Wins," two of my favorite Copeland songs. A very mixed set followed, material from every album except Beneath Medicine Tree followed. They also played a phenomenal cover of the Smashing Pumpkins' "Tonight, Tonight," a song that is certainly not easy to cover well. The set ended with "You Have My Attention," quite possibly my favorite Copeland song, and I found myself absolutely choked up. It felt wonderful. I was stunned with just how good the band sounded. Aaron Marsh, the band's frontman, is also very comfortable with a guitar in his hands or behind the keyboard. The set ended, chants followed, and an encore of "Brightest" and "Testing the Strong Ones Followed," and I felt a little dulled by it. As bad as I wanted to hear more from BMT, I think "You Have My Attention" would have been the perfect way to end the night. Nonetheless, it was a fantastic set. My only complaint was it felt fairly routine, they've probably played the same or a very similar set list each night on this tour.

set list:
Chin Up
The Grey Man
When Paula Sparks
No One Really Wins
To Be Happy Now
On The Safest Ledge
Sleep
Control Freak
The Day I Lost My Voice (The Suitcase Song)
Tonight, Tonight (Smashing Pumpkins cover)
Careful Now
Pin Your Wings
You Have My Attention

encore:
Brightest
Testing the Strong Ones

This set list may or may not be spot on, I'm not entirely sure.