I Am The Avalanche at Chain Reaction
I Am The Avalanche cruised through Anaheim during their week-long west coast tour in support of 3rd album Wolverines. By the Barricade caught their headlining show at the Chain Reaction on April 13, featuring special guests Diamond Youth, Turnover, Such A Mess, and Souvenirs.
Kicking off the night were back to back west-coast bands Souvenirs and Such A Mess. The guys warmed up the house surrounded by the die-hard fans that arrived early to catch their sets. Souvenirs played to a crowd that disappeared shortly thereafter. Many Souvenirs fans missed the perfect opportunity to hear tracks off of the upcoming Such A Mess album available April 29th. Fortunately, a new set of fans enjoyed Such A Mess’ true pop punk spirit which livened up the room and was by far the most upbeat set of the night. Their energetic stage presence really changed the mood of the entire show but was never out of place.
Next up was Turnover who performed a mix their songs sounding like melodic pop-punk and slow-paced alternative. “I Would Hate You if I Could” was a big hit of the night. If Such a Mess brought the crowd up, Turnover did a good job of turning it down. Lead singer Austin Getz has one of the most monotone voices this reviewer has ever heard. After every song got the crowd swaying back and forth, he would start to talk and drain all the energy from the room. Later in the night when I Am The Avalanche frontman Vinnie Caruana was thanking the bands, he revealed that it was through his friendship with the guys in Hostage Calm that he learned about Turnover and invited them to the tour. It is nice to see bands like Hostage Calm supporting the scene and getting the word out, but having such a dreary band in direct support of I Am the Avalanche really killed the momentum.
Diamond Youth who are primarily from Baltimore somehow pull it together as a band with some members living in Chicago and Richmond. The distance between members has not slowed their ability to get things done. These guys have put out 3 EP’s after being founded in 2010 and are leaving their mark on emo-rock lovers across the country. The band brought the energy up for the crowd.
Finally, New York-based, I Am The Avalanche hit the ground running when they opened with their energetically charged raw sound. Since the tour was to promote their new album, Wolverines, the set contained quite a few new songs. The crowd was full of fans who kept up and sang along whether it was a newer tune or old favorite. In the intro to “Green Eyes”, lead singer Vinnie Caruana had a chance to make a few digs at the California crowd that the song lyrics refer to: ‘When she called my sneakers tennis shoes / I knew she was from the west coast.’ Winding up the set with “Brooklyn Dodgers” the band gave the fans a great chance to hear some new tracks live, with a few favorites to keep them coming back.
Overall the By the Barricade team saw a major lack of energy compared Ufest in Arizona, which they covered earlier that weekend. Turnover may have lulled the show, but this quick tour sported different openers at every show proving it really does pay to get there early. It was a nice short run before I Am the Avalanche heads to the UK this may.
