photo credit: all photos by sunbear/weworemasks.com

Ah, Glassjaw. It’s not every day that you can say that you saw Glassjaw twice in the span of one year. And it’s not every day that Glassjaw plays your hometown on your best friend’s birthday, and your entire blog staff (all three, ya bastards) hangs out together, gets silly drunk and gets to watch one of your favorite bands of all time. A belated happy birthday goes out to Sunbear, who managed to get daps from Daryl Palumbo while stumbling around in the pit and saw a massive Glassjaw set, highlighting 11 new songs that the band has put out in the last two months. Along for the ride were New York homers Tidal Arms (who gave us a fantastic interview prior — coming soon!) and These People.

Hit the jump for the review.

-grizzly

Tidal Arms

Going along with the theme of the intro, it’s not every day us bears care enough to show up to concerts on time, and even further – pay attention to the openers. Brooklyn’s Tidal Arms is the exception here, obviously. This trio consists of ex-Warship and From Autumn to Ashes members, and are proudly showcasing their brand-new, self-funded and released album, The Sun Exploding. Although the band played to a semi-attentive crowd, Tidal Arms made a strong case for themselves in 30 minutes.

They made sure to make their presence felt, boasting some good old fashioned rock and roll for the Warehouse Live patrons. It’s always good to see a band who’s relatively new and playing to an unknowing crowd perform with some conviction, as Glassjaw fans aren’t typically the easiest to please. Stepping up to the challenge of winning a crowd over, as mentioned in their interview, is something the band prides itself on, and did with ease during their opening slot.

Note: Pictures of These People were subpar; as the camera’s Autofocus went haywire.

The direct support for the tour was These People, a band featuring TJ Penzone of Men, Women and Children fame. While they weren’t necessarily bad, per say, they didn’t play with the same ‘umph’ as openers Tidal Arms; a band who played a more deserving set worthy of a direct support than These People – who quietly came and went without ever leaving an impression. It wasn’t even their music, as a listen prior to the concert of their myspace tunes garnered a bit of excitement. It’s just that the tropically influenced jam-rock didn’t go over well in a live setting, and especially not for a 30 minute set.

Glassjaw’s fans had waited long enough. After a quick setup and a set up of the illuminated backdrop consisting of three LCD-lighted screens and a new staple, a giant Puerto Rican flag, Daryl Palumbo and company hit the stage with the furious attack of “You Think You’re John Fucking Lennon.” Some forget that Glassjaw are label-less. Always a ballsy bunch, they’ve self-funded every tour date and every record song, all merch and every frayed end since they were dropped by Warner Bros. years ago. Nonetheless, they’ve managed to hold onto a cult following over the years, 8 of the previous of which have seen no signs of new music. January 1st’s Our Color Green was the first sign of life and taste of new music, and this tour’s Coloring Book EP is the experimental and ambitious successor. Together, the two EPs collaborate to give Glassjaw fans 11 new songs for the first time since 2002 – and all 11 of them showed up on the setlist.

Sure, the long-lingering fan favorites in “Tip Your Bartender” and “Ape Dos Mil” were played, but Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Silence was virtually ignored, save for the set-before-the-encore-ending “Siberian Kiss,” which ignited the hammers, fires and gusts cause by Greek Gods like Thor and Zeus; and other mythical natural disasters that a pack of rabid fans jumping around screaming to can be compared to. And sure, Daryl’s between-song banter is at a minimum, and let’s face it: he probably doesn’t care. A blistering 20-song set from the Long Island post-hardcore heroes leaves little to be desired after the fact.

Hearing Glassjaw play new songs was an entirely new experience than the show in Austin only 11 months ago. Both had their fair share of nostalgia, but they’ve almost reinvested in a new purpose. Because of the bulk of new tunes, it’s almost as if the Long Island troupe is back to prove themselves to a scene that has turned to shit – watered down, regurgitated music clouded with terrible haircuts and gory neon t-shirts. Daryl and company know that their niche crowd is small in comparison at times, but they still have their fun with it; the band thrives on their longevity and their pull with their fanbase. Introducing “Convectuoso” with “This song is about so many profound things you couldn’t possibly grasp” is condescending and pretentious, and hilarious all the same.

The most note-worthy aspect of the show’s aesthetic was that it felt as if it was all Daryl Palumbo, an impression of a one-man show. Granted, Durijah Lang and Manny Carrerro are the best rhythm section this band’s ever seen, and Justin Beck is a phenomenal guitar player and a business mastermind when it comes to monetizing a band like Glassjaw; but they all stood back. About a 6-foot distance was put from Daryl, who was center-staged and spotlighted, and the rest of the band, stood near the back, orchestrating the background. As I’m sure you notice in the photographs, it was hard to get a good shot of the band even from the pit. There’s definitely an ego issue here, but at the same time, it’s hard to feel that the rest of the band has the slightest problem with it.

After “Siberian Kiss,” a quick mention of a break and a “We’ll be back” knocked the wind out of the crowd to waste time calling for an encore. The entire show had to take a shift here; a clear break from the end of the set, which was to be the Coloring Book in its entirety. It’s safe to say that the bulk of the crowd isn’t as internet savvy as the next guy (or the three guys that work this website), so these six songs could’ve been completely new to most. However, an early leak allowed plenty to prepare, and the band dived into the most experimental and off-brand Glassjaw music thus far. Beck manned a piano – a rare sight. Durijah brought out brush sticks, and the entire crew ended their set in the most prolific of fashions.

[SETLIST]

Notes:

– Four videos from the show (sound’s great, just full screen it) can be seen here. More from Memphis here.
– A dope video from Dallas for “Gold” can be seen here.
– Be on the lookout for the Tidal Arms interview, very soon!