The opinions expressed in the concert reviews are
those of the reviewer and do not
necessarily reflect the opinions of 1340mag.com or
its staff.
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Project 86
with Showbread, Inhale/Exhale, Sullivan
Stratus Nite Club
Pittsburgh, PA
Reviewed by Mark Fisher
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Honestly this
is a pretty good lineup even on paper. Add to it the fact
that the show goes for a mere $12 and you have a good night
out.
Local band A Far Cry opened the show. Very cliché
emo that wasn’t even very good. That said, the rap
rock song they did at the end with a different singer
is still ringing in my head, it’s like they became
a completely different band for one song. Guys go with
the “other band.”
Sullivan was the first official band on the bill and
they came out ready to impress. As this was street week
for their sophomore album they were in prime form and
tore the place down. Good, raunchy rock and roll with
one of the most dynamic frontmen I have seen in recent
years. If their albums are half as good as they are live
then they are fast on their way to superstardom.
Next up was the revamped Inhale/Exhale. With a new bass
player and former Last Tuesday skinsman, Tank, the band
ripped through a host of great songs from their high profile
debut. For a band that is literally on the mend at the
moment they blew the roof of the place. You’d never
guess they had had any lineup changes at all, let alone
ones as significant as the entire rhythm section. Kudos
must also be given to their guitarist as most bands this
heavy have dual guitarists, yet he pulled everything off
brilliantly all by his lonesome.
Showbread came on a little weakly unfortunately. They
are an excellent band that I have seen a number of times
but this time their performance had lost a little swagger.
They sounded good but the departure of one of their two
main vocalists was pretty evident and the remaining vocalist
had hurt his back earlier so wasn’t moving around
much. The band were pretty straightforward and looked
more than a little tired but their boldness and their
love for the audience held them up. Showbread are a class
act, even on their off nights.
Project 86 finished the show, showing off exactly what
has gotten them through the last decade. Rival Factions,
their latest offering, had been released only one day
before and the band delivered the goods playing almost
the entire album as well as songs from their last few
releases. Their really wasn’t much show going on
here but they sounded great, even though they performed
most of the keyboard heavy new album sans the keyboards
(turns out the songs sound great either way). “My
Will be a Dead Man” and “The Spy Hunter”
sounded particularly poignant as did “Evil (A Chorus
of Obliteration).”
This was an excellent show for $12, heck I have seen
much lamer shows for 10 times that price (ahem, I’m
talking to you Ozzfest). There were only about 150 people
at the show, which was tremendously disappointing given
the band’s history in the area as well as the other
high profile bands on the bill, but it made for a very
intimate evening with some of the finest bands on the
Tooth and Nail roster.
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