SHREDnews

By: Kristina Valentine

There’s a reason why The Emptiness Tour has sold out every show to date. It may be because it has a killer line up with The Word Alive, Of Mice & Men, We Came As Romans, A Skylit Drive, and Alesana, but I think it’s because each of these bands has a energy and stage presence that’s rare to find. On February 20^th, I had the pleasure to see these bands at The Crofoot in Pontiac, MI. I’m confident in saying it was one of the greatest shows I’ve ever attended.

The crowd was already pumped up when Alesana took the stage. After a pre-recorded intro, the same as on their new C.D., The Emptiness, the band marched on stage in their best suits.  They started with “Curse Of The Virgin Canvas” a hard-hitting rock song that got the crowd moshing and crowd surfing in no time.

The band followed up their opener with two other songs from their new album, “The Artist” and “A Lunatics Lament”.  After that, they played a song off of their 2006 album, On Frail Wings of Vanity and Wax, “Ambrosia”. It was a great way to get old fans into the show while still promoting their new album.

The band played three more songs off their new album “The Murderer”, “Hymn For The Shameless”, and “The Thespian”. During these songs, the band really let loose. Diving into the crowd while performing the song, stripping layers and some pretty sweet dance moves barely cover the antics the band had. It was clear that the stage was where they felt most comfortable, or at least they made it seem that way. Even if you hated screamo music, even if you had never heard of any of the bands that had performed, you would still have to appreciate how well they performed.

Taking a final break from their new album, the band played a fan-favorite “Tilting The Hourglass”. The audience cried cheers of approval, singing as loud as they could the anthem for Alesana fans. The band ended the night with the first song released from The Emptiness “To Be Scared By An Owl” and “Annabel”.

The audience was still thirsty for some classic Alesana songs and wouldn’t let the band leave until they came out for at least one more song. The band came out ready to start the crowd up again with “Seduction” and “Apology”.

It’s rare to find a band that can sound live as well as they do on their records. It’s even harder to find one that sounds better. When they put on a killer show and have amazing opening bands, well, it’s no wonder why they attract such an audience.