Mediocrity simply doesn’t cut it.
Look, I’ll preface this review by saying I’m not inherently a fan of the emo-rock genre so perhaps it may seem strange that I attended ‘Hawthorne Heights’s, an emo rock band performance at the Rock City. Well to that I say as someone who wants to review music for a living, the downside to doing such a thing is like in the case of Hawthorne Heights – you can end up listening to something plainly average.
The quartet from Ohio were a very mixed bag for me which, unfortunately, for themselves and their fans, is a bag mostly full of negative opinions but bear in mind they are opinions and as such I’ll save them till last. Believe it or not, I’m not sitting too high up on my horse to be able to come down and recognise an objectively good gig. I may have spent the time desperately trying to keep my Guinness in my hand as opposed to my phone, the crowd, however, had an absolute blast! Credit where credits due, these guys clearly have talent, just not executed in my preferred fashion, but good God if you’re an emo rock fan you would have loved their performance. Song after song the crowd was driven into a dancing, jumping, chanting frenzy as the lead, rhythm and bass player all sang in harmony backlit by the Rock City lights; it was certainly a sight to see.
I’d also hate to go through this review without commending the bassist who I noticed before the show seemed to be nursing a foot/leg injury but without complaint got up on that stage and seemed to have as much fun as the drunkest guy in the room. And oh boy were there some drunk guys, it actually added quite nicely to the whole experience of what is on face value ‘music to make you forget the bad times’ and the crowd definitely upheld that theme as high as they held their cans as they chanted in messy unison.
There were some non-musical elements that really bugged me that has to be addressed; this is after all to help those who may want to see these people live. It’s important to be aware if you’re sick to death of being preached to, then perhaps these aren’t tickets you’re going to want to be chasing after. I counted four times between songs where rhythm guitar and vocalist J.T Woodruff interrupted the flow to give a small speech about how the music’s purpose was to rid of anxiety and stress. I mean yeah great message and all but it got old the second time let alone four. Call me a cynic, but I paid money to see music being played, I can get mental self-help videos online for free; it wouldn’t have been so bad if they played for a good two hours but no it was a single hour meaning it felt very ‘stop-start’ as a whole.
Now if you’re an emo fan then I do apologise because here comes the subjective section. The main reason that night was so ‘average’ is simply because my tastes in music usually consist of complex song structure, killer guitar solos and harsh vocals. Hawthorne Heights gave me no spark beyond the odd moment when a relatively nice riff was played before it descended back into basic chord progression, plus it doesn’t help when both main and backup vocals seem weak even when harmonised and the bassist is the only thing that can keep someone’s interest. The performance wasn’t a treat for the eyes either. I’ll give the bassist a free pass for not being so animated on the grounds of an injury but I’d never seen a vocalist seem so static, so lifeless even during moments of heavy instrumentation; the perfect time to jam out!
Fortunately, my night was actually made by the 2nd-second supporting band on the night ‘Chapter and Verse’ who I’d highly recommend to anyone who’s a fan of any old Linkin Park tracks as the vocalist gave off great Chester Bennington vibes with his mixture of blissfully clean to harsh and rasping vocals. He was supported by a fantastic drummer, absolutely kick ass, with perhaps one of the most thunderous kick drums I’ve ever heard; I remember trying to swallow when one of the kick beats hit me and it was just like trying to swallow a hiccup, it simply didn’t work.
So overall, surprisingly I had more positive things to say about Hawthorne Heights than I had anticipated. It’s crucial you note I’m coming at this from a hard rock and thrash metal love, not an emo fans; emo fans will fall in love with these guys I guarantee you. I will recommend Hawthorne Heights to any emo rock lover or anyone in general, you never know you may find something I missed, but I have to mutually recommend Chapter and Verse perhaps with even more urgency; they’re certainly ones to listen out for.
By Alex Mace