Rockstar Taste of Chaos Tour
The Used, Senses Fail and 30 Seconds to Mars head up a marathon nu-metal/emo show this Friday, sponsored (somewhat insipidly) by Rockstar Energy Drink.
Although headline act The Used has historically written hard rock songs with poppy elements, its new LP Berth leans toward an AFI-like screamo sound. No strangers to large venues, the Utah-based rockers are veterans of the Warped Tour and Ozzfest.
The Taste of Chaos Tour has its American Idol side, of course (what doesn't these days?), with one local band chosen in each city to share the stage with the big boys. South Florida will be represented on Friday by West Palm Beach's Upper Class Trash. The band's debut LP, Favoring Blurred Lines, was released on its own label, Night School Records, in 2005. More songs are in the works from the band, whose sound is heavy on the emo and topped with Prodigy-like vocals. ItsMySpace page, at www.myspace.com/upperclasstrashwpb, includes four freely downloadable tunes and studio footage.
Off the beaten path from its more angst-ridden counterparts is New Jersey's Senses Fail. The lyrics of the Vagrant Records act are rooted in the Hindu beliefs of frontman Buddy Nielsen.
"We actually have never played in Miami, only close to Miami," says bassist Mike Glita. "So we're pretty excited to be all the way down south in the party city." Are there specialty stages for this tour, like an emo stage, metal stage, and so forth? "Nope," Glita says. "There's one main stage. It's a rotating stage, so one band sets up while the other one is playing." Now that's glamour!
Any hilarious backstage stories, tales of mayhem, etc.? "As of now, there hasn't been too much, since it's the beginning of the tour," Glita reports, disappointingly. "But by the time we hit Miami, there'll be a lot more going down."
As influences, Glita lists Jimmy Eat World, Saves The Day, Thursday, Jawbreaker, and Alkaline Trio, but is quick to note that the boys in the band love all kinds of music. The title of their latest release speaks volumes: Still Searching. The message, then, boiled down to its essentials: come, screamo your head off, and fill your gut with an insipid energy drink until your senses fail.
