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Music reviews from the friendly folks at KWLC

Date 9/18/2003 12:00 AM | Topic: Arts & Culture

Two album reviews, and a review of the Warped Tour.

Artist: The Fire Theft
Album: The Fire Theft

Zach Hawkins
KWLC Staff

My friend Eli and I once found ourselves in a random diner in Chicago racking our brains to compile a list of the best band names ever. I don't recall producing a conclusive list, but I do remember that we agreed on putting Sunny Day Real Estate near the top. After SDRE broke up in 2002, three of the founding members came up with a new project and a new name. The result was The Fire Theft.

SDRE was, of course, one of the first bands to be plastered with the much unwanted moniker of "emo," long before cheap, heart-broken knock-offs began cluttering Rolling Stone magazine and MTV. With The Fire Theft, Jeremy Enigk, William Goldsmith, and Nate Mendel (who also plays with Foo Fighters) are finally able to ditch association with the "Emo" fad and go back to what they do best: making intelligent rock music.

Their self-titled debut album is a melding of the past and the future, looking back to the myth of Prometheus for their band name, and to The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, The Who, and Brian Wilson for musical influences. The Fire Theft is a musically diverse album that simmers with quiet piano moments before exploding into driving rock anthems while Enigk's soaring vocals pierce through the music with lyrics like, "Remembering a reason to be born / Taking back the fire from the four corners / I can't bury my life when I can fill it up with joy."

Just like SDRE was on the edge of "Emo," The Fire Theft is on the edge of something great.

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Artist: Mando Diao
Album: Bring 'Em In

Sam Drong
KWLC Staff

The Strokes, The Hives, The Mooney Suzuki, The Vines- it seems safe to say that the recent craze of the "The" named bands is beginning to slow down, however the dirty garage rock sound they brought back into the spotlight has all but faded away. The resurgence of the mod scene over the last few years has given new life to rockers longing for a new album from The Who or The Animals. The debut release from Swedish rockers Mando Diao can help feed that craving.

Bring 'Em In starts off with a hook-heavy track entitled "Sheepdog" that is bound to bring the most novice air-guitarist out of the wood work to try their best at a Pete Townshend windmill.

Two tracks later in "Motown Blood," the band begins to give stylistic tribute to the many mod-rockers that came before them, playing their R&B inspired fast-paced form of rock that the patriarchs of the scene were known for. Throughout the rest of the album, Mando Diao takes several creative departures from what is beginning to be a cookie cutter sound. If a classic rock sound is something you're into, give Mando Diao's Bring 'Em In a listen.

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Warped Tour allows fans to connect with their favorite bands

Lindsay Kimbal
KWLC Staff

It's one of the few concert events where you can experience non-stop live music and rock out with some of the most talented musicians standing right next to you. Warped Tour is the summer-long festival that promises oodles of high quality bands at a reasonable price.

Rotating headliners like The Used, AFI, Rancid, Less than Jake, Ataris, and Glassjaw brought the crowds to their feet at the two main stages.
Four "second stages" kept the crowd busy with stand-out performances from Avenged Sevenfold, Rise Against, Vaux, Vendetta Red, Rufio, and Matchbook Romance, where the crowd rocked so hard during their performance, the barrier between the stage and people broke. Strolling the grounds of Warped Tour, it is not rare to see band members walking around, checking out other performances, and talking with fans. Bert McCracken of The Used was checking out Letter Kills before their set.

All in all, Warped Tour is definitely more band for your buck.

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Fans rock out to one of the many acts that performed on this summer's Warped Tour. Photo: Internet

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