Vinyl Theatre, Misterwives, & Twenty One Pilots

This past Sunday night I had the pleasure of attending a Twenty One Pilots concert at the Knitting Factory in Spokane, and it was phenomenal. But I don't want to get ahead of myself, so I'll start from the beginning.

I wanted to be at least somewhat near the front, so I dragged my cousin Bekah to stand in line with me for 4+ hours. When they finally opened the doors to the venue, there was a mad dash to the stage. The first opening band was Vinyl Theatre. I have to admit that I've looked them up before and never really liked their music that much, but their songs were fantastic live. They had a lot of energy, and their lead singer belted out his lines so flawlessly and passionately that I fell in love right then and there.

Misterwives was next, and they were absolutely amazing. They had stage presence, rocked out on their respective instruments, and the lead singer belted out high notes and runs that were on another level of live singing.  They played some stuff from their most recent EP, but also gave us a taste of some new things off of their upcoming album. 

By the time they left the stage, everyone was growing restless for Twenty One Pilots. The wait seemed like forever, but when the lights dimmed and the opening notes and drum kicks sounded from "Guns for Hands," all the waiting was worth it. I'm not going to try to tell you about everything that happened, because there is far too much to relay and not enough words, so I'll just give some of the highlights. 

Tyler Joseph runs around and jumps off on stage so much that I'm pretty sure he gets more cardio every night than a marathon runner. And on top of that, he performs flawlessly, which is not an easy thing to do while jumping off of a piano or being held up by the crowd. Josh Dun did not disappoint either. The content energy and extra "umph" that goes into his performance is astounding. I have never seen a drummer more committed to their music. Plus, he does a really cool backflip off of the piano in the middle of "Holding on to You" and plays on a mini drum set while crowd surfing.

I had heard that Twenty One Pilots were the great live, but now I can confirm this. They put 120% into their live performance and it is an experience that I am honestly still a little shaken from. I hope to see them live again--hopefully soon--because it was seriously one of the best nights of my life.

An Oddly Pleasant Combination

Most bands have a certain genre and sound that they stick to like glue. Every album might sound a bit different, but mostly there is a general idea about where they lie on the musical spectrum. Twenty One Pilots is not that kind of band. This Cleveland-based duo is made up of a drummer and a piano player who sometimes breaks out a ukelele. And if that isn't unique enough for you, the lead singer interchanges singing, rapping, and what sometimes sounds quite like spoken word poetry, all complimented by a hearty amount of synth.

It might seem like the combining of all of those things would make this band a train wreck, but it totally works. The words may be a bit too fast to catch at first, but I guarantee that the lyrical content is worth a closer listen. I have connected to too many of their songs to name, but I will say that their most recent album, "Vessel", is one of my top five all-time favorites. Seriously, I listened to that album on repeat for two weeks straight.

As for their stage presence, a drum kit and a piano might seem a bit boring, but I am assured that their shows are filled with massive energy and crowd interaction. What other bands do you know that mount small platforms held up by the audience to bang out a fantastic drum duet?

I will be sure to do a live review of them after I see them live in October. But for now, head to YouTube and check them out. They cover almost ever genre, so I'm fairly sure there's at least one song of theirs that you'll like.

The Duff is Back

Let's talk about Hilary Duff. Seven years after her last release, she's back and it's almost as if she never left.  July 29th, Duff dropped the single "Chasing the Sun", taken from her upcoming album expected to drop this next year. I have to admit that I was expecting an over-done pop comeback, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that my childhood idol was still just as smooth and mellow as I remembered. It was just the kind of sound that I needed to hear as the summer waned away. Plus, the music video was adorable. Seriously. Go watch it.

But as she dropped her second single, "All About You", I began to remember that this was not the innocent Lizzie McGuire anymore. Instead, I was reminded that she is in fact a 26-year-old woman. The song is surprisingly sexy and I think it was a great next step in establishing the new Hilary. I admit that I could have done without the repetitive "hey"s and the banjo line seemed a little out of place, but altogether the song actually really works.

I'm really excited to hear the rest of her new album, and I can't wait to see the direction she takes her musical career next. Welcome back, Hilary Duff.

Congratulations, New York

I'm always looking for new music to obsess about. In fact, I have an ever-growing list of bands recommended to me by people I meet. But recently, I've been a bit busy playing and replaying anything by Twenty One Pilots, in preparation for seeing them in concert this fall. As I like to be as ready as possible, I also took it upon myself to check out their support bands, Vinyl Theatre and Misterwives, for the "Quiet is Violent" tour. I had heard of Vinyl Theatre so I decided to start with the group that I had never heard of before.

And I was not disappointed. Within 45 seconds of watching Misterwives' video for their single "Reflections", I had to start the song over. The dynamic change itself had me hooked, but upon closer listening I discovered that I loved the lyrics as well. Needless to say, I had to hear more from them.

Their song "Twisted Tongue" had me dancing and singing along by the third listen. It was around this time that I decided to just buy their newest EP off of iTunes. Though there are only six songs, the lyrical content seems advanced for a band that's only been around for two years. The song "Coffins" has soulful percussion and a great violin line, adding to the impact of the thought-provoking words.

To say that I am in love would be an understatement. I would like to congratulate the great state of New York for producing such a great indie/pop/soul band and tell you guys to check them out if you get the chance. You can pick up their EP "Reflections" on iTunes and add some awesome to your life.

A New Era for Pop Punk

Unless you've been camping in the remote wilderness for the past year, there's a fairly good chance that you've heard a song by the band 5 Seconds of Summer, whether you know it or not. These four young Australians seem to be everywhere now, including Top 40 radio, which has caused a lot of skepticism over whether they should be taken seriously as a pop punk band.

5SOS formed in Sydney in 2011, and gained a small following through posting covers on YouTube. But their careers took off internationally in 2012, when One Direction asked them to open for them on their Take Me Home Tour. As they were opening for the most popular boy band in the world, the "Directioners" became the majority of their American fan base. And as a result, they were written off by many pop punk fans as just another boy band.

And this sincerely bothers me. First of all, 5SOS was formed under the inspiration of Blink 182, Green Day, All Time Low, and other solid pop rock favorites. They have written with Alex Gaskarth, the Madden brothers from Good Charlotte, and John Feldmann. They were also the first artists to play their own instruments live at the VMAs since Green Day in 2012. Yes, they toured with a boy band and they have a lot of very young fans, but would you turn down an opportunity to do an international stadium tour with one of the biggest names in music?

Now you might be thinking, "but if they're a pop rock band, why are they all over Top 40 radio?" Do you guys remember back in the 2000s when you would frequently see Gerard Way and Pete Wentz share the cover of a teeny bopper magazine with Zac Efron and Jesse McCartney? No? Well let me refresh your memory:

Was that a weird year? Yes, but the point remains the same. Pop punk used to be very mainstream. Fall Out Boy and My Chemical Romance played on popular radio stations. Everybody I knew listened to Green Day. I'm pretty sure they even played All Time Low at a middle school dance I went to. And yet these bands' genre wasn't questioned.

For years, pop punk has been out of the spotlight, and I have to admit that even I have become sort of a music snob in thinking of my favorite bands as underground music. But with their self-titled album (debuting at number 1 on the Billboard 200 in the US), 5 Seconds of Summer are bringing in a new generation of pop-listening teenagers into our musical bubble. And a lot of people are mad about it, but isn't it a good thing? 5SOS are bringing pop punk back into the spotlight.

I guess the point I'm trying to make is that we don't get to decide what kinds of people can listen to a certain genre, or write off a great band just because they are popular. You don't have to like them, but don't just dismiss them as another boy band. 5 Seconds of Summer are ushering in a new era for pop punk, and it's time we get off our musical high horses and welcomed the new listeners into the club.

Changing Directions

Do you remember when you listened to a song for like the millionth time and the words finally clicked? I mean it had a catchy beat and you knew all of the words, but then you finally felt it.  And from that moment on you couldn't go back. You could never hear the song without having a moment of thoughtfulness.

And it's never just one song. I have had this profound experience with songs from multiple genres and they have all had a different impact on me, but I'm not going to bore you with the details. The point I'm trying to make is that good music needs to be experienced. 

There are some people who aren't as affected by music. I have friends who don't really listen to music or even know what genres they like, and that's totally okay. Everybody is different.

But I absolutely love music. I love the fact that I can listen to a song 50 times and hear something new every time, whether musically or lyrically. Songs are puzzles just waiting to be taken apart. A song can be just what we need to hear or capture what we are feeling perfectly in words. Music can inspire us to be strong or comfort us in our darkest moments.

I am currently studying journalism at Walla Walla University, and I am constantly asked what I plan to do with my degree when I graduate. I don't want to work at a newspaper and I certainly don't want to be a reporter. I know that this seems quite counter-intuitive, as my major points whole-heartedly in that direction, and I've struggled with this because I do love writing--just not about the news. All I want to do is write about what I'm passionate about.

And then it clicked. I love writing and I love music. Can't I just combine them?

Let me tell you about the glorious field of music journalism. I would get to write album reviews, live concert reviews, and interview artists. I'd discover new artists and genres. I would literally be getting paid to experience music. 

I know this post seems scrambled and I honestly didn't know where I was going when I started writing it (come to think of it, I never know where my writing is going--it has a mind of it's own).

But I've decided that it's time for an announcement. I've decided to go into music journalism and therefore there will be needing to write more in that general direction. So, henceforth this will be a place where I post a lot of music-related writing. I'm hoping to stick to at least a post a week. Hold me to it, guys.

I promise that will still be making general updates about my oh-so-exciting life (catch the sarcasm, kids?), but they will no longer be the focus of this blog. I promise that you'll want to stick around to read though, because I've got a lot in store for Adventures of a Sanguine this year.

Sleep-deprived Thoughts of an Insomniac

This summer I've taken to waking up past noon, because I don't sleep until 3 or 4 am. It's not a choice, I just have problems falling asleep. I can lie in bed for hours, just staring at the clock, watching the time tick by but not feeling tired. There are probably a number of reasons this happens, but I'm not going to analyze that right now.

Last night I fell asleep around midnight, but for some unknown reason my body decided that I was done by 4 am. So I sat in bed and perused the internet.

It is currently 6:27 and I'm sitting on the front porch of my family's lake cabin. As the walls are screens, I can hear everything. Everything and nothing. I am never up early enough to catch the sunrise. Four am to noon do not exist to me in the summer. But this morning as I looked out the window I saw the orange glow lighting up the slightly cloudy sky and I had the desire to listen. To really listen to the world waking up around me.

It is strangely still. Usually up here there is always the faint sound of waves lapping up the shore, but right now all I can hear is the sounds of birds waking up and the tapping of my fingers on my keyboard. There is a breeze barely drifting through the trees and I can hear the few people awake driving to wherever they need to go.

Silence has always been this horrible thing to me, but I'm beginning to understand why people like to get up early and watch the sunrise or just immerse themselves completely in nature. For the first time in months I can hear my thoughts clearly. They're not important thoughts and I'm certainly not discovering some earth-shattering truth, but it's nice to have my mind feel clear.

My mind is usually going a mile a minute and I can't stay focused on one topic for long (ADHD, remember?). I also tend to worry a lot about a lot of stupid little things, but right now I feel calm. I feel whole. And for once, I actually feel happy, happy to just be.

It's not profound, and I don't expect you get much out of it. But I just thought I'd share this moment with you, because it's all about the small things in life.

P.S. You should totally try getting up early and just breathing in the fresh air (unless you live in LA like WayAnne, all they have is smog), it clears the head better than anything.