Share on Facebook More pictures here!
Strip The Stars
REVIEW: TRAPT, ACIDIC, THE ACTION BLAST, & STRIP THE STARS 1/21/2013
Gweedo
A Monday night show is a hard sell, but the Marquis Theater managed to put together a lineup that got people off their couch and dragging into work the next day. They hosted Trapt, ACIDIC, The Action Blast, and Strip The Stars. Even though Trapt was the only band I had previously heard of, it turned out to be a fun, rocking show. If you’ve never been to a concert at the Marquis, it is a very intimate venue. It holds 500 people and has an awesome pizza joint in it. The stage is a little low and lighting isn’t the best, but it is cool to be close to some of your favorite bands.
Gweedo
A Monday night show is a hard sell, but the Marquis Theater managed to put together a lineup that got people off their couch and dragging into work the next day. They hosted Trapt, ACIDIC, The Action Blast, and Strip The Stars. Even though Trapt was the only band I had previously heard of, it turned out to be a fun, rocking show. If you’ve never been to a concert at the Marquis, it is a very intimate venue. It holds 500 people and has an awesome pizza joint in it. The stage is a little low and lighting isn’t the best, but it is cool to be close to some of your favorite bands.
Strip The Stars
Strip The Stars kicked off the evening for the half full venue. They are a three piece plus a lead singer and were producing a great, full sound. The Denver band is up and coming and should have no problem with success if they keep producing this quality of music. They didn’t seem to have much energy when they started playing, and the crowd reflected that. As they loosened up and started to have some fun, the crowd got into it and was cheering and feeding off each other. Strip The Stars had a very diverse set with upbeat to slower songs. The vocals were delivered from the singer and drummer as nice, melodic, and smooth. It should also be noted that they composed their songs very well. They had a nice dynamic of a song starting out slow in the intro, building up, coming back down, and then finishing strong. It shows the dedication to write decent songs that musically tell a story as well as having the melodic vocals on top to sugar coat it. At the end, they did a good job getting the crowd going, and they hung around throughout the show meeting people and selling their new CD.
The Action Blast
The next band was a slap in the face and not in a bad way. The Action Blast was a wakeup call for anyone that managed to be sleeping through Strip The Stars. These Chicago boys came out heavy with a full band. They had loads of energy right away and sustained it for the entire set. With so much equipment and musicians, the stage was a little cramped, but they still managed to hop around. This wasn’t their first time at the Marquis, and they reminded everyone of that. The crowd was fully into the music. Their vocals were a mix of singing and screaming with the drummer also participating; you don’t see that much these days. The lead singer had great crowd interaction. For the last song, he came out in the crowd and sang. The band also stuck around by their merch booth to the meet people throughout the show. Keep an eye out for The Action Blast to return to Denver because they seem to be gaining a following here.
ACIDIC
ACIDIC is a fun SoCal band that has been around for about five years. They sound and look very similar to Green Day. Their energy started out slow, but in no time, they were rockin’ hard. A new sound guy was working for them, which didn’t do them very much justice. You could tell the mixing was bad and wasn’t putting them at their best sound. At this point, Marquis had reached three quarters capacity. Singer and guitarist Michael Gossard had a nice clean voice and awesome see-through guitar. He greeted everyone as they came in the door, and as they left, he let everyone know that they just got signed to a record deal. Excitement was in the air around their merchandise area. They have a good groove that can be attributed to drummer Matt Whitaker and bassist Ted Dubrawski. Gossard had a great stage recovery; it seemed like he was about to go into a solo, but the guitar wasn’t playing. So, he just threw it to the side and interacted with the crowd, getting everyone more into it. They like to play covers and opted for Beatles “Come Together”, which was performed well. Gossard took his wireless mic and headed into the crowd to sing amongst the people. Everyone had turned into his puppets. At one point, he had the entire crowd on their knees like a scene out of Animal House. Their last song also had a cover spliced in the middle of it – The Doors “Roadhouse Blues”. It was a cool show, but their set was way too short. I didn’t actually get a time frame, but it left people wanting more and felt shorter than the other bands.
Trapt
Finally, Trapt came out to connect with their fans. Everyone in the room erupted with their presence. Singer Chris Taylor Brown’s microphone sounded awful at the beginning, but luckily, they fixed it as the show carried on. Guitarist Robb Torres left Trapt before the tour and was replaced for the tour by Travis Miguiel of Atreyu. He did a great job standing in, and you couldn’t even tell he wasn’t part of the band. Their show was strong and killer. They played a variety of songs from their catalogue. Brown donned an acoustic guitar and did a small acoustic set for the crowd that was really cool. The fans were loving the show and singing along to the singles of their latest album REBORN. The CD was supposed to come out the next day, but show attendees were able to purchase it before everyone else. This is a very special CD for the band because it was independently released, and that feels good for any band. They did a two song encore of “Stand Up” and “Headstrong”. It was very exciting to see Trapt play this intimate concert that they said was for the fans. They are planning to come back through and stop at the Fillmore Auditorium later this year. After the show the band hung out, took pictures with fans, and signed their CD.
Trapt
This turned out to be another awesome show at the Marquis Theater. I got introduced to some new bands that I don’t mind seeing in the future, and it felt like a special show with the way Trapt treated the fans. I can’t wait for them to come back through and to see who they will be touring with then. I’ve been listening to their new CD, and it sounds good. I hope they have continued success with striking out on their own on their non-restricted music.
RSS Feed
