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Los Angeles vs Anaheim


Have you ever been to an artist's show back to back at different venues and can’t help yourself, but to compare the two?

Well, I recently went through that dilemma with Trophy Eyes show at The Echo in Los Angeles on November 27th and The Chain Reaction in Anaheim on November 28th, 2017. Typically Los Angeles shows tend to make me want to tap out as if I was in a wrestling match, lol. Whereas, at Chain Reaction it feels as if you’re being serenaded to even if it only lasts for 30 minutes. Bear with me though, instead of me having you sit there and bore you with a compare and contrast essay ill just briefly tell you about my predicament at Chain Reaction.

Lets start with the first act. Head North is a cosmic punk band from Buffalo, New York. Members consist of Brent Martone (vocals), Ben Lieber (Drums), Alex Matos (Guitar), and Eli Ritter (Guitar). During the Los Angeles Show, Martone asked the (none listening) crowd who’s seen them before and only that one random person in the very back raised their hand and then everyone went back to sounding like crickets. Seconds later they began playing and peoples' heads started banging. If I’m correct, I believe there was even one random stage diver. Fast forward to the show at the Chain Reaction. This time around there were a lot more people that shouted or raised their hand when Martone asked who’s seen them before. The crowd was a wee bit weaker than LA’s as people were trying to be “fashionably late”. Before you knew it their set sadly came to an end.

Next up was a band from Philadelphia called Grayscale. Currently they are signed with Fearless Records. They recently announced a few up n coming tours they'll be going on in 2018. Members consist of Collin Walsh (vocals), Dallas Molster (vocals/guitar), Von ( guitar), Nick Ventimiglia (bass), and Nick Veno (drums). In the midst of singing at The Echo their photographer Jordan Mizrahi handed Walsh his camera sunk into the pit and attempted yet failed at hyping the crowd up with a mosh circle, lol. Switching back to their set at the Chain Reaction. They opened up with “Mum” which sent the crowd in a whirl pool of lightening bugs. Walsh sadly had to cut their set short from seven to five songs. Although he was trying to subside how he was feeling from his flu symptoms, they were slowly creeping up on him and secretly kicking him in the a**. Midway through Patrick Miranda from Movements ran out on stage singing along to “Fever dream” which caused everyone to freak out! Despite Walsh’s exhaustion he used every ounce of energy he had left and put on probably one of their best sets I’ve ever seen of theirs!

Following was a band from Nashville, Tennessee called Free Throw. The band is currently signed with Triple Crown Records. Members consist of Cory Castro (vocals/guitar), Kevin Garcia (drums), Justin Castro (guitar), and Jake Hughes (vocals/guitar). Free Throw were now on stage doing they're thing shouting out random things like Mash potatoes and gravy (The funniest yet oddest soundcheck I’ve ever heard). Don’t get me wrong, it probably had nothing to do with these guys and it was probably the venues problem, but the night before at The Echo in LA I could not understand one word they were singing. Luckily, that wasn’t the case at the Chain Reaction! Added the band had a wicked set with killer songs!

In the middle of Free Throws last song I decided to head towards the bench in the very back so I could stand on it to get the same perception as if I were looking through the eyes of all the giants around me (short people problems, lol). Shortly after, Trophy Eyes took the stage! The band is currently signed with Hopeless Records.You can still catch them on their North America tour till December 17th. Members consist of John Floreani (vocals), Anderew Hallot (guitar), Jeremy Winchester (bass), Kevin Cross (guitar), and Blake Caruso (drums). Instantly, into their set there was stage divers going left and right. Surprisingly this band was 10x more energetic than they were in LA and I already thought they were pretty hyped then! Song after song, banger after banger, and everyone was still going strong as if it just began!

Bottom line is that I may never fully be able to explain as to why Los Angeles shows suck so much is still a mystery to me, but I will still continue to attend them even if it's my last resort…

Quick side note, just wanna say to the people that go to shows alone - I give you mad props!! During the times I would normally share my awkward/funny moments, others weren't around to experience and laugh at the moment when I got hit in the head by a water bottle from one of two band members from Head North while messing around with each other at the merch tables. It's defiantly a moment I'll forever remember, lol!

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