Concert: CT Holiday Throwdown, 12/18/10

This past Saturday, I drove up to Danbury, Connecticut, for the "CT Holiday Throwdown"- a concert featuring several New England (mostly Connecticut/Massachusetts/New York) bands, mostly unsigned. The bands were primarily in the pop-punk vein; I'm friends with the singer in one of the bands that played, and so I got a Facebook invite to the show. I checked out the bands that I wasn't familiar with on Myspace, I decided that the concert would be worth the 2 hour drive up to Danbury. After all, I'm on break, so what else would I do?

After filling up my car and putting the address in my car's GPS, I took off. I had Good Charlotte's new album Cardiology on repeat (LOVE that album- go listen if you haven't already), and already knew the first half of the route (I've driven up to Westchester, NY, to visit friends- same route pretty much). The GPS tried to take me through Manhattan, but luckily I'd thought ahead and new that I didn't have to (seriously, driving through the city on the Saturday before Christmas? Um, no thanks).

I got to Danbury a few minutes before doors opened for the show, so I bought an energy drink at a convenience store on the corner. It was pretty cold out, but doors opened at 4:30pm, as promised (it was pretty nice to not have to wait outside for too long). Once inside, I stood around awkwardly for awhile. There were some band members there; for the most part, they were either selling merch or setting up equipment. I knew I'd end up buying a CD (or four), but decided to wait until I'd actually heard the bands to buy their CDs. I saw my friend and he thanked me for coming.

Up first was Brookline Drive. My first thought was that their lead singer, Ben, reminded me of someone I went to high school with. Ben said that this was only BLD's 6th show, and I was impressed- for a relatively new band, they were pretty good, and very together. They were definitely natural performers. They had a fair amount of energy on stage, which was awesome. Three of the members of BLD- and then a fourth- came up to me trying to sell me their CD; I bought it, since I'd liked their set, and I like buying CDs directly from bands, because I know they're getting at least some of the money (of course some of it will be covering the costs of recording and pressing the album, but with an unsigned band, there's not the middle man of a record label). Favorite song: "Aprylle Fools"

Next was Two O'Clock Courage. TOCC weren't my favorite of the night, but they were pretty good nonetheless. I ended up buying their CD (I was on the fence, but it was pretty inexpensive- $3- so I went for it). The album artwork was pretty simple, but I liked it- the cover of the case (a slimline plastic case) was mostly purple, except for a heart-shaped area that was completely see-through. Their songs reminded me of the type that would've been the soundtrack to my high school years (for the record, high school sucked for me). Favorite song: "See You at the Aftermath"

White Rose was third. I've listened to WR before, and love them- definitely one of the reasons I decided to come to the show. They're pretty classic pop-punk (pretty much influenced by the same stuff I listened to when growing up) but young enough that they don't sound like they're stuck in 2002 (not that that's a bad thing). Lead singer Will got really into his performance, really interacting with the crowd in true pop-punk fashion. They covered "Everywhere" (originally by Michelle Brance) which was a pleasant surprise. WR was selling CDs for only $2- with 10 songs on it, I'd say that's a pretty good deal, so naturally I bought one). Favorite song: "Friends"

After White Rose was Follow Your Hero. While I honestly can't recall any of their specific songs, they were pretty good. Three out of their five members dressed in plaid, FYH looked to be a little older (only a few years, but even that can make a difference) than some of the other bands. While they were still energetic, they seemed comfortable and sure of themselves on stage.

Love via Dance Machine went on next. Out of all the bands that went on, I think LVDM probably had the most energetic stage performance. Seriously, these guys jumped around like crazy- they would win the "I Drank Way Too Much Coffee" award if their was one, or maybe the "Invisible Trampoline" award. Lead singer  's hair was completely messed up- my guess was he spent hours fussing with it so it was perfectly messed up. I wasn't familiar with most of their songs, but they had such an AWESOME performance that I had a blast during their set anyway. I would've bought a CD from them, but they weren't selling CDs. They also covered "Teenage Dirtbag", which totally made my night. Favorite song: "All is Fair in Love and Dance"

Weatherstar was one of my favorites of the night. Featuring Cameron Walker on vocals and guitar and Billy Toti on the snare drum, they were definitely the smallest band, but (as they were, after all, one of the "headliners" of the show) they were easily one of the best. Cameron didn't bounce around like an Energizer Bunny, but even though he played the whole show on acoustic guitar, he was very into it. Acoustic music can either be slow, boring, and depressing (i.e. Dashboard Confessional; not that this is a bad thing, it's just a different sort of music); or it can be fun and energetic (on the even further extreme end of the spectrum is Show me the Skyline- arguable whether they count as acoustic, but they're basically dance). Weatherstar was definitely the latter. I bought their CD, and it's probably my favorite of the four that I bought, with simple but sweet melodies and poetic lyrics. Favorite song: "Postcards"

With the Punches played after Weatherstar. They weren't my favorite, but their performance reminded me of New Found Glory (definitely a good thing). The vocals were nowhere near loud enough when WTP was on, but their songs were pretty good nonetheless. While they weren't quite as bouncy as LVDM, they had a certain energy on stage that made the crowd (or at least a few people in the crowd, who I was pretty sure were friends of the band) start to mosh.

The show finished with Phone Calls from Home. It wasn't announced that they were going to be at the show until about a week before; previously, I'd been unsure if the trip was worth it, but once I heard PCFH would be there, I knew I had to go to this show. PCFH began their set with a cover of Akon's "Don't Matter"- a bit of a surprise, but I always like hearing bands cover songs of artists of different genres (like WR's cover of "Everywhere" and LVDM's cover of "Teenage Dirtbag"). PCFH certainly didn't disappoint. Favorite song: "Coming Back to the World"

I love bands that look like they're having the time of their life on stage (I've seen Simple Plan four times, and each and every time they look like they're having a blast, which is part of the reason I love seeing them). I love going to concerts and seeing that energy. When a band interacts with a crowd- like some of the singers at this show, who crouched down at the front of the stage, and had fans singing into the mic with them- it really brings the energy up, and makes it more fun. That's why I love being in the front or in the mosh pit when I go to concerts (there weren't really enough people for a "real" pit but there were some people who tried). Despite the fact that these bands were all either unsigned or on independent labels, the CT Holiday Throwdown was, overall an amazing pop-punk show, with great performances from all.