Sunday night shows are almost always a good time, mostly because the people that tend to frequent such events are usually in it to win it. One typically doesn’t venture out on a Sunday for a mild evening. And especially not this Sunday at the Highdive where a plethora of local and national hard-hitting bands team up for the Altered Egos Tattoos 7th Anniversary Party.
Arizona’s the Bled headline and are well known for their balls to the walls live shows like most other hardcore bands are these days. Not to take anything away from their music, which would be tough to do given their recent commitment to Rise Records, but it is often hard to differentiate between a lot of what is going on in the new hardcore scene.
The Bled formed in 2001 and have run the gamut of requisite live performances for bands in their coven these days, including a recent stint on the Vans Warped Tour and tours with bands like the Used and My Chemical Romance. Their newest release, 2007’s Silent Treatment, similarly covers the spectrum of what is expected of hardcore bands as they claim it enters a “new level of complexity and melodic aggression” while still reflecting the band’s progress to date.
Milwaukee’s Red Knife Lottery provide the cleaner elements of the evening with their danceable Yeah Yeah Yeah’s meets Led Zeppelin shuffle. Though vocalist Ashley Chapman is probably tired of the Karen O comparisons, she need not be as she goes beyond O’s range with a far more capable backing band. She might not have the zany outfits, though.
Locals Take Care and Roberta Sparrow open the show and you gotta give the latter props for their insistence on constant touring and their lofty goals of going against the indie grain in town. And any hardcore band that’s drummer doubles as a vocalist deserves accolades (and a decent gym membership). Take Care might seem a tad out of place on the bill, but that just guarantees that they’ll be the first thing you remember.
Doors open at 8 p.m. and the cover is $10. Wear your paincoat.