Counterparts + Senses Fail + Capsize @ The Asylum, 13th October 2015

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The Asylum tonight plays host to Capsize, Senses Fail and Counterparts for what seems a ridiculously early show on a Tuesday night.  Now the last time I was in this room it had no barrier and that’s what I liked about shows here but more on that later. The room is fairly empty for the  openers and in my tardiness I only mange to catch the last few tracks but what I heard I liked, its not exactly something I haven’t heard before but they do what they do well.  Capsize haven’t exactly got the hugest crowd to play to but the kids hanging on to the barrier seem to be enjoy themselves and lead singer Daniel Wand is doing his best to whip up a frenzy but appears to be out of luck this evening.

Now here’s the thing, I thought Senses Fail were headlining so I was surprised to hear that they were up next as I figured they were obvious headline choice but I guess I was proved wrong. The energy on stage is high as they play the first few tracks but I can’t say the same for the crowd who just stand around barely moving or singing which seems strange when your watching a band of this stature play live! Its gets pretty obvious a few songs in that lead singer Buddy is a bit miffed off with the whole barrier issue and goes off on a bit of rant likening it to a dental dam and I can see where he’s coming from. I’ve been to a bunch of shows in both Canada and America and very rarely will you find a barrier except in the larger venues and I can see why it would be frustrating for bands playing smaller venues which should make the whole experience more intimate but when there is a huge chunk of metal separating the crowd from the band it can make it hard for some bands to interact with the fans on their terms. As much as you can tell its annoyed him you cant say he isn’t giving it his all up there, jumping and dancing about like a loon. The rest of the band keep it tight too with the intense drumming of Chris Hornbrook (former Poison The Well) keeping the whole thing together.

Now Senses Fail have been getting some stick recently for how outspoken they are on certain issues and Buddy quite rightly brings some of those up this evening and I respect the man for speaking out on such issues as sexuality and the trend of people being taking advantage of by band members and at shows. These are things that do need to be discussed and not swept under the carpet so fair play to the guy for using his position to try instigate change in the scene. Now as much as I like the older stuff like ‘Lady in the Blue Dress’ and ‘Bite to Break Skin’ which both get an airing tonight its the newer material that gets my head nodding. The last 2 albums have seen a slight change in direction for the band, the lyrics and music have matured and as Buddy puts they reflect more on their 31 year old selves experiences compared to the stuff they wrote when they were 19. My particular favourites from tonight’s set were ‘Carry the Weight’, ‘Renancer’ and the Deftonesque ‘Wounds’, Senses Fail’s performance this evening has been one of the best I’ve seen from them it was just a shame the crowd wasn’t into it as much as I was expecting.

Now Counterparts have a lot to prove tonight, they said it themselves that they aren’t a headline band but from the moment the first song ‘Stillborn’ kicks in they don’t seem to have any doubts that they deserve to be topping the bill. The difference in the crowd reaction to Counterparts compared to Senses Fail is pretty impressive, from the start the crowd are all over them, fists are in the air and the lyrics are screamed back at the band. Counterparts are riding pretty high right now, they had a successful run recently supporting Architects and the release of their killer new record ‘Tragedy Will Find Us All’ has shown that this band has the potential to get big. The Canadians definitely do themselves proud this evening, their set is high energy and the crowd feed off that opening up pits and crowdsurfing. The barrier seems no issue for lead singer Bredan ‘B’ Murph as he spends the majority of the set standing on it engaging with the crowd and lending the mic to the eager fans down the front. The set is a good mix of old and new and one of my favourites ‘The Disconnect’ gets an airing towards the end. Now the last time I saw Counterparts was at a show in Vancouver, they were supporting Comeback Kid and they had me hooked from then so its nice to see them progress getting those headline slots that they have proved tonight they deserve.

This evening has been fun and as much as enjoyed it I felt the crowd reaction to Senses Fail was pretty embarrassing. That band deserves to be taken seriously and I hope that they have better luck on the rest of this tour.

Review: Hannah Sebestjanowicz

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