War Elephants, My Heart To Joy, Maneuvers, and Transit - 242 Main - 3/14

We went to see Maneuvers again, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that the other bands were excellent as well.

The show started with War Elephants, a young instrumental band from Enosberg Falls that plays progressive music. They played a pretty solid set. They are good with meter changes, the drummer in particular.

Next up was My Heart To Joy At The Same Tone, from Kensington, Connecticut. They play music in the style of classic emo or screamo, and they can certainly do that well. They brought a ridiculous amount of amps, and rocked everybody's faces off for a while. Their closing song was really intense.

Maneuvers came next, and they played an awesome set as usual. This time, they brought out a couple of new songs, which are going to be on the upcoming full-length they are working on. Two of these songs, "Black Horse Pike" and "Mare Oceanum" are on their Myspace, so check them out.

I didn't get to see Transit, unfortunately. They are a Massachusetts independent hardcore band, and they sound a bit like Braid or Lifetime. If you're at all into that, check them out, they're pretty skilled.

So, another day, another great concert at 242 Main. Be on the watch for more good music.


War Elephants
My Heart To Joy At The Same Tone
Maneuvers
Transit

Wow, Owls!

Wow, Owls! was a Virginia screamo band. They were signed to Perpetual Motion Machine, who have some other good hardcore bands (La Quiete, Life At These Speeds, CTTS). They went from just being a fledgling local Richmond, VA band in 2003, to a tour of Europe 2.5 years later in 2006. They had some troubles with debt, and decided to call it quits after three final shows. 3 of the ex-members are now in a new band, Mouthbreather.

Recommended Albums:
Pick Your Patterns
Wow, Owls!/The Setup split

Official Myspace
Wow, Owls! live

Circle Takes The Square

Circle Takes The Square is a modern screamo band. They use rather technical song structures to back up their intensity, with complex guitar, bass, and drum parts. They also use a very cool male/female dual vocalist style, and intricate lyrics. They work with Robotic Empire, who have some other good stuff out.
CTTS came to 242 Main over the summer, but I missed it. Hopefully they'll pay us another visit in the future.

Recommended Albums:
s/t
As The Roots Undo

Official Website
Official Myspace
CTTS live
More CTTS live

Antioch Arrow

Antioch Arrow was one of the early screamo bands. They were on the legendary, and absurdly awesome, Gravity Records. Their music is played at high speed, and mixes melody and noisy atonality. Their vocalist, Aaron, is cool, with his excellent control of dynamics. Their live performances were ridiculous. It's hard to explain, just watch the videos and you'll see. They broke up in 1994.

Recommended Albums:
The Lady Is A Cat
In Love With Jetts

Official Myspace
Their Epitonic Page
Antioch Arrow live
More Antioch Arrow live
Sorry about the abysmal sound quality on the videos.

Orchid

Orchid was a late-90's screamo band from Amherst, MA. They worked with the awesome Ebullition Records quite a bit. Their albums are somewhat obscure and hard to find (they were originally released on vinyl), but they are certainly worth it. Their music is absurdly, incredibly energetic, with breakneck speed and throat-destroying screams. And you absolutely must see the video of their live performance. It is intense.

Recommended Albums:
Chaos Is Me
Dance Tonight, Revolution Tomorrow
Totality - This was released on Will's label Clean Plate

Fan Myspace
An mp3 on Clean Plate
The full video of their last show - seriously, watch this. it's a good candidate for Best Video on Youtube Ever.

Maneuvers

Maneuvers is a Burlington, Vermont rock band. I don't know how they would describe themselves, but I would describe them as post-hardcore with emo and math-rock influences. They list greats of those genres such as Drive Like Jehu, Fugazi, At The Drive-In, and Jawbox as influences. They pull off this sound very well. Just listen to "Mare Oceanum" and try to tell me it's not catchy. Also, their drummer is pretty damn good.
Sadly, I missed them at Indiecon. I should be seeing them at 242 Main with Amadis and cccome? on January 28. It should be a good show.

Recommended Albums:
Their EP The Soothing Sounds Of Sirens is out now.

Official Website
Official Myspace
Maneuvers live at 242 Main for Indiecon 2007
More Maneuvers live

Song of Zarathustra

Song of Zarathustra is a hardcore band that formed in 1997. Aside from their radical music, odd meters, and intense vocals, they used keyboards and electronics to supplement their sound. Their chaotic, cathartic brand of noise is definitely worth a listen, if you're into this genre. From what I've seen, their live stuff is even better than their recorded stuff. It's got a more raw, real sound. I believe they've broken up though, and I've found it difficult to find live footage or recordings. If you have any info, I'd be glad to hear it.

Recommended Albums:
The Birth of Tragedy

Myspace
Some pictures of a live performance
Their Epitonic page
Some mp3s are available on Troubleman (who rock)
With Hands That Bleed live

Envy

Envy is one of the most famous Japanese hardcore bands. Their sounds can be compared to classic screamo bands such as Orchid, Yaphet Kotto, or Heroin. They tour internationally, and they have quite a few fans even outside Japan, with good reason. Their music is intense and earnest, with contrast between calm instrumentals and hardcore outbursts. If you like this general style of hardcore, Envy are a very good example of it, and definitely worth a listen.

Recommended Albums:
A Dead Sinking Story
Insomniac Doze

Official Website
Official Myspace
Some free MP3s from Temporary Residence Limited
Chain Wandering Deeply live
Scene live