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

Cccome?, Maneuvers, and Amadis - 242 main - 1/28

We've mentioned Maneuvers and Amadis before, but not cccome?. We had run across them in our spidery interweb music quests, but the mp3s we found were lackluster and didn't seem promising.
Enter the live show.
The mandolin player cranked the gain and just shredded it to bits, with RATM style riffs interspersed between solos. One of the coolest, most original things I've seen here.
The vocalist used his voice like an instrument and his harmonica like a voice. He had a great stage presence too, like he was playing from another world.

Act 2 was the Maneuvers. They put on a stunning display of alt-punk power. Their songs have a complexity that breathes new life into their style, but remain incredibly catchy.
I purchased their new EP and highly recommend it, but definitely go see these guys play if you can- the recordings just cant capture the energy I saw last week.

Amadis played like it was the 70's all over again. Leather, shredding, and flying v's...
I wasn't able to attend their entire set, but what I did see was full metal. I gotta say, Vermont having an old school metal band is pretty awesome.

Myspaces-
Amadis
Cccome?
Maneuvers

Romans

Romans is a Vermont metalcore band. They incoroporate post-metal influences from bands like Pelican or Isis, and some mathcore. They've produced their first album themselves. They've been gaining a lot of notice in the VT scene lately, so you might want to be watching them.

Recommended Albums:
All Those Wrists

Official Myspace
Romans live

Fire the Cannons

Fire the Cannons is (was?) a Burlington, VT indie rock band. You could compare them to Sonic Youth (at least the Sonic Youth of "Goo" and "Dirty"), or The Pixies. The bassist is very good, skillfully integrating chords with his playing. When I saw them, their drummer was pretty good too.
I was told they've apparently broken up? I'm not sure.

Recommended Albums:
I don't know that they have one out. Do they?

Official Myspace

Archer in Jeopardy

Archer in Jeopardy was a Vermont rock band. They were influenced by screamo, lo-fi indie rock, and post-rock. They're also a bit jazzy. To make a stupid comparison, think of it as Orchid beating up GYBE while Stephen Malkmus looks on. Or, better yet, go listen to their stuff. They released 2 EPs and a live album, and then broke up. However, they're releasing an an album, Black Dog, Subside: The "I Doesn't Matter" Story, on Young Optimists Records. Rumor has it that they're planning a reunion show to go along with it...

Recommended Albums:
That's So Legit
Fragments To Decay
Black Dog, Subside

Official Myspace
Whiskey Waltz live
She Didn't Die, She Just Stopped Living live
There are also a hell of a lot more videos

Vitals

Vitals is a Vermont progressive post-rock band. Their music is all instrumental, and they intersperse rock aggression with ambient complexity. Their style is pretty unique, but it could be loosely compared to some of the bigger post-rock bands out there.

Recommended Albums:
The Legend That Was Earth

Official Website
Official Myspace
Their last.fm page has some free mp3s
At These Heights live
Terrifying Storms of Incredible Beauty live

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

The Cancer Conspiracy

The Cancer Conspiracy was a Burlington, Vermont instrumental prog band. The band was composed of veterans of the local music scene who wanted to try a new musical direction. Their music is jazz and math-rock influenced. It's really excellent stuff for any fans of progressive music. They broke up in 2003, and their members have gone on to participate in other good bands musical entities. In particular, Daryl Rabidoux went on to work for Strangeways Recording, who have produced some really high-quality music. Their label collapsed in 2004, leaving their final album in a state of copyright limbo. However, they have finally obtained the rights, and this album, Omega, should be released on January 29!

Recommended Albums:
The Audio Medium
Omega

Official Myspace
There are some mp3s up at their new label Radar
Their Epitonic page

Amadis

Amadis is a classic metal band from Vermont. They play straight-up metal influenced by Judas Preist, Iron Maiden, and Thin Lizzy. (They're pretty much the Judas Priest of New England...) They've got as many monster riffs and face-melting guitar solos as you could want. It seems their rhythm guitarist is in a spot of legal trouble... Hopefully, this won't stop them from producing more good music in the future.

Lead guitarist Franky Andreas has played in other local bands, and teaches guitar lessons. He also manages the booking for 242 Main now, which makes him double cool. Oh, and did I mention he's a kickass guitarist?

That's not to take the spotlight away from the other band members - they're all badass too. Especially with all the leather and such.

Recommended Albums:
I don't believe they have an album out yet. But hopefully they will soon.

Official Myspace
The video for Leatherhouse

My Revenge!

My Revenge! is a Burlington, VT punk band. They've been around since 2001, releasing hardcore in a pretty traditional style. They remind me a bit of Minor Threat and Agnostic Front. Their lyrics are often about skateboarding, gay rights, and fighting against intolerance. They are playing a final show on April 5, 2008. If you're in the Burlington area then, I recommend you go see them. It will be worth your time, and it's the last chance you'll get to experience it.
Hopefully, I shall be there.


Recommended Albums:
Any of them.

Official Myspace
Their page at Thorp Records
My Revenge live (sorry about shitty sound quality...)

The Wards

The Wards are Vermont's longest-lived punk band. They've been around since the late 70s. Their live shows are pretty chaotic. When I saw them, Tea Curley seemed pretty drunk, they played until they got kicked off the stage, andthey ordered out a pizza and gave some to the audience. They're still alive and kicking, and still play shows around VT.

Recommended Albums:
The World Ain't Pretty And Neither Are We
Ripped Off In Boston

Official Myspace
History of The Wards
The Wards live

From The Ground Up

From The Ground Up is a melodic hardcore band based in Burlington, Vermont. They sound a bit like Bane, Kid Dynamite, or Turning Point. They did a lot of their recording at Strangeways Recording back before it relocated from Burlington to Providence, RI. The very cool Mike Poorman and Daryl Rabidoux worked on their records. They've got an album, "Words Can't Explain," out on Round 2 Records. There should be a new self-titled album coming out on Stop Whining Start Winning soon.

Recommended Albums:
Words Can't Explain

Official Website
Official Myspace
Greater Good live

Lowell Thompson Band

It's great to see a local band making some waves- especially when they deserve too. The Lowell Thompson Band plays really good alt-country with some old time rock n roll. Their cd has a pretty diverse collection of tunes, at times branching out into folk and indie-rock.
I really like the track "Crenshaw"...it conjures Red House Painters and the sk6ers.

I saw these guys live last August, and hopefully will see them again soon. Very nice show.

Links-
Official Site
Myspace
A few streams. (bad quality, sorry)

chainsaws.and.children

chainsaws.and.children is a self-described "guitar heavy electrocore band" based in Vermont. Their music is a pretty brutal midpoint between hardcore and industrial. Unfortunately, they've been on "indefinite hiatus" since 2004. It's also difficult to find much by them online, since the mp3s on Big Heavy World's website aren't all working.

Recommended Albums:
.daca.
It will be hard to find, but it's worth it if you like industrial. It should be on Amazon, if you want it.

Official Website

Big Heavy World

Big Heavy World is a Vermont music organization. They support local music of all genres.

Big Heavy does everything from the website itself, to running the Vermont Music Library & Shop, to managing a small record label, to organizing and promoting some shows. One new thing is their collaboration with Radio Bean to run a new low-power radio station, WOMM-LP 105.9 The Radiator. I have had the pleasure of seeing The Radiator go from nothing at all to a working community radio station with regular programming. Unfortunately, the station is currently audible only in Burlington, VT. But fear not: Within the year The Radiator should be available as streaming radio, giving much wider access to Vermont music.

Unrestrained

Unrestrained is a fuckin' awesome hardcore band from my local Burlington, VT. They are composed of veterans of such other bands as My Revenge!, Spies in America, Dog Days, and others. I'll let the music speak for me here.

Official Myspace
Unrestrained Live
More Unrestrained Live


Like it? Support the Vermont music scene and buy their CD "Appleseeds." While you're at it, see one of their frequent shows if you're in the local area.

Vocalist Ryan also works for a certain Vermont music organization by the name of Big Heavy World. Take notice of this, because I'm probably going to mention BHW at every opportunity.