“One can hardly live in rebellion, and I want to live”
-Fyodor Dostoyevsky (as taken from The Brothers Karamazov)
The Riot Before is easily one of the hardest working bands in the city of Richmond. The countless days and months they tour is evidence of their strong work ethic. On the heels of releasing their stellar new record Rebellion, it was about time to celebrate. What better time and place than last night over at Strange Matter.
With every band on the lineup, there was a wonderful sense of accomplishment in the room. Along with this sense of accomplishment, there was a reminiscent feeling to bands of the past, particularly those hailing from Gainesville, Florida. New Jersey’s The Great Explainer opened the show and won over the audience immediately. While delivering a frenzied momentum to each tune, the band was fierce. There were moments where I could sense musical nods to groups like Hot Water Music and True North. With those ideas intact, the band still flourished and the songs retained an invigorating sense of excitement that was constantly reinforced in their short set. They have a release coming out next month on Chunksaah Records, which should be absolutely incredible. This is a band to keep an eye out for when their next visit to Richmond may be.
“One can hardly live in rebellion, and I want to live”
-Fyodor Dostoyevsky (as taken from The Brothers Karamazov)
The Riot Before is easily one of the hardest working bands in the city of Richmond. The countless days and months they tour is evidence of their strong work ethic. On the heels of releasing their stellar new record Rebellion, it was about time to celebrate. What better time and place than last night over at Strange Matter.
With every band on the lineup, there was a wonderful sense of accomplishment in the room. Along with this sense of accomplishment, there was a reminiscent feeling to bands of the past, particularly those hailing from Gainesville, Florida. New Jersey’s The Great Explainer opened the show and won over the audience immediately. While delivering a frenzied momentum to each tune, the band was fierce. There were moments where I could sense musical nods to groups like Hot Water Music and True North. With those ideas intact, the band still flourished and the songs retained an invigorating sense of excitement that was constantly reinforced in their short set. They have a release coming out next month on Chunksaah Records, which should be absolutely incredible. This is a band to keep an eye out for when their next visit to Richmond may be.
Worn in Red would soon follow and it had been a while since the last time I saw them play. I remember them as having a genuine sense of aggressive energy that a crowd could easily feed off of. The crowd was a calm one at that, but that didn’t prevent the band from killing it. I am most familiar with their release In the Offing, which the majority of the set was pulled from as far as I can tell. The tradeoff of vocal duties between Guitarist Brendan Murphy and Bassist Matt Neagle is incredibly effective. Each song is engaged by the vocal nuances of each singer with a wonderful musical background that doesn’t feel too far removed from the likes of Planes Mistaken for Stars and Glass and Ashes. One thing that was mentioned several times throughout the evening was the history between Worn in Red and the Riot Before. In a musical world where the revolving door system is intact concerning a band’s lifespan, it says something that both of these groups would share one of their first tours together and still be around today to talk about it. In the simplest of terms, Worn in Red is awesome and everyone should join the converted by catching them the next time they play out.
There have been several developments in the world of the Riot Before since the last time I caught up with them. They had signed to Paper and Plastik Records. They recorded their new record with the legendary producer J. Robbins. On top of all that, they had traveled around a good portion of the globe and back resulting in bigger tours, bigger turnouts and kids knowing the words to their songs finally. The group has really grown as a live band. At first, the allusions to Against Me! were definitely embraced and intact. Now, the group is their own beast and if anything, Brett Adams may be the closest thing this city has to our own John K. Samson (of The Weakerthans fame). Their live performance was powerful and sincere. The band wore smiles as if they were never going to go out of style and it reflected nicely off of everyone in attendance. The set was composed of songs from the new record as well as their last full-length Fists Buried In Pockets. Although there is juxtaposition in the personalities of each record, their inclusion together in a live atmosphere felt seamless and relentless in their execution.
For me personally, my favorite moments of the Riot Before’s set were founded in the literary lyrical intricacies along the way. It’s no secret that the title of their new album is taken from The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, but one of my favorite moments is in the last lines of their song “To Live How We Believe.” In the final refrain, Adams chose to reflect upon his thoughts concerning David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest. For anyone who has read Infinite Jest, you must be fully aware of how much of a challenge it is. Despite that, the reader is certainly rewarded in its final moments where a character digresses over one’s ability to communicate with another who exists in the afterlife. In this instance, Adams ties together the underlying theme of the record in these final moments by mulling over what it means to truly live one’s life to the fullest. Perhaps by slowing down time and speaking to the ones who lived before, we can better understand how to live like we have always dreamed and take a risk to believe in something.
What should be dually noted is that the Riot Before is a rewarding band. A band that rewards it’s listener on many fronts. Whether it’s the catchy songs constructed with simple chord progressions and melodies full of intensity as well as tenderness. They also retain a penchant for intelligent, witty lyricism that challenges the listener’s thought processes while also giving them a sense that they belong in the moments depicted in the songs. It may be a while until the next time they play in Richmond, but I know I will be there in a second.
Last night was a crucial testament to how a night of live music can easily become a night of extraordinary circumstances.
