And I haven't felt this alive, in years.

I am coming here not to write about my life, but about a show I have returned from just an hour ago. It was a local show hosted at the Ethical Humanist Society building in my town. I never really knew what it was for, but I later learned that it was a religion. Or a religious congregation building. There's a bunch in my town, but this one seems a little more hidden; not explained openly to the public.

My point is: I go to so many shows in comparison to a lot of people I know and it seems only appropriate for me to write a blog entry on them. Otherwise known as a review.

The show began at six and lasted until eleven, I'm assuming. I left early, but I didn't necessarily want to. It isn't really my type of music, but I can enjoy it/tolerate it most of the time. I used to be a kid who loved that type of music. I then discovered Franz Ferdinand and it later defined my music taste from then on. Enough about me.

I was expecting a large turnout, up to the brim with people. It only looked like ninety people showed up. Those were the most soulful people I have ever met in my life. They were jumping and shouting/singing the lyrics while climbing all over each other. I began to realize this when my friend's band, No Good News, came on. For a relatively new band, they have a strong fanbase, as did all the other bands.

I didn't know many of the bands, but I was really impressed. Despite the rowdy nature of them all, it was very good. It made you glad that there weren't three hundred and fifteen people in there, like the information page had said. There were no blinding lights, other than the flash slaves in the front. It's the style of this hard and fast pop-punk; to be "up and in" the crowd, screaming along with your favourite band.

It's also the style to take that picture, put it on a t-shirt with a lyric about how your friends are more important than your family or something about a bad past relationship and sell it. I hate those shirts.

The most interesting part of the night was the skankers. It looks really ridiculous (Even though I learned how to do it tonight). In the front, the ever so notorious mosh pit, looms over the meek, but welcomes the rowdy and the intense concert attenders. It was a mix of skanking, pushing, shoving and running around in a circle. I stayed far back with my friends. When it starts though, everyone backs away quick. It's so sudden and kind of funny.

This tour was called the SKA IS DEAD tour, which it kind of is. If you're interested, the acts that played were:

The Fad
We Are The Union
The Forthrights
Stuck Lucky
Royal City Riot
The Beatdown
No Good News

In that order.

They are all pretty much inspired by the same people/band. You can hear it in the music, their mannerisms and how they react and interact with the crowd. Unfortunately, the sound systems for some of the acts were very poor and you couldn't understand what the vocalist was trying to convey. Although, you can assume that they were saying something about your friends, or late night drives, or how their ex sucks and they should choke and die.

The drummers, I should mention, know how to hit the drums hard and play fast. I suppose that comes with a lot of practice. I shouldn't forget my fellow bassists. They were excellent. They were able to move their fingers across the fretboard with such speed and precision. I was taken aback. The guitarists were typical, unfortunately. I mean, I love chords just as much as the next guy, but keep it fresh. Play a single note is always good, too. 

As a summary, if you decided that this was too long, didn't read: Despite the ability to hit obnoxious highs in terms of loudness in the drums and guitars, it was a good show. The crowd was noticeably divided and if you hate mosh pits, stay as far away as possible from the front.