Days Away, Jamison Parker,
The Academy Is… and Mae
May 16, 2005
Rock Island, Denver
I’ve only been to a handful
of shows at Rock Island that have been sold out:
Fear Before the March of Flames’ CD release
show with Lenore in 2004, My Chemical Romance with
Harrison Bergeron in 2004, and if I remember correctly,
A Static Lullaby was sold out with Hawthorne Heights,
also in 2004. But I never would have imagined on
my way to Rock Island last night, that there would
be a giant “SOLD OUT” sign posted on
the outside of the venue for The Academy
Is… and Mae. As I stood in the will-call
line, several disappointed fans passed by in the
opposite direction warning all of us in line that
we were wasting out time, that the show was sold
out.
Upon my entrance, I immediately noticed
the group of high school aged girls standing in
a giant huddle right in the lobby are, overly-’80s
and over-accessorized, all sporting layers upon
layers of Urban Outfitters get-up. But I guess that’s
the way it goes: the poppier the band, the trendier
the fans. Well, all trendiness aside, this was one
of the more entertaining shows I’ve been to
in a long time. Despite the fact that the openers,
Days Away and Jamison Parker,
didn’t leave too much of an impression on
my memory, The Academy Is… rocked the house.
Singer, William Beckett,
shows the same wrist snapping, hair shaking, clap-inducing
mannerisms comparable to Taking Back Sunday’s
singer, Adam Lazarra, and for anyone who has ever
seen TBS, you know how just watching Lazarra dance
around can be the most entertaining part of the
show. It’s that kind of stage presence that
can make or break a band. If the music is good but
they’re boring to watch, who wants to go to
the show? And if they jump around too much ignoring
their music by acting like jackasses, then no one
wants to go see a band that sucks. The fact is,
Beckett has that adorable, innocent, younger version
of Lazarra type of lead singer look that girls dig,
and he pulls it off well with his clear-as-a-bell,
angelic voice. I can’t blame the girl who
crowd surfed her way up to the stage just for the
chance to kiss Beckett’s cheek upon her arrival.
If I were 17, I probably would’ve done the
same thing.
The Academy Is… maintained something
that a lot of bands forget about while they’re
on stage: a connection with the crowd. Sometimes
this connection is the most crucial part to a band’s
performance. No one wants to go stand in a crowd
of people to watch a bunch of rock stars with their
backs facing the crowd play their songs like they’re
practicing in their basement. Incorporating crowd
participation to any band’s live performance
is a must. As close-knit friends of Fall Out Boy,
and with a very similar sound, it would be extremely
surprising if this group of young hopefuls doesn’t
blow up the same way that Fall Out Boy did. The
Academy Is… well… is definitely the
“next big thing,” and for the kids who
were there to see them, they definitely got their
money’s worth.
As for the fans of Mae,
I’m not so sure about that. Mae was no doubt
the reason the the show was sold out, however, I
didn’t feel the energy with them like I did
with the Academy Is… Their music was lethargic
and slow, which left several people, including myself,
searching for a spot to sit on near the side wall
or in the bar. Musically, aesthetically, and in
their overall vibe, Mae was just a bit too clean
cut for me. There were a handful of church kids
bunched together who jumped up and down to every
hit of the snare, but that seemed to be about the
extent of the crowd participation. To those whose
music exposure is limited, I’m sure Mae’s
performance was nothing to criticize, but to the
music critic, or anyone involved in the scene beyond
the surface, non-organized, youth group outing sort
of way, Mae didn’t offer much more than noise
in a crowded room.
Sarah Conway, May 20, 2005
Photography, Randy Mickulesku
