We Are The In Crowd
w/ William Beckett, Set It Off, State Champs, Candy Hearts
Bottom of the Hill
San Francisco, CA
March 12, 2014
It’s only a few days before St. Patrick’s Day. Yet the tap is flowing at Bottom of the Hill as fans and bands pour into the sold-out venue for an incredible night of music. Tonight’s show: “The Reunion Tour”, headlined by New York’s We Are The In Crowd, with support from William Beckett (formerly of The Academy Is…), Set It Off, State Champs, and Candy Hearts.
One of the best things about shows like this is that the fans are here for pretty much the entire lineup. You can tell just by observing that there are just many fans wearing shirts and bracelets for the opening acts as there are for the headliner. This in turn makes it much more fun for the bands performing. It’s more of an event where friends get together, play music, and get together with fans, rather than a bunch of bands showing up and playing a show to try and fake their way through another night of trying to make gas money.
I entered the venue as Candy Hearts were finishing up their set. Unfortunately I didn’t get to see much of the set, but from what I did hear, I enjoyed it. The band has been working closely with Chad Gilbert from New Found Glory, and I think that’s fantastic. Gilbert works with other bands like A Day To Remember, and he really has an ability (as any good producer should) for bringing out the best in a band, highlighting their strengths, and helping them improve on their weaknesses. The set was very solid.
State Champs took the stage next (and I conducted an interview with them after the show). I highly enjoyed their set. It was very raw, but polished at the same time. The songs and the hooks were distorted and catchy, but it wasn’t anything more than a few guitars, a drumset, and a microphone. Well done.
In my personal opinion, I found Florida’s Set It Off to be the best band of the entire night. They came out, fully energized, and performed each song with the same amount of gusto, intensity, and emotion as the previous song. They also performed their setlist as a stage show. Vocalist Cody Carson, instead of making general banter, told a story in between songs that tied the entire set together. Make sure you see these guys if they ever come through your town. They put on one hell-of-a show.
William Beckett’s set was incredibly stripped down. The last time I saw Bill, he was performing with The Academy Is…, the now-disbanded five-piece pop-rock-and-roll band from Illinois. It was great to finally see him playing music again. By stripped down, I mean that he only performed with an acoustic guitar in hand. Beckett had a MacBook at his side that played his backing band music (which he playfully referred to as his “Band In A Box”). His stage banter in-between songs was rather hilarious as well.
Closing out the night was We Are The In Crowd, a band I’ve had the pleasure of seeing live throughout the years, since their inception. Now three releases into their career (one EP and two albums) the band have officially mastered the art of putting on a rock show. The stage was adorned with lights, but Bottom of the Hill is still a very small venue, so the music has to speak for itself. It spoke loudly, with great power and energy. Their music has only gotten better over the years, and the band sound even tighter after a few years of touring and writing. I’m truly looking forward to seeing where each of these artists go over the next few years, as well as seeing them the next time they’re back in this area.
You can check out new music, news, and more from We Are The In Crowd at www.facebook.com/wearetheincrowd
This has been another shameless promotion.