Last Night: Authority Zero and The Architects at El Corazon
Authority Zero lead singer Jason DeVore sings during the band’s set on Friday night. Shooting photos from the front of the mosh pit — hard, but completely worthwhile.
Last night was actually my first trip to El Corazón. And, though I thought I’d been to small venues before, this one truly is. I actually kind of felt like I was seeing a show back in my Eastern Washington hometown of Wenatchee at local punk favorite The Beacon Hill Grange. And, despite my low expectations and a thin crowd, I had as just as much fun here as I’ve had there.
I managed to catch about half of opener The Ringers’ set, and the one thing I have to say is that frontman Joe Hursley spent a ridiculous amount of his time off the stage, usually wandering among the crowd or sitting on the edge. When he was on stage, he was rarely on his feet. The guy is one hell of an entertainer.
A quick side note: hardcore dancing is completely hilarious. I still have no idea what it actually consists of, but I know it when I see it. And I laugh. If you’re having a bad day, everything will seem a million times better after watching punk kids flail their limbs for a scant five minutes — I promise.
Hardcore dancing: it’s pure comedy!
But, back to the show… when The Architects came on, I couldn’t help thinking that they were so much better live than their latest album Vice would suggest. The album is pretty good, but the performance wildly exceeded my expectations. The band had an awesome rock and roll stage presence — something I haven’t seen on a stage that size in a long time — and a crazy contagious energy. They powered through their set, and before I knew it they were packing up amps.
Frontman Brandon Phillips of The Architects sings, dances, and drips sweat.
As Authority Zero was about to take the stage, fans came out of the woodwork — or, in this case, I’m pretty sure it was the bar. The guys were pretty low-key at first, sporting Jägermeister tees and testing the sound system with mini-licks. But then the shirts came off and the drums and guitar picked up, mixing and mashing into a fast-paced punk rawk frenzy. It was such a blast — I even got to have an eye-to-eye moment with Devore. A punk show might not be everyone’s first pick for a Friday night, but it was a damn good time.
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