Hit the Lights

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The MANATOUR:

Hit The Lights, There for Tomorrow,
Oh No Not Stereo!, Sparks the Rescue and Vinnie Caruana

November 8, 2009
Culture Room, Ft. Lauderdale, FL

Review by: Steve Vaynshtok
Photos by: Danielle Katz

iRival was the band I was excited to see at this show, but iRival dropped off the list weeks before the show got to Fort Lauderdale. I remember taking the news in and realizing I was going to the most pop-punky show in this world, not liking a single band there. Although it’s always nice to have a second opinion, I surely wouldn’t let my bias ruin my review. I enjoy Hit The Lights and There For Tomorrow on occasion and thought, “Hey this could be awesome.”

iRival’s cop out left Oh No, Not Stereo! taking their place, and living up to every expectation I had. They brought the same tired riffs and whining vocals that every other band at Warped Tour had put up for their set. The liveliness of the band as well as the constant interaction with the crowd was a very fresh change from the usual. They went as far as to run around the crowd and play, as well as to have a Theremin built into their keyboard for the lead singer to wow the crowd with his seemingly “Jedi” abilities. As they left the stage, I had found myself saying, “OH NO! NOT STEREO!”

Jussi Karvinen of Oh No, Not Stereo!

Sparks the Rescue hopped on stage with an audacious swagger about them, but didn’t have the talent to support the swagger. I’m not one to ever badmouth music, being a musician myself, but they really turned into a modern day Blink 182, as my buddy David put it: all presence, no sound. I won’t even go into how obnoxious their switches were to the ears.

When I saw that there was a solo artist on the bill, my curiosity was certainly piqued. Vinnie Caruana — formerly of The Movie Life and currently the lead singer of I Am Avalanche — brought with him a calming acoustic sensation to the venue. His very rough voice was a perfect supplement to his sweet chords: As worn out as they were, it was acceptable because he was arrhythmic in his music, and not as clichéd as the bands before him. He sang such songs as, “New York Gentleman,” and brought the crowd down from their uneasy mood.

There For Tomorrow, a local Orlando band that hit it big by being on this year’s Warped Tour, brought out the screaming girls in the crowd as they walked on stage.

Toby McAllister of Sparks the Rescue

Finally, after all the cookiecutter bands had left the stage, my morale was instantly boosted. There For Tomorrow, a local Orlando band that hit it big by being on this year’s Warped Tour, brought out the screaming girls in the crowd as they walked on stage. Their drummer, Chris Kamrada, was about as Abercrombie model as you could get. He was a solid beat maker, although 50 percent of the band’s live songs were fills, drum wise. The band launched into their set of a fresh-sounding-almost alternative rock vibe, revisiting old classics such as “Pages.” They got the crowd going with “Sore Winner” and then finished the set off with a solid “A Little Faster.”

As they stepped off stage, I was only excited for the headlining band, having missed them at Warped Tour and only ever heard of one song from them. I was stoked. I really liked their one single “Stay Out” – that is until Hit The Lights showed up on stage performing it. Now I’m not one to ever walk out on a show, but I couldn’t bear the lead singer’s voice and the band’s constant slowing down and speeding up to keep up with his lack of tempo. I gave the song about thirty seconds, and my friend pulled me out by my hair. To be completely honest, I couldn’t stand him either – I was almost itching to leave!

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