THE FALL OF TROY, PORTUGAL. THE MAN, DAMIERA, TERA MELOS @ Magic Stick, Detroit, MI 2/10/07 Show Review by Corey Schmidt
The last time I saw THE FALL OF TROY, I found myself completely disappointed in their performance and the performance of all of the other bands on the tour. It was on that night that I found out that I despised the direction HE IS LEGEND were taking, how incredibly horrible SHOWBREAD were, and how sloppy one of my favorite recorded bands, THE FALL OF TROY, were. Perhaps it was the fact that the Seattle trio seemed to play two or three complete songs from Doppleganger, the record they were supporting, and using the rest of their set time to noodle with their guitars or add pointless outros to their songs. Needless to say, I was skeptic heading into their recent stop at Detroit's The Magic Stick. Rest assured, THE FALL OF TROY redeemed themselves in my eyes, but not before some of their new friends had a shot to make an impression first.
As much as I'm a fan of finger-tapping, shifting tempos, and instrumental music, I have not been able to get into TERA MELOS' music. I came into their live show with an open mind, and while it wasn't bad, I was left bored for a majority of their set. I was impressed with some of the sounds they managed to procure out of normal-looking guitars, and the trio was obviously very into their tunes. Personal preference, on the other hand, doesn't really "get" it.
The Buffalo-based band DAMIERA took to the stage shortly after TERA MELOS finished tearing down their simple set-up. As I mentioned in a review of their Equal Vision debut, M(Us)ic, DAMIERA is a band that takes some time to grow with. After consistently listening to their album, I found myself eagerly anticipating their live show. As they mentioned, they had never played Detroit before, so it was no surprise that what appeared to be a majority of the population were not too familiar with the band. Despite this, the guys put forth an energetic performance that was dead-on with their album. Guitarist Rock Whittington was like a hyperactive kid in the way that he was always moving and jumping up and down, while vocalist/guitarist Dave Raymond and bassist Mark Henry stayed close to their mics for their respective vocal parts. The band played through six tracks, four of which I am sure came from M(Us)ic. However, the remaining two I was unfamiliar with or had a mind-fart and didn't recognize them. Their set list ended up looking something like this:
The odd-ball fellas in PORTUGAL. THE MAN played next, offering a performance that was interesting to say the least. Frontman John Gourley wasn't what I had expected, as he held a guitar and stayed close to his guitar throughout his project's set. It seemed like the band had a million band members, mostly due to the rotating cast of tourmates that came out to help perform different songs. PORTUGAL set the mood with a dimly-lit stage during the opener "Stables And Chairs" before they went into a song in which there had to have been at least two members each from TERA MELOS, DAMIERA, and THE FALL OF TROY on stage. Thomas Erak, vocalist/guitarist of THE FALL OF TROY, had the longest role as he played guitar and did backing vocals for the entire song. The band probably played six or seven songs in total, with highlights coming in the bouncy "Chicago" and the closer "Marching With 6." The latter has long been one of my favorite tunes from the band, but I'll be honest when I say that it sure did sound different without GATSBY'S AMERICAN DREAM vocalist Nic Newsham finishing the song off as he did on the record.
THE FALL OF TROY came out and started their set in the dark with what seemed to be about two-minutes of non-stop heaviness before the lights came on and they started playing "Mouths Like Sidewinder Missiles." This was the first of three straight tunes from their 2005 album Doppleganger, with "I Just Got This Symphony Goin'" and "F.C.P.R.E.M.I.X." rounding out the bunch. This was a pleasant surprise as it seemed the band had already eclipsed the song mark they hit last time I had saw them. Frontman Thomas Erak was rambunctious as ever, somehow hitting all of his insane guitar parts while leaning on the packed crowd. As the band continued on with tons of energy, so did the fans. This culminated in a kid breaking his leg due to the force the back of the crowd was putting on the people against the stage. Erak handled the situation well, asking the fans to be more kind and look out for each other. They were originally going to close with two final songs, but unfortunately they announced they'd only be playing one more song, "Whacko Jacko Steals The Elephant Man's Bones."
Also worthy of mention earlier in the set was a new song the band had played. It was a longer tune in which Erak threw out his normal crazed-man screaming in favor of a classical high-pitch approach throughout. While it had an occasional burst of energy, it had an overwhelming psychedelic influence, perhaps an indication that Erak's infatuation with progressive guitar Gods will further mature on the band's next recorded release. In all, THE FALL OF TROY were mightily impressive, and with the amount of kids there supporting them, I wouldn't hesitate to say they are quickly becoming a massive force.
1) Mouths Like Sidewinder Missiles
2) "I Just Got This Symphony Goin'"
3) "F.C.P.R.E.M.I.X."
4) "What Sound Does A Mastadon Make?"
5) "Laces Out, Dan!"
6) New song
7) "Act One, Scene One"
8) "Whacko Jacko Steals The Elephant Man's Bones"
- Photo from Colors Of Insomnia Photography. For a complete FALL OF TROY photo set (2/11, Cleveland), check out their MySpace.
The odd-ball fellas in PORTUGAL. THE MAN played next, offering a performance that was interesting to say the least. Frontman John Gourley wasn't what I had expected, as he held a guitar and stayed close to his guitar throughout his project's set. It seemed like the band had a million band members, mostly due to the rotating cast of tourmates that came out to help perform different songs. PORTUGAL set the mood with a dimly-lit stage during the opener "Stables And Chairs" before they went into a song in which there had to have been at least two members each from TERA MELOS, DAMIERA, and THE FALL OF TROY on stage. Thomas Erak, vocalist/guitarist of THE FALL OF TROY, had the longest role as he played guitar and did backing vocals for the entire song. The band probably played six or seven songs in total, with highlights coming in the bouncy "Chicago" and the closer "Marching With 6." The latter has long been one of my favorite tunes from the band, but I'll be honest when I say that it sure did sound different without GATSBY'S AMERICAN DREAM vocalist Nic Newsham finishing the song off as he did on the record. 
