Ever since I heard UNWRITTEN LAW for the first time on the Punk Sucks compilation, nearly seven years ago, I just had a thing for this band. In their early days as a purely skate influenced punk rock band, who took swipes from BAD RELIGION and PENNYWISE, these guys tossed in a little of their own metal influences as well, which can be well documented on their first full length, “”The Blue Room.”" Well, seven years is a long time and UNWRITTEN LAW don’t sound all that much like what they started off as, and honestly, it is definitely for the better. With stellar craftsmanship, creative, romantic songwriting, and a genuine sense of urgency and emotion, UNWRITTEN LAW play alternative rock with a thunderous sound.

Coming into this show, I had only known of SUGARCULT from their recent radio hit, “”Bouncing Off the Walls,”" which while isn’t a bad tune or anything, but something that no doubt has been done a few thousand times before. In any rate, I approached their set with an open mind. I should have known better. Nothing like bland, RANCID style punk rock, mated to BLINK 182 stage immaturity. My friend and I were counting off the number of live show cliches that these guys were pulling out and honestly, it was sickening. I suppose that having only marginally interesting music is usually a grounds for having an “”entertaining”" live show, but really, saying, “”fuck,”" “”motherfucker,”" and “”shit”" about 50 times apiece in 30 minutes is more than lame. Picking out a female from the crowd and asking to her stage too won’t win many points in my book either. And why the heck was the lead guitarist using like four different guitars?!? SUGARCULT is everything mainstream rock locks for in a band – little sense of value, and catchy hooks that keep the music complacent and vapid. Blech…

Anyhow, I didn’t come to this show for SUGARCULT, so screw ‘em – UNWRITTEN LAW more than made up for the iffy opening act. Blasting away instantly with “”Up all Night,”" one of the catchier tunes from their new album, “”Elva,”" the crowd revealed their enthusiasm, and the driving guitar power took hold. Followed up by probably their best song ever, “”Teenage Suicide,”" UNWRITTEN LAW let loose a bastion of notice that their punk rock roots were still in full effect, as witnessed on the blazing “”Coffin Text”" as well. The difference in UNWRITTEN LAW’s “”Oz Factor”" album and the subsequent “”Self Titled,”" is amazing, and that progression is certainly taken further with “”Elva.”" The recent radio single, “”Seein’ Red,”" was probably the crowd pinnacle of the evening (that song has such a hefty guitar crunch – it’s truly awesome), and although it was noticeably a small show by 9:30 Club standards, there were way more devoted fans than not.

The way UNWRITTEN LAW approached their set was very impressive in that there was no stupid between songs banter, or even “”gimmicky”" stage moves – just five guys rocking out, and keeping everything focused on the music. I spent much of the time watching the drummer who just flat out knocked me off my feet as he hit harder and harder. Vocalist Scott Russo has terrific stage presence, even though his hand motions look like he’s directing traffic though most of every song. Other songs hit up were the ballardlike, “”Calling”" and the trouncing, “”Lonesome,”" as well as a few new ones like “”Babalon,”" and “”Rescue Me,”" which has a wicked dance-hall vibe. Another highlight was when the band covered THE CLASH’s “”Guns of Brixton,”" and as expected, most of the young crowd, had no clue as to what was going on. If someone has an mp3 of that cover, definitely let me know. “”C.P.K”" also showed up in the set, and it served a great pillar to juxtapose the UNWRITTEN LAW old skate-punk sound with their far more modern jams – and after repeated listens, I prefer where they are at now by the light year. The only disappointment of their set was the leaving out of “”World War Three,”" but I didn’t really believe they’d bring in that old tune anyhow, but to my delight, someone else called for that song during a slight break. UNWRITTEN LAW had me excited during the entire hour long set and I walked back to the metro a happy camper – sweet.