The Appleseed Cast, Muscle Worship, Ease the Medic, The End of the Ocean

April 17, 2013 • Kobo Live, Columbus, Ohio

Just another Columbus rock show, nothing terribly spectacular. Although The Appleseed Cast is apparently a much more popular band than I was aware of. Not that that's a bad thing, but there's little to be said for an overcrowded, tiny venue like Kobo was. Still an enjoyable show, I suppose.

The End of the Ocean

A local post-rock band, the sort of emotive crescendocore in the vein of Explosions in the Sky with more compelling songwriting, better riffs, and a slightly heavier feel. One of those sets where nobody else in the audience really seemed to care (they were all asleep most of the whole show anyway), but I quite enjoyed them. Lots of energy for this sort of band, and fun to watch even for an instrumental band.
8 • Tiniest Keyboard Award (Although This Moment in Black History's Might Have Been Smaller, It's Hard to Say)

Ease the Medic

Another local band, this time with a more emo-meets-post-hardcore sound, a bit like Brand New with a poppy and emotive edge. While their songwriting and riffs were a bit generic, leaving not a whole lot to say about them, they definitely weren't bad. Outstanding bass work, as well, especially considering it was the bassist's first show with the band.
6 • I Honestly Can't Think of Any Single Award

Muscle Worship

I quite liked this act as well; they have a sound reminiscent of Bear vs. Shark (apparently I can only come up with comparisons to describe this whole show) with more of a garage rock/math rock feel to it. (As I'll never see BvS live, this is probably as good as I'll get.) Special props to the drummer, who was especially talented and had a really neat complex style. At this point, the show started to get too loud to the point where things were sounding muddy (especially the bass)—not sure if that was Kobo's fault or what—so I didn't enjoy them quite as much as I should have. Still a good set, though.
7 • Best Use of Pedal Loops Award

The Appleseed Cast

Apparently it's been a while since I listened to this band, because I definitely don't remember them being so much post-rock and so little midwest-emo. Not that they're bad, but there were definitely some bits that dragged on and on, especially the instrumental pieces (then again, I was really tired by this point). The older tracks (e.g. the encore ones that everyone seemed to know) definitely performed better live. Still, a pretty neat show; their music is obviously still quite nice. Clip (warning: shitty vertical video—I saw the person filming this, too, she obviously had no idea what she was doing)
7 • Most Useless Keyboard That They Only Used on Half of One Song Award