Show Review: Pittsburgh, PA – 10/28/09: Haste the Day, Amarna Reign, Ahimsa Sunrise, Highland Pines

Let me start out this review by saying Pittsburgh…I am very disappointed in you. l know for a fact that there are more fans of the metalcore genre than were present last night at the concert I saw at Mr. Small’s Theatre. The August Burns Red/Blessthefall/All Shall Perish show I went to back in August was packed. Not only was it sold out, there were about 100 people outside who didn’t have tickets.

At one point last night I did a crowd count and there were a total of approximately 105 people in attendance. 112 if you count the people working the door and bar.

Despite the poor turnout (my apologies to the bands for that, by the way) all of them left a lot of sweat on the stage and still went out there and put on a great show.

Let’s start at the beginning:

Highland Pines
Highland Pines is a local band that my friend Matt is in. Saying he was stoked to find out that I was A) attending the concert and B) reviewing it would be an extreme understatement. They kicked the show off and all their fans were all huddled by the stage to get as close to the action as they could. They put on a high energy set for those that were in attendance; Matt even did his best to make sure those inside Mr. Small’s were getting drunk. A noble thought. They are definitely a band that has some potential to be players in the scene. A cool bonus of seeing these guys in concert is that they have a stack of their demos that anyone can take…so make sure to go check them out if you are in the area! For more information on Highland Pines, go to www.myspace.com/highlandpines

Check out their promo video for a big upcoming show on November 7th (a CD release party with the band Identity X) right here:

Highland Pines – Promo Video

Ahimsa Sunrise
The next band up was Ahimsa Sunrise, and they wasted no time in trying to keep the crowd in the mood. To no fault of their own, the crowd wasn’t having it. The vocals almost reminded me of A Skylit Drive, in the sense that they could go from a growl to a high pitched singing at the drop of a hat. Musically they were right in the style of the other bands there, a good fit to the bill. Although I had not heard of the band before this show, I do plan on checking out their release. They are also from DuBois, a town here in Pennsylvania, so you always have to show the hometown boys some love! Hopefully their upcoming shows get them some more exposure. I saw that they are playing one on the other side of the state on December 1st with UnderOath, August Burns Red, and Emery. I seriously might drive out there for it. That lineup is sick. For more information on Ahimsa Sunrise, visit www.myspace.com/ahimsasunrise

Ahimsa Sunrise – Closing Stages of a Wounded World

Amarna Reign
Up next, and using the coolest lighting tricks of the night, was Amarna Reign. I have to assume that Haste the Day knew these guys beforehand, as both bands are from Indianapolis, Indiana. That may have helped them get on the tour, but they definitely deserved to be there. They were the first band that truly had the crowd doing more than just standing in one spot. The guys from Highland Pines got in on the action here as well, running around and causing general havoc. I had already heard of these guys before the show, once I found out they were an opening band. If they continue to get on big name bills, they will definitely get pretty well known among fans of this genre. Bonus points to Amarna Reign for having some pretty sweet shirts, including one which got a laugh out of me that had ‘MAKE IT REIGN’ written in huge letters on the front. For more information on Amarna Reign, visit www.myspace.com/amarnareign

Amarna Reign – Autopilot Suicide

Haste the Day
Haste the Day (HTD) is a band that I have been looking forward to seeing in concert for a long time. Unlike Evergreen Terrace, who I dropped the ball by not seeing live, I got my tickets to see HTD long before the date of the show. Their album Pressure the Hinges is pretty much in constant rotation on my iPod. They hit some of the bigger songs they have, including ‘Mad Man’, ’68′, ‘The Minor Prophets’, and two of my personal favorites, ‘When Everything Falls’ and ‘Pressure the Hinges.’ They did their best to work with that they were given, I feel that if they were playing to a packed house they would have played a set that was a bit longer. It’s on that note, however, that we decided that if they come somewhere close we are going to go see them again and get the full experience. For a pretty lame crowd overall, they still put on a hell of show and kept it very high energy – enough to get me to pay a repeat visit to one of their concerts. Can I also say that their new lead singer reminds me a lot of Tim McIlrath from Rise Against, but with longer hair? The guys are also super cool, they were out in the audience after show, signing stuff and talking to the fans. They are touring pretty extensively at the moment, so make sure to go catch them when they come to your city! For more information on Haste the Day, visit www.myspace.com/hastetheday

Haste the Day – Pressure the Hinges

All photos, music, and videos copyright of their respective owners. Used only for promotional purposes and to gain notoriety for the artists featured.

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