The Bands of Orlando....

Well, some bands anyway...

So my good buddy Byro has been ranting and raving and railing and just generally pushing for me to come to one of his shows. He promotes bands through his own company, Glass Kiss Promotions/Productions. It's an interesting gig and watching him work can really teach you something about building myspace pages, t-shirts or relationships in general. When someone talks to me about Byro, the word they most often use to describe him is: interesting.

So Saturday, I got a few friends together, protection really, and headed out to the Haven. It's an interesting scene, and definitely not one I'm familiar with. I go to sporting events and conventions-I'm used to drunken middle aged men and dressed up nerds, punk rock kids fall somewhere in the smoky darkness between those two extremes.

The bands that played were all pretty interesting, but nothing particularly special. Which is what I think the music industry is really looking for, it's what any industry is looking for, the next big thing. To put it another way, I'll probably remember my first time at the Haven twenty years from now, but ask me what the bands sounded like, and I'm willing to bet I'll say: "Well, they screamed...and there were guitars. Yeah, guitars."

We saw, After Play Rewind, Cities Underground, The Vanity Plan and Yellow Day Union. They all put on pretty good shows, and I could say negative and positive things about them, but instead I'll use the word "potential." All of these bands have the potential to grow, move onto bigger and better things, but in that same light, they are all just as likely to fizzle out and die. My hopes go out to them as they try to push their music forward. Remember, at that level, most musicians are paying their own way. They pay for housing, gas, their instruments...these shows cost them more often than pay them-these are normally kids with no money, losing money. So, best wishes, I know where they're coming from.

Only one band really sparked my interest, and it wasn't because of the quality of music they put out. Yellow Day Union is a local group that really throws down when they get on stage. The singer is everywhere, the bassist is screaming, and the guitarist literally ended up jumping off the stage. He was rockin' out a riff by the bar at one point.

It was a different kind of concert. Mind you, the Haven is a small joint, maybe room for 200 people, crammed shoulder to shoulder, and we might have almost pushed a hundred there Saturday. Probably more, I was in the front, watching the "moshers." I had a table to go along with my front row seat. For the first three bands, I was able to sit there in relative peace, just listening and enjoying. For Yellow Day Union, I spent a good chunk of their set defending my table and my person. There were only about 10 or so moshers, but they moshed with extreme efficiency. There were at least four falls, and a few near-death experiences involving a mosher foot to a mosher face.

But like I said, Y.D.U. brought passion to their show. I think they have a ways to go with their music and separating themselves from the rest of the up-and-coming pack, but as it stands now, they're a passionate bunch, and if you get a chance to see them, you should. At the very least, it's interesting.

Most of the bands I mentioned have a myspace.com page, excepting Cities Underground, theirs is under construction. Also, if you get a chance, check out Glass Kiss and some other bands they're promoting. The local scene is alive and well, and new comers are always appreciated.