#melody memory

POV awkward middle schooler listening to panic at the disco and tired from staying up all night on wattpad on a school night in 2013.

Saint Etienne - 4.35 in the morning (kid loco remix)

It's rare that you see a local show happening on Sunday. Even rarer is when it actually includes top talent bands. But thanks to Dagno Music, a new website that was having its official launch party tonight, and the venue 2826 ARNETIC, that's what this Sunday was. The point of Dagno, as said by the creator before one of the bands, is more musicians/bands to make profiles on the site, for free, upload their music, sell it, and retain 100% of the profits. Pretty good idea if you ask me. And the venue (which is an acronym for Absolutely Reluctant iN Everything That Is Conforming) was pretty cool. The stage was a bit different, with it located in the North-East section of the building, and part of the stage being on the Northern wall to the corner, then stretching along part of the Eastern wall. But its unique design made it look very cool. And the only problem came with the sound system, in which ever band experienced some difficulties, and the sets seemed to be plagued by them throughout. But you could at least hear everything relatively well.

The first band, Melody Memory, officially got going at 8:10, but even their sound check was entertaining as they did a little free-style jam. They were a seven piece band with lead vocalist, Alejandro Perez, keyboardist, Valenti Thomas, guitarist, Reggie Webster, flutist/backing singer, Aisha Marshall, a couple percussionists, Ron Davison & Menkiti Rice, one of whom played a full drum kit, the other some bongos and both added their vocal talents to some songs, and finally bassist, Bobby Ramirez. And their music sounded just as interesting as the assortment of instruments is. I guess overall they were a Fusion band, but what was fused was Reggae, Soul, Funk, and Hip-Hop. Neither of those are genres I care much for, but I was totally engrossed by their performance. They even did a "Experi-Mental" song, which they stressed was not experimental, and it sounded pretty rock to me. For the majority of their set I really did like it, but I apparently met my quota for it about 35 to 40 minutes into their 52 minute set, as it seemed to drag on and on after that time. And probably the highlight of the show came from Alejandro, who for the most part seemed like a real laid back singer, mainly just standing there with his hands in his pockets. Then, while the band was jamming out, he made his way to the edge of the stage and acted as if he was about to fall off. Flailing his arms like he was about to fall off. Then he did a back flip off of the stage, and proceeded to be a dance machine, showing of some pretty slick moves, and even doing some break dancing. It was quite entertaining. I wouldn't mind seeing them again sometime and if anyone wants to check them out they'll be doing a free show on the patio outside of the Granada Theatre sometime during the afternoon of Saturday, March 12th.

In Memory of Man, who was easily the best band of the night and had the most people watching them, was next. And it'd been nearly 9 months since the only other time I'd seen them, so I was pretty excited for this. They didn't waste anytime, and ripped right into the rock with "Cause It Can". And it only got more intense with "Headshot" and "The Reckoning". Then did some material that isn't on their EP, "Where Are You Now?", "Don't Tell Daddy", and "Nothing At All". Then, "My Sweet", one that I believe was titled "We're Like Me" (couldn't read it on the set list too well), and saved the best for last, with "Paper Planes". The first half of that last song is pretty slow and calm, then the band just explodes, and when that happened I really felt them come to life. (That's not to say they hadn't been very lively for the rest of the show.) It was a fantastic show no doubt, but there was one issue. And the blame for it falls squarely on the club and their sound system. At their Tree's CD release show, I recall frontman, Alex Lilly's, voice sounding pretty crystal clear. But tonight, it was at times hard to hear what he was singing. Even if they were songs I knew. But his performance, as well as the rest of the band members, more than made up for it. Guitarists, Chad Beck and Johnny McConlogue, as well as bassist, Dave Shafer, have the perfect mix of creating an aura just standing there, playing there part. And then when the songs warrant, shredding, head-banging, and flat out kicking ass. And it was also nice to be able to see keyboardist/backing vocalist, Turner Shlemphausen, because when I saw them at Tree's he was tucked behind some of the gear. And actually, I didn't even know they had a keyboardist until seeing video from that show. And after mentioning everyone else, it would be unfair for me to not mention drummer, Javier Martinez, who truly killed it on drums this night. It seemed like the last several shows these guys did in 2010 were in Fort Worth. I never get over that way to catch concerts, but if iMofM doesn't get back to Big D fairly soon, then I think I will have to make a trip to Cowtown.

Rabbits Got the Gun played next, even though it took me almost their entire show before I understood their singer when he said the bands name. They were good (and in this instant I use that word loosely), but I was unsure as to what they were trying to achieve musically. Most of their set was made up of some Pop/Rock songs, and their singer's voice sounded like he was more suited for being a solo Pop singer then fronting a band like this. Then came a couple songs where they invited some friends of theirs up on stage. Hip-Hop artists they were, and the songs with them were obviously Hip-Hop oriented. Then for the last few songs they turned into a rock band, in which their singer totally changed his voice from how he'd been singing previously. There was just no clear direction of where their music was supposed to heading, and by the end I almost felt like scratching my head over what I'd seen. Or whether, heard.

It was already getting late (they'd fallen WAY behind schedule), and I was getting a little tired. But I had to stay and at least see what Waking Alice was about. And I was glad I did. I'd heard of them sometime around 4 to 5 years ago, back when I was just getting into the local scene and was constantly finding new bands on Myspace. But somehow during all that time, I never made it to a show or anything. And pretty much forgot about them. It was clear from the get-go these guys were out to put on a great show for everyone watching (and the number at this point was a few dozen at most). Most of what they played came from their latest EP, "The Shaping", but they threw in a newer song, which they promised would be released in the near future, as well. They are a Hard Rock band, at least my definition of Hard Rock, but singer/guitarist, Michael Garcia, actually sings most of the songs. But that's not to say there wasn't some screaming that went on. And they even added a bit of comedy to the show. When plugging all their websites, Michael mentioned their videos on Youtube saying, "...If Justin Bieber can get famous from that, why not us?" Then lead guitarist/backing vocalist, Brandon Brewer, added, "And he can't even grow a mustache!", which Michael has. "He's a disgrace." Then in their final song, "Shaping", Michael suddenly called everything to a halt in the middle of the song. And as drummer, Derrick Anderson, bassist, Coady Mars, and Brandon stopped and gave an odd look at him, he gave a pretty heartfelt thank you to everyone. Citing the rainy weather and high gas prices as good reasons for people not to come out, and was very appreciative of those still rocking out. Then they hopped right back into the song. They were awesome, and definitely the most talented band on the bill. Next to iMofM, of course. They'll be playing at The Horseman Club in Fort Worth on March 9th. And then they'll be back here at ARNETIC on April 3rd. So go catch a show, I promise you won't be disappointed!