#motioncity

I recently attended one of Motion City Soundtrack’s So Long, Farewell shows, making this my second time seeing them.  My friend Nicole (who I met at my first MCS show last year) stayed with me for the weekend and we drove up to Indianapolis together for this one.  This show was at the Old National Centre and I liked this venue a lot better than the Limelight Eventplex in Peoria, Illinois.  The only thing that wasn’t as good about it was finding a parking spot.  

This venue was really cool.  The building was huge and looked to have multiple rooms for different events.  The room that Motion City happened to be playing in was actually smaller than I expected (and definitely smaller than the Limelight’s).  The show was sold out so we were packed in there pretty tight.  We arrived early and there was already a line, which kept growing as time went by.  There was seating available but we obviously wanted to stand.  The two of us actually got pretty good spots in the crowd.  

It didn’t take long before the opening band played, which was Have Mercy.  I wasn’t too impressed with them honestly.  I didn’t think the singer was very good, and the bassist looked bored.  Whenever the second guitarist spoke it was usually about beer or professional wrestling.  The only chatter that I appreciated was when the singer expressed his gratitude for having the chance to open for Motion City.  He went into a story about how when he was a young show-goer he went to a Motion City show in Baltimore, and All Time Low was the opening band.  

Have Mercy played a lot of songs and I was getting impatient for MCS to start.  When they finally finished, we noticed that they started setting up the stage for Motion City (you could tell because of Tony’s drum kit and Jesse’s keyboards).  I was expecting another band to come on before them but it turns out that Have Mercy was actually the only opening act that night.  

The time in between sets actually wasn’t too long and Motion City finally took the stage and wowed our minds.  They began their set with Back to the Beat, which I was pleased to hear.  I had seen a setlist from one of these shows about a month ago and saw they were opening with this, and leading right into Cambridge.  They had said on social media that they were planning on altering things a little each night and what we got was an incredible assortment of songs spanning their whole career.  They played stuff from every album.  The only song played from Go was True Romance, and the only song from Panic Stations was Anything At All.  The biggest surprise out of the entire selection was Throwdown.  I couldn’t believe they played that very old song, but I was so happy to hear it.  

The chatter from Justin didn’t quite match what I heard from him at last year’s show, but it was still pretty alright.  He did get really hot up there and took time to wipe his face with a towel on more than one occasion in between songs.  The performances from each of the five band members were stellar.  It was such a treat to see Tony playing with them again.  Last year when I saw them Claudio was obviously with them, and while he did a fantastic job, nobody beats Tony in my personal opinion.  Seeing him play stuff like Time Turned Fragile just made me such a happy person.  

Like last year, I sang along to each and every song and had the time of my life.  They ended the show with The Future Freaks Me Out, which was the perfect way to say goodnight.  The crowd was so energetic and loud throughout the entire thing, and Tony later tweeted that we were probably the loudest crowd of the tour so far.  I am so happy that I went to this show, as it was seriously one of the most fun nights of my life.  I really hope this isn’t the end for Motion City Soundtrack, because seeing them live is an experience that I want to keep having for many years to come.  Hopefully they will just take a few years off and come back better and stronger than ever.  Tony coming back for this tour, and the way they’ve been framing things on social media make feel like this really is goodbye, but I’m still hoping for the best.  

I haven’t been shy about admitting on this blog that Motion City Soundtrack’s fifth LP, Go, was a bit of a letdown for me.  Nevertheless I was still eagerly anticipating its follow-up.  The first few tracks that the band released ahead of time showed a lot of promise, but how would the whole album actually turn out?  I am happy to say that they did a great job on what is (for now) their final record.  

I love the album art, and it is automatically one of their strongest.  The title, Panic Stations, also pleased me, as it felt like more a return to form for MCS.  One big deal going into this album is the fact that it is the first without Tony Thaxton on drums.  While Tony is obviously missed, Claudio Rivera does an excellent job filling in.  You can still kind of tell it’s not Tony behind the kit, but Claudio’s beats feel enough like Tony’s to get you by.  With that out of the way, we’re going to dive into this thing track by track now.

Anything at All kicks off the album in glorious fashion.  I’m not sure if this is sentimentalism speaking due to the fact that I heard this one prior to release during my MCS meet-and-greet, but I really love this opening track and it stands tall among prior Motion City openers.  Justin’s vocals are the highlight here, as he seems to be lashing out against a lost love.  Towards the end he hits a higher note, which pleasantly reminds me of Worker Bee (another one of their opening gems).  The energy is high on this rocker and it does a great job of getting you pumped for what’s to come, which is everything that an opener is supposed to do.

TKO was the first single we heard from this thing and it still stands as one of the album’s best.  I was impressed then and that hasn’t changed.  If Justin’s vocals were the star of the opening track, the moog and drums steal the show for this one.  This song kicks off with an infectious drum beat and the moog soon steps in and is dripping with that lovely sound that can only be Motion City.  Everything gets even better during the “breakdown”, with the drums commanding top honors.  

This next one goes places.  Track 3, I Can Feel You, bounces back and forth between softer verses and a louder chorus as Justin is longing to meet his special someone.  One minute and forty-five seconds in things really slow down and then build up to an explosive climax.  Finally the moog comes in heavy as this thing ends with the whole band jamming loud.  This song has a very progressive feel to it, which reminds me of some of Motion City’s earliest material (check out Promenade/Carolina).  I Can Feel You is definitely a stand out track on this record and really showcases growth in this band’s songwriting craft.  So far we’re three for three.

Next comes Lose Control, the antithesis of the previous track.  The shortest track on the album starts off with what sounds like a drum machine, or else some very electronic sounding beats.  There’s not much to this one; it’s just a straightforward song that’s fun to bop your head to dance along with in awkward fashion.  The lyrics are also pretty uninteresting.  Heavy Boots is next and has a bit more of a faster tempo and element of fun.  The lyrics here help cement the oceanic theme found all throughout the album (which I’ll dive into more later).  I love the guitar solo, as it reminds me very much of 90’s era Weezer (Pinkerton primarily).  The fuzzy guitars are great.  

The next one wastes no time, as it begins with its chorus.  Since I initially heard it I have never been a fan of the melody on It’s a Pleasure to Meet You, and since that’s how it begins I tend to skip it pretty often.  I do really like the first verse, where we’re reminded that MCS still writes about depressing material.  Even so, there’s a fair degree of hope in the lyrics here.  It’s almost as if it’s satire, like Justin is commenting on and making fun his own “Debby-Downer” lyrics.  If I can stick it out until the first verse, I don’t mind this one, but it’s still one of my least favorites on this album.  

Over It Now has always reminded me of Her Words Destroyed My Planet, which I dig.  It’s almost like a retelling of that story, where before he was lamenting a lost lady.  This time around he’s saying he’s done with it all and just feels like telling her to screw off.  It is kind of hard not to criticize the irony here.  He makes it so clear that he has moved on yet he just seems to be rehashing the past.  Maybe that’s taking the lyrics a little too seriously, but it’s hard to ignore the slightly immature words here.  The chorus isn’t great on this one either, but it’s a step up from the previous track.  I really like the metaphors on display in the next song, Broken Arrow, and it holds strong throughout.  These lyrics are more introspective and very relatable.  I love the instrumentation in the breakdown as well as how the guitars wail in the background as the song ends.  

Next comes Gravity, which was an early favorite for me.  I described this to a friend as being “the most Motion City Motion City song” on this whole thing, and I still feel that way.  The darker tone and lyrics about being lonely and helpless remind me a lot of I Am the Movie.  The drums here are also killer.  The Samurai Code starts off with catchy guitar and continues with the hopelessness lyrics.  The difference here is that Justin is looking at the future and wanting something different and more out of life (which in light of recent news changes the meaning a bit).  His voice sounds great on this track.  

Panic Stations ends with Days Will Run Away, and unfortunately this is one of my least favorite MCS songs and I don’t know why.  The songwriting here gets progressive again, much like on I Can Feel You, but the song is mostly dull to me.  It’s the slowest and longest song on the record, and while I have loved what the band have done with their slower tunes in the past, this one is just drawn out and boring.  The whole band comes in about halfway through but that doesn’t really help it for me.  Things then get eerie and you think it’s ending (as many of their albums end with weird, static noise), but then things kick back in one last time before the end actually comes.  They did nail the sound and feel they were going for here, as it fits nicely with the rest of the theme of the record.  Maybe it’s because I can tell it’s a song about saying goodbye and now that they are calling it quits (hopefully temporarily), it just hurts that much more.  Again, fitting but unsatisfying.  

Hello All,

Last year on this blog I dedicated the whole month of May to my favorite band, Motion City Soundtrack.  I had planned on doing the same this year but personal priorities and academia have prevented me from matching last year’s output.  Two massive MCS-centric things have happened since last year’s Motion City May.  Firstly, they released their sixth LP, Panic Stations.  I was too busy to do a formal write up of Panic Stations when it came out, and I decided I would save my thoughts on that for this year’s MCM.

The second (and far sadder) piece of news that we’ve had from the band is that they are currently on their So Long, Farewell Tour.  In a surprise to everyone, they are saying that they don’t know what the future holds for them, but after this tour they are done (for now).  This saddened me deeply (I still remember where I was when I heard this news), but I am very thankful that my Motion City Soulmate, Nicole, is going with me next month to one of these final (hopefully not) shows.  But the best part?  Tony Thaxton has returned to play drums on the tour!  

After that concert happens I’m sure I will write plenty of words about the experience, much like I did after the show I attended last year.  As that won’t be happening until next month, that blog will not be part of MCM.  So what will be a part of it?  I’m focusing on my Panic Stations impressions.  I’ve had about six months to digest it and will do my best to nicely convey all of those feelings here.  Considering the amount of posts I made for MCM last year, it may seem strange that I’m only going to have two this time around.  Besides this (re) introductory post, I will be dedicating this MCM to Panic Stations.  As their last possible LP, it deserves it.  

I’ve already pontificated enough about how much I love the band so I don’t think I need to write a farewell letter to them at this moment.  When this tour is over I may feel compelled to but for now this is my decision.  I do plan on continuing MCM however.  This time next year I may just be missing Motion City so much that I’ll need an outlet to gush about them.  I’ve actually got blog ideas planned that were supposed to hit this month, but I may just save them for next year.  Who knows, I could write some of them up before then.