Early December means it is time for the annual How the Edge Stole Christmas concert put on by KDGE-FM “The Edge” 102.1. This year the lineup of bands was from a wide range of genres. The bands that played were Electric Touch, the Naked and Famous, the Joy Formidable, AWOLNATION, Taking Back Sunday, A Day To Remember, and Rise Against.
As the lights dimmed the crowd’s cheering reached a fever pitch. Taking Back Sunday was the first up to bat, and they hit a home run of a show. Opening with an angst-ridden rendition of “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” in classic Taking Back Sunday style, they then leaped straight into their set, playing songs from all four of their albums with an almost frightening ferocity. Apart from some small sound issues that were fixed by the end of the first song, they sounded amazing. Singer Adam Lazzara pranced around the stage like there was no tomorrow, spinning and throwing his microphone like a maniac, yet his voice still managed to sound very similar to his recorded voice on the albums.
Next up was A Day To Remember. Kicking off their set with “My Life For Hire”, the band had the crowd screaming from the start. A Day To Remember is a refreshing mix of pop-punk, rock, and hardcore, and the fans responded well to their accessible style. During their notoriously heavy breakdowns, the members of the band lined up next to each other and showed off their considerable synchronized headbanging prowess. While this was quite amusing and earned a roar of appreciation form the audience, it was also impressive. These five guys managed to play an impressive breakdown perfectly while swinging their heads around in a painful looking fashion. Needless to say, the rockers from Florida whipped the crowd into a frenzy and played a great set.
Rise Against closed the concert, and better on a CD or iPod, their songs seemed to run together in a live setting. It was hard to tell where each song ended and the next began. Their music is good, and though it seemed a little like one long song the whole time, it was one long great song!
One complaint about the night: the sets of each band were too short. Also, a glass of water was five dollars. But really, those are insignificant grievances in the face of the great entertainment experience that was How The Edge Stole Christmas.
