Tagged: grizzly writes

show recap: alkaline trio + bayside (may 3, 2013)


photo credit: weworemasks

I might’ve jumped the gun when I ballooned up The Gaslight Anthem show last week. It just so happens that Alkaline Trio is exactly the same type of band, with the same type of effect between my friends and our respective circles — to an even bigger extent. After all, Alkaline Trio are one of those bands that have been releasing music (now on their 8th studio album, My Shame is True) throughout every phase of punk rock that’s been moderately popular in the 2000s.

Throughout the years, both Matt Skiba and Dan Andriano have broken off and meddled in other bands (Heavens, Dan Andriano solo, etc) but their anchor has always been firmly planted in Chicago’s Alkaline Trio, who brought their new album, Bayside and Off With Their Heads to the House of Blues on Friday night.

-grizzly
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show recap: the gaslight anthem (april 26, 2013)


photo credit: weworemasks

Anytime The Gaslight Anthem tours, it’s an event for us. They’ve maintained the status as one of our favorite bands – putting out some of our favorite records since 2007. A core group of our friends always find a way to set aside an entire night to buddy up, throw our arms around each other’s shoulders, enjoy libations and sing along to some hearty and soulful punk rock songs.

And Thursday night’s stop of the Handwritten Tour at the House of Blues was no different.

Hit the jump for the review.

-grizzly
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show recap: coheed and cambria – the descension tour (march 2, 2013)


photo credit: weworemasks

Coheed and Cambria has kept busy for the last year. After their 2010 album, Year of the Black Rainbow, was met with lukewarm reviews from their fanbase, it seems like that was just the kick they needed to get things groovin’ again. In 2011, the band’s original drummer, Josh Eppard, left his new band (Terrible Things) and confirmed his reunion with Coheed and Cambria again, putting a heap of excitement back into the camp.

Co&Ca would then go on to release two albums in a year’s time, The Afterman: Ascension and The Afterman: Descension. The two parter brought plenty of fans back on board, myself

included. And I was definitely excited to see what these guys had in store for Houston.

Hit the jump for the review.

-grizzly
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show recap: every time i die (february 22, 2013)


photo credit: weworemasks

The last time Every Time I Die played at Warehouse Live, things didn’t go so well. They got into a very publicized brawl with our famed 5 Star Security and probably weren’t too keen on ever playing the venue again. But things change, and it’s now water under the bridge. The band booked a show at the Studio, a place that was soon to be a haven for mayhem, flailing bodies and heavy rock and roll. Buffalo’s own would bring along a slew of heavy bands to open in The Acacia Strain, Vanna, Hundreth and No Bragging Rights – all to ensure that security has their hands full.

Hit the jump for the recap.

-grizzly
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show recap: underøath’s farewell tour (with mewithoutyou, as cities burn and letlive.)


photo credit: anibyte

When news broke out of Underoath’s farewell tour, their fanbase shared mixed reactions. For the nine cities that were lucky enough to get tour dates, sheer joy and excitement. Especially since they were bringing (current and former) labelmates As Cities Burn and mewithoutYou along for the ride, and threw some letlive. in for good measure. Now, for the rest of the contiguous United States, the band was met with “wtfs” and “how dare yous” at the audacity of ignoring their friends out west.

The reasons for this, however, seemed obvious. The band was done. Why else only announce 9 dates, which I’ll refer to as “the bare minimum?” Lucky for Houston, we were one of the nine cities, and Underoath brought a fantastic night of heavy rock music to the House of Blues.

Hit the jump for the recap.

-grizzly

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WEWOREMASKS PRESENTS: GRIZZLY’S 2012 YEAR-END LISTS [YEAR-END LISTS]

Alright, folks. This is the last one, I saved mine for last because FY this is my blog. Thanks to all of youse who read this every day, retweet us, correct our typos, argue with us on the internet, unfollow us, remove us from your RSS feeds and everything in between. We appreciate it all, would be nothing without you, etc.

2012 was swt. Hit the jump for all my favorite shit because I have too much free time at work.

Previous Year-End Lists: Sunbear’s Year-End Lists | Panda’s Year-End Lists | The Best Live Shows of 2012 | The Best of Television in 2012 | The Best of Sports on the Internet in 2012 | The Best Memes of 2012 | The Best Music Videos of 2012 | The Best Mixtapes of 2012

-grizzly

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weworemasks presents: the best live shows of 2012 [year-end lists]

Another self-explanatory post. We see a lot of shows as a team, as bros, etc. So here’s a list ranking our favorites of the year. What were some of your favorite performances?

-grizzly

Previous Year-End Lists: The Best of Television in 2012 | The Best of Sports on the Internet in 2012 | The Best Memes of 2012 | The Best Music Videos of 2012 | The Best Mixtapes of 2012

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show recap: kendrick lamar [warehouse live] (december 29, 2012)


photo credit: sc knows

I wasn’t really going to review this show, but I thought I’d do a quick write-up, if not to start weworemasks off in 2013 on a creative/productive note. Kendrick Lamar initially planned this show back in October, the week of Good Kid, m.A.A.d city‘s release. Since October, GKMC has flipped the music industry upside down, with folks throwing out huge hyperboles comparing it to Nas’ Illmatic and what not. But regardless, it’s a perfect debut for one of hip-hop’s most promising artists in years. The original date was postponed for a special December treat, with Kendrick performing two shows back to back at Warehouse Live and House of Blues, both of which were completely sold out to the brim.

Hit the jump for the (short) recap.

-grizzly
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weworemasks presents: the best of television in 2012 [year-end lists]

This one’s pretty self-explanatory. I watch a butt load of TV and this is a list reflecting my favorite seasons of Television in 2012. I also threw in my biggest disappointments for good measure. Don’t worry – there are no spoilers in this post.

Obviously, this is just my list, because Panda’s off watching the Celtics on NBAtv’s game replays and Sunbear is trotting about Doctor Who Christmas specials and The X Factor.

-grizzly

Previous Year-End Lists: The Best of Sports on the Internet in 2012 | The Best Memes of 2012 | The Best Music Videos of 2012 | The Best Mixtapes of 2012

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weworemasks presents: the best of sports on the internet in 2012 [year-end lists]

I usually do a list every year with the greatest moments in sports. (Check out last year’s.) I wanted to do a different spin on things this year. There were some great stories, and there were some disturbing ones – instead of focusing on things we already know, I wanted to bring to you some videos, memes, gifs and articles of relevance and humor that I found and hoarded over the course of the year.

Think of it as kind of a spinoff of Grizzly’s Top Memes of 2012 List.

-thevhb (edited by grizzly)

Previous Year-End Lists: The Best Memes of 2012 | The Best Music Videos of 2012 | The Best Mixtapes of 2012

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weworemasks presents: the best memes of 2012 [year-end lists]

I’ve been doing these for two years now (this is version 3.0), but I have to say, that the concept of “meme” went viral in a mainstream kinda way in 2012. Not only were Internet’s finest catching on, but there were dedicated Twitter accounts to memes (Successful Black Guy, Condescending Wonka, etc). And yes, that dilutes this arena a bit. But hey, fuck you – this is my internet and you can’t have it. I also have to mention that 2012 was a little thin at outstanding memes, but I managed to create a list of 15 and narrowed it down to a solid 10, all of which you can see below the jump.

Previous Year-End Lists: The Best Music Videos of 2012 | The Best Mixtapes of 2012

-grizzly
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weworemasks presents: the best mixtapes of 2012 [year-end lists]

Another day in late December, and another year-end list. I gotta say, this was a pretty weak year for mixtapes and free EPs (which were also included on this list). And maybe it’s my fault in the fact that I didn’t try hard enough to seek ‘em out, but what I did seek out is here on this list. Hit the jump for the countdown, as well as the download links!

Previous Year-End Lists: The Best Music Videos of 2012

-grizzly
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weworemasks presents: the 25 best music videos of 2012 [year-end lists]

It’s that time of the year again, where we put together a variety of year-end lists. This year, I’m going to kick it off with the visual overload, and my 25 favorite music videos of 2012. The list is in no particular order (other than alphabetical) and as it goes with most lists, I’m sure I left some off. Feel free to embed your favorite video in the comments!

Hit the jump for my choices, and stay tuned for more lists!

-grizzly
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show recap: bloc party [dallas, tx] (december 11, 2012)


photo credit: @vee_ron

Our third and final road trip concert in a month’s time was a special one. None of us three bears had seen Bloc Party prior to this show, so a trip to Dallas to retrieve our forgotten writer Jerome to see ‘em at the House of Blues was a must. The band’s currently on their full US tour routing in support of 2012′s Four, a grungy, but beautiful affair, and the band’s first since 2008′s Intimacy and their hiatus, which took place soon after.

We were pretty excited about this one, especially considering it’s the last big show of 2012. Why not go all out and make a trip to Dallas, only to return back to Houston at 3:30 a.m., right? YOLO, as they say.

[Note: It's been a while since we've seen a show as fans first, and due to a lack of press, none of us took photos. Apologies to the folks who had their photos ripped from Instagram. Hopefully the credit isn't too bad!]

Hit the jump for the review.

-grizzly
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show recap: the faint [austin, tx] (november 28, 2012)

Photobucket
photo credit: weworemasks

The Faint are one of the biggest pioneers of the post-punk explosion of the 2000s, and with good and obvious reason. Records like Blank Wave Arcade and Danse Macabre ushered in new sounds and new waves (heh) of electronic music blended seamlessly with punk rock and indie, bringing together diverse crowds cross country in the process. And all of this from a band that originated in the heart of Saddle Creek, Omaha, Nebraska. After 2008′s Fasciinatiion, the band took to their own respective musical routes, quietly performing with side-act Depressed Buttons and DJ sets alike, leaving The Faint on a bit of a self-imposed hiatus.

Saddle Creek decided it was time for a reissue for one of the aforementioned records, Danse Macabre, which is 11 years old as of August 2012. And what better time for the band to hit a practice studio, refine their live show and take this behemoth of an album out on the road, performing it in its entirety for a full scale US tour (with a stop in our neighboring city of Austin, TX)?

Hit the jump for the review.

-grizzly

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