It's hard when your favorite band suddenly releases a hit album and becomes the desire of every adolescent of the MTV persuasion. This is not to say that you aren't happy for the band's success, but you no longer feel like they belong exclusively to you.
This is the case of Alkaline Trio. The Trio's last full-length album, "From Here to Infirmary," was well received and bought them a spot on the more alternative MTV2, but it is their most recent release, "Good Mourning," that has boosted them up to MTV with their video for "We've Had Enough." The album, which debuted at number 20 on the Billboard Music Charts, has also given them a much wider appeal to an expanded audience.
This greater appeal was evident at their recent headlining show at the 9:30 club here in Washington, D.C. Their current tour, which is intended to the support and promote "Good Mourning," has boasted sold out shows at almost every venue they have played in.
The show was opened by "Pitch Black" and "Pretty Girls Make Graves," who played strong sets and were well-received by the audience. Alkaline Trio began their set with an empty stage, funeral music and their signature skull and heart as a black-lit looming backdrop.
The Trio opened with the first three songs on their new album and spent the rest of the set mixing old and new material. They included older songs such as "Goodbye Forever" and "I Lied My Face Off" which were well received by long-time fans. They ended the set with "Radio," clearly the audience favorite.
The band played an energetic set while vocalists Matt Skiba and Dan Andriano interjected comic quips. Skiba also wore devil horns for the majority of the set in tribute to the band's penchant for morbid themes. The Trio's lyrics, which are written by Skiba and Andriano, are much darker than most bands of the punk persuasion, although Andriano's songs on the new album are noticeably happier than Skiba's.
This marks the second time drummer Derek Grant toured with the band and it is clear that his presence has given the band a new, more harmonic feel. "Good Mourning" is the first album that Grant, who replaced previous drummer Mike Felumee, has recorded with Alkaline Trio.
This tour has certainly heralded the success of "Good Mourning" and fans of the new album would do well to check out their previous work.
Often when bands reach the point that Alkaline Trio has reached, they are considered to be sellouts. But after years of hard work, it can be argued that it is only fair for a band to reach this level of popularity and recognition.
Alkaline Trio has been on the verge of mainstream for a while now, but after seeing the response of the audience at their concert, it is safe to say that they have finally broken into the mainstream. And this is not necessarily a bad thing.
Skiba also wore devil horns for the majority of the set in tribute to the band's penchant for morbid themes. The Trio's lyrics, which are written by Skiba and Andriano, are much darker than most bands of the punk persuasion, although Andriano's songs on the new album are noticeably happier than Skiba's.
This marks the second time drummer Derek Grant toured with the band and it is clear that his presence has given the band a new, more harmonic feel. "Good Mourning" is the first album that Grant, who replaced previous drummer Mike Felumee, has recorded with Alkaline Trio.
This tour has certainly heralded the success of "Good Mourning" and fans of the new album would do well to check out their previous work.
Often when bands reach the point that Alkaline Trio has reached, they are considered to be sellouts. But after years of hard work, it can be argued that it is only fair for a band to reach this level of popularity and recognition.
Alkaline Trio has been on the verge of mainstream for a while now, but after seeing the response of the audience at their concert, it is safe to say that they have finally broken into the mainstream. And this is not necessarily a bad thing.
