Boston’s Paradise Rock Club had a surprisingly small crowd at the start of Wednesday night, a shame for such a great lineup. The Trophy Fire casually took the stage, grounded by Ben Flanagan’s vocals and hooky melodies that are reminiscent of Johnny Rzeznik (in the best possible way). They soon had nods of approval for their brand of indie, progressive adult rock. It's pleasantly catchy, and I really don’t mind that their songs are currently stuck in my head.
Balance and Composure is youthful, but with developed musicianship. Their new album, Separation, has gotten rave reviews since it dropped on the 10th, and should certainly share a fan base with Brand New and Moving Mountains. As soon as they started playing “Burden”, everyone couldn’t help but move. Their set certainly did not disappoint.
Throughout the night I noticed quite a few Coheed and Cambria shirts. It was easy to deduce that they were there to see The Dear Hunter whose energetic instrumentation defined a frenetic set; their devoted fans screaming along to every intricately spun note and lyric.
And finally, Dredg. They're a band that has been around for a while, but has evolved to capture the attention of a wide (and ever increasing) demographic. They must be doing something right, because the room was positively packed by the time their set finally started. Inclusion of a center-staged slide guitar and a warbling trumpet set them apart from the rest of the acts (that and some creepy concept art from their newest album on each side of the stage). In the end, Boston came through with strong support for this four-band tour.
