Valencia: The Awesome Show's Final Goodbye (for Now)

If you've been a fan of Valencia for any amount of time, you probably know that Wednesday, December 28, 2011, was the band's last show for the foreseeable future. Playing in front of 2,300+ fans, family members, and fellow bands Valencia toured with, the Electric Factory in Philadelphia (where the band hails from) lived up to its name. On a cold, windy night, the venue was warm with a bittersweet ending to a phenomenal career. Now, I'm sure by now you're wondering: in a year when scene stalwarts Thrice, Thursday, and Alexisonfire break up, why does Valencia get their own post? That question has more than one answer, come to think of it. One, the write-ups for those other three bands may very well be coming soon

And two, because other than Jimmy Eat World, Valencia is probably the most important band to The Mike and Tom Awesome Show.

Let's take a look back, shall we? The Mike and Tom Awesome show began in October of 2008, a few months after Valencia's incredible sophomore full-length We All Need a Reason to Believe came out. Shortly after, a streak of pure luck and coincidence brought the band into the WTSR DJ booth to play an acoustic set, where they became the first "HOLY #@%$!" moment the show has ever had (there have been a few more after that, I can assure you). Reason to Believe ended up the #2 album of the year on the Top Albums 2008 countdown, trailing only The Gaslight Anthem's The '59 Sound. The album had major staying power on the show, getting near-regular airplay in the years after its release, and a few "Which song is the best on the album?" debates to boot.

Then, when I (Donald) was made an official panelist on the show, Valencia brought us all together in an even bigger way. With their third full-length Dancing with a Ghost due out in less than two weeks, Mike, Tom, and myself made the trek up to the School of Rock East in South Hackensack, NJ (RIP) to see Valencia's first headlining tour behind the album. The show was especially important for us, as this was the first show the three of us attended together. As proof of our devotion (and borderline obsession) to the band, the three of us all bought a copy of the album at the show (again, before the release date), and eagerly popped it into the CD player to listen to on our way home. The car ride was quiet, which, for us, is a pretty big deal. Somehow, three radio DJs were left speechless, and our silence was only broken by the occasional "This song/album is awesome," "This is so good," or my personal favorite "Oh my God, they did it again," as we were all floored by the maturation Valencia had showed on Dancing. We played the title track on the show the next day, and Dancing With a Ghost ended at #3 on the Top Albums 2010 countdown, with Valencia becoming the first band in the show's history to have two albums show up in the Top 10, Top 5, or even Top 3 of our year-end countdowns.

If that was too long, here's the jist: Valencia was a great band, the kind of band you don't come across too often. Their deeply personal lyrics and constantly-evolving musicianship were a rarity during a time when pop-punk was lacking both (see: Low, All Time), and the band never disappointed. So, to put it in the simplest terms I can, Valencia's Farewell show in Philadelphia was surreal. Seeing so many people recite lyrics they may or may not have had tattooed on them so passionately was one of the craziest feelings Tom, Mike, or I will ever have, and the only bad part about Valencia's set was that it had to end.

So in conclusion, to the friends, fans, family members, crew members, merch guys, and anyone else involved in Valencia, and of course, Shane, George, JD, Brendan, Trevor (who filled in for guitar at the show), Dan, and Max (Rest in Peace), from the bottom of The Mike and Tom Awesome Show's collective heart:

Thank you, and Goodbye (For Now).
The Mike and Tom Awesome Show
Mike Leatherwood, Tom Taylor, Donald Wagenblast

-Donald.

Radio Show Playlist for 9/24/11

Hour 1
"1983" - Neon Trees - Habits
"This is the Last Time" - Keane - Hopes and Fears
"The Way" - Valencia - Dancing with a Ghost
"All Downhill from Here" - New Found Glory - Catalyst
"Some Might Say" - Oasis - (What's the Story) Morning Glory
"Definite Darkness" - Cymbals Eat Guitars - Lenses Alien
"Bambi" - Tokyo Police Club - Champ
"Boomboxes and Dictionaries" - The Gaslight Anthem - Sink or Swim
"Last Night" - Carolina Liar - Coming to Terms
"Follow the Leader" - Sloan - The Double Cross
"I Would Do Anything for You" - Foster the People - Torches
"Even If It Kills Me" - Motion City Soundtrack - Even If It Kills Me

Radio Show Playlist for 9/17/11

Hour 1
"Fight, Fight (Reach for the Sky)" - Go Radio - Lucky Street
"Born to Lead" - Hoobastank - Every Man for Himself
"Work for the Working Man" - Bon Jovi - The Circle
"Reptilia" - The Strokes - Room on Fire
"Living Together" - Circa Survive - On Letting Go
"Wake Up Call" - Authority Zero - 12:34
"Sillyworld" - Stone Sour - Come What(ever) May
"Long Time" - Cake - Showroom of Compassion
"To All the Crowded Rooms" - Senses Fail - Still Searching (REQUESTED)
"Run this City" - Jet Lag Gemini - Fire the Cannons
"Lay Me Down" - Crossfade - We All Bleed
"Light Me Up" - The Pretty Reckless - Light Me Up

Radio Show Playlist for 9/10/11

Hour 1
"It's Only Natural" - The Higher - It's Only Natural
"Howlin' for You" - The Black Keys - Brothers
"Drive" - R.E.M. - Automatic for the People
"Teeth" - Fireworks - Gospel
"Hurricane" - Something Corporate - Leaving Through the Window
"The Royal We" - Silversun Pickups - Swoon
"Smashed Into Pieces" - Silverstein - When Broken is Easily Fixed (REQUESTED)
"Requiem" - Boysetsfire - The Misery Index: Notes from the Plague Years (REQUESTED)
"Seventy Times Seven" - Brand New - Your Favorite Weapon (REQUESTED)
"Magnets Caught in a Metal Heart" - Thursday - No Devolucion (REQUESTED)
"Lollipop" - Framing Hanley - The Moment (REQUESTED)
"Smooth Criminal" - Alien Ant Farm - ANThology (REQUESTED)

Radio Show Playlist for 9/3/11

Hour 1
"Will Do" - TV on the Radio - Nine Types of Light
"Black Treacle" - Arctic Monkeys - Suck It and See
"Screaming Bloody Murder" - Sum 41 - Screaming Bloody Murder
"Four Letter Word" - Beady Eye - Different Gear, Still Speeding
"Home" - Thirteen Senses - Crystal Sounds
"Blow It Up" - The Vaccines - What Did You Expect from the Vaccines?
"Lotus Flower" - Radiohead - The King of Limbs
"Jump into the Fog" - The Wombats - This Modern Glitch
"Pararelevant" - The Get Up Kids - There Are Rules
"Climbing a Chair to Bed" - Dropkick Murphys - Going Out in Style
"Goodbye" - Eddie Vedder - Ukulele Songs
"Saints and Sinners" - Flogging Molly - Speed of Darkness

Radio Show Playlist for 8/20/11

Hour 1
"I'm Not Over" - Carolina Liar - Coming to Terms
"Burn the Witch" - Queens of the Stone Age - Lullabies to Paralyze
"Numb" - The Airborne Toxic Event - All at Once
"Never Take Friendship Personal" - Anberlin - Never Take Friendship Personal (REQUESTED)
"Louder Than Ever" - Cold War Kids - Mine is Yours
"Gravemakers and Gunslingers" - Coheed and Cambria - Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume Two: No World for Tomorrow
"Unspoken" - Lacuna Coil - Comalies
"Satellite" - The Kills - Blood Pressures
"High Pressure Low" - Against Me! - White Crosses
"Wicked World" - Cold - Superfiction
"The Foreboding Sense of Impending Happiness" - HIM - Screamworks: Love in Theory and Practice
"Deep Enough" - Live - V

Radio Show Playlist for 8/13/11

Hour 1
"Reckless Abandonment" - The Spill Canvas - No Really, I'm Fine
"So Long, Astoria" - The Ataris - So Long, Astoria
"Running Out of Time" - Hot Hot Heat - Elevator
"Any Other Heart" - Go Radio - Lucky Street
"Come Out and Play (Keep 'em Seperated)" - The Offspring - Smash
"Solo Impala" - The Fashion - The Fashion
"Punk Rock Princess" - Something Corporate - Leaving Through the Window
"Rise from the Ashes" - Quietdrive - When All That's Left is You
"Do What You Want" - OK Go - Oh No
"Bang the Doldrums" - Fall Out Boy - Infinity on High
"Diamond in the Rough" - Social Distortion - Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes
"Loser" - Beck - Mellow Gold

Radio Show Playlist for 8/6/11

Hour 1
"Becoming the Bull" - Atreyu - Lead Sails, Paper Anchors
"Sillyworld" - Stone Sour - Come What(ever) May
"Sick, Sick, Sick" - Bayside - Killing Time
"Rider" - Okkervil River - I Am Very Far
"When It Dies" - The Get Up Kids - There Are Rules
"Buy Nothing Day" - The Go! Team - Rolling Blackouts
"The Fantasy" - 30 Seconds to Mars - A Beautiful Lie
"The Hardest Mile" - Dropkick Murphys - Going Out in Style
"Another Love Song" - Queens of the Stone Age - Songs for the Deaf
"White Rabbit" - Egypt Central - White Rabbit
"Splinter" - Sevendust - Cold Day Memory
"Woman" - Wolfmother - Wolfmother

Radio Show Playlist for 7/30/11

Hour 1
"Flavor of the Weak" - American Hi-Fi - American Hi-Fi
"Hash Pipe" - Weezer - The Green Album
"I Did It" - Dave Matthews Band - Everyday
"The Rock Show" - Blink-182 - Take Off Your Pants and Jacket
"Million Miles Away" - The Offspring - Conspiracy of One
"Understanding (in a Car Crash)" - Thursday - Full Collapse
"New Born" - Muse - Origin of Symmetry
"Crawling" - Linkin Park - Hybrid Theory
"Duck and Run" - 3 Doors Down - The Better Life
"Alive" - P.O.D. - Satellite
"Fat Lip" - Sum 41 - All Killer, No Filler
"Screaming Infidelities" - Dashboard Confessional - The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most

Radio Show Playlist for 7/23/11

Hour 1
"Under Fire" - Halifax - The Inevitability of a Strange World
"I Don't Need a Soul" - Relient K - Forget and Not Slow Down
"Eyes Wide Open" - Rival Schools - Pedals
"Hands Open" - Snow Patrol - Eyes Open
"Sleep" - The Dodos - No Color
"Step Out of the Car" - The Boxer Rebellion - The Cold Still
"All That's Left" - Thrice - The Artist and the Ambulance
"Journal for Plague Lovers" - Manic Street Preachers - Journal for Plague Lovers
"Stay With Me" - You Me at Six - Hold Me Down
"Beat the Devil's Tattoo" - Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Beat the Devil's Tattoo
"Get Thru This" - Art of Dying - Vices and Virtues
"The Same Space" - Klaxons - Surfing the Void

Album Review: Gorillaz - The Fall (2011)

 

Yup.  I'm pretty sure a lot of people just realized that last year, the Gorillaz came out with their 3rd album Plastic Beach and you must be surprised that there is NEW MUSIC still coming out from the band that's been touring since Plastic Beach came out.  Well, guess what?  There is.  Although technically this album came out on Christmas 2010, it wasn't available as a physical copy or released to the general public until April.  So what should you expect?

Radio Show Playlsit for 7/16/11

Hour 1
"Metalingus" - Alter Bridge - One Day Remains
"Development" - Nonpoint - Development
"Just Because" - Jane's Addiction - Strays
"Before I Forget" - Slipknot - Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verse)
"Almost There" - Trust Company - Dreaming in Black and White
"Got Jealous" - Hurt - Goodbye to the Machine
"Remedy" - Seether - Karma and Effect
"A Portrait of the Artist" - Aiden - Disguises
"Just Got Wicked" - Cold - 13 Ways to Bleed on Stage
"Austere" - The Joy Formidable - The Big Roar
"Heaven's a Lie" - Lacuna Coil - Comalies
"Another Way to Die" - Disturbed - Asylum

Radio Show Playlist for 7/9/11

Hour 1
"Uprising" - Muse - The Resistance
"Misery" - Good Charlotte - Good Morning Revival
"Success" - Interpol - Interpol
"You Don't Understand Me" - The Raconteurs - Consolers of the Lonely
"Oh My Heart" - R.E.M. - Collapse into Now
"One Step at a Time" - Four Year Strong - Enemy of the World
"Shiver" - Coldplay - Parachutes
"After Hours" - We Are Scientists - Brain Thrust Mastery
"Unconditional" - The Bravery - The Bravery
"Where Were You" - Every Avenue - Shhh, Just Go With It
"Given the Chance" - The Starting Line - Say It Like You Mean It
"Thank You" - Drive-By - A Delicate Situation

Radio Show Playlist for 7/2/11

Hour 1
"Bounce" - The Cab - Whisper War
"Rock My Body" - The Higher - On Fire
"Rainy Monday" - Shiny Toy Guns - We Are Pilots
"Give Up the Ghost" - Radiohead - The King of Limbs
"Rock Rebellion" - Bang Camaro - Bang Camaro
"White Sky" - Vampire Weekend - Contra
"Sam's Town" - The Killers - Sam's Town
"Shake Me Down" - Cage the Elephant - Thank You, Happy Birthday
"Everlasting Light" - The Black Keys - Brothers
"Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors" - Editors - An End Has a Start
"Ode to Solitude" - HIM - Screamworks: Love in Theory and Practice
"No World for Tomorrow" - Coheed and Cambria - Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume Two: No World for Tomorrow

Radio Show Playlist for 6/25/11

Hour 1
"Joker and the Thief" - Wolfmother - Wolfmother
"The Fixer" - Pearl Jam - Backspacer
"Shackler's Revenge" - Guns N Roses - Chinese Democracy
"Wasteland" - Trapt - Only Through the Pain
"Our Perfect Disease" - The Wombats - This Modern Glitch
"Blue Monday" - Orgy - Candyass
"Sick of You" - Cake - Showroom of Compassion
"The '59 Sound" - The Gaslight Anthem - The '59 Sound
"Ball and Chain" - Social Distortion - Social Distortion
"You" - TV on the Radio - Nine Types of Light
"Ava Adore" - Smashing Pumpkins - Adore
"Only Happy When It Rains" - Garbage - Garbage

Radio Show Playlist for 6/18/11

Hour 1
"The Sharpest Lives" - My Chemical Romance - The Black Parade
"Again" - Flyleaf - Memento Mori
"Lie to Me (Denial)" - Red - Until We Have Faces
"Your Surrender" - Neon Trees - Habits
"But It's Better If You Do" - Panic! at the Disco - A Fever You Can't Sweat Out
"Nevermind" - Unwritten Law - Swan
"Deadbolt" - Thrice - The Illusion of Safety
"Four" - Lit - A Place in the Sun
"The Red" - Chevelle - Wonder What's Next
"If You Wanna" - The Vaccines - What Did You Expect from the Vaccines?
"Spanish Moss" - Against Me - White Crosses
"Lost Art of Keeping a Secret" - Queens of the Stone Age - Rated R

Album Review: Sparks the Rescue- Worst Thing I've Been Cursed With (2011)

If there were a Mount Rushmore of the men and women who have been most influential or successful in American film, Clint Eastwood would undoubtably have his mug etched in the stone. From signature lines in his cowboy movies to branching out on roles he made into his own, to becoming a wonderful producer, director, and writer, Eastwood has been around longer than most of our parents have been alive. Sadly, however, this review for Sparks the Rescue's second full-length album Worst Thing I've Been Cursed With, won't compare the band's versatility and inventiveness to Eastwood's sterling film reprtoire. Instead, Worst Thing can be closely examined using Eastwood's (possibly) defining film, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

Album Review: Balance and Composure- Separation (2011)

Before I get into the specific, intricate ways in which Separation, the debut full-length album from Doylestown, PA's Balance and Composure is a soaring, magnificent modern-rock melting pot of sound, there may be an easier way for me to do it: go to the bottom of this review, and look at the "Recommended if you rock" section. The reason I had you do this is twofold: one, to draw your attention to the section itself, which will hopefully make you go buy the album, like, right now (don't worry, this review will be here later), and two, because I know what I'm doing. You may think I sound crazy, comparing it to two of the most-respected indie-rock acts today and one of the titans of the game for the last decade, but that is simply the lasting effect Balance and Composure are poised to have. The band's debut (and I can't stress that enough, this is their debut full-length album) shows that this is by far one of the most promising acts in however-you-label-it rock.

Radio Show Playlist for 6/11/11

Hour 1
"Shine" - Aiden - Disguises
"War" - Poets of the Fall - Twilight Theater
"Sex on Fire" - Kings of Leon - Only by the Night
"Crack the Shutters" - Snow Patrol - A Hundred Million Suns
"Take Me Over" - Cut Copy - Zonoscope
"Intervention" - Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
"Don't Tread on Me" - 311 - Don't Tread on Me
"Mountain Song" - Jane's Addiction - Nothing's Shocking
"Pararelevant" - The Get Up Kids - There Are Rules
"I Don't Want to See You Like This" - The Joy Formidable - The Big Roar
"The Trouble with Angels" - Filter - The Trouble with Angels
"Tick Tick Boom" - The Hives - The Black and White Album

Radio Show Playlist for 6/4/11

Hour 1
"Forced to Love" - Broken Social Scene - Forgiveness Rock Record
"Tonight, Tonight" - Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
"Four Letter Word" - Beady Eye - Different Gear, Still Speeding
"Personal Jesus" - Depeche Mode - Violator
"Discoverer" - R.E.M. - Collapse Into Now
"Thrash Unreal" - Against Me! - New Wave
"Hide" - Yellowcard - When You're Through Thinking, Say Yes
"Grey Street" - Dave Matthews Band - Busted Stuff
"Candlelight" - Relient K - Forget and Not Slow Down
"Made for You" - OneRepublic - Waking Up
"Rox in the Box" - The Decemberists - The King is Dead
"Miserable" - Lit - A Place in the Sun

Album Review: Fireworks- Gospel (2011)

Developing and maturing as a band can be really, really tricky: on the one hand, you have bands like A Day to Remember, who seem to be on the cusp of abandoning their genericore breakdowns and accepting their destiny as the next great radio-rock band, but on the other, you have bands like Green Day and Against Me! who lose their creative flame and create albums that their fans can't even recognize as the same band they fell in love with many moons ago. Meanwhile, in the sweaty church basements and legion halls of America, Fireworks have been building their reputations as the next great five-piece pop-punk band, leading the charge for their pals (The Wonder Years and Man Overboard, to name just two) into a new pop-punk revolution. With the new, almost indie-leaning Gospel, their second full-length album, the band seem to be maturing immensely, but is it for the better?

Album Review: Manchester Orchestra- Simple Math (2011)

We know, we know: you're the biggest Manchester Orchestra fan around. You knew about them before Brand New scooped them up to open for them for just about every tour since The Devil and God are Raging Inside of Me came out. You know all about Andy Hull's back story, and how emotionally connected he feels to his songs, and how he's the most under-appreciated man in indie rock right now. We get it, you've been there with the band since I'm like a Virgin Losing a Child. That's great. Now, let the rest of us catch up. For those of you whose listening to Manchester Orchestra has been passed over, compromised, or completely forgotten about, the time is now to get into one today's fastest-rising, most forward-thinking rock acts in the game right now. Make no mistake: Andy Hull Will not be ignored any longer.

Show Review: Rise Against's Endgame Tour with Bad Religion and Four Year Strong at Terminal 5, NYC

Spring has finally sprung along the East Coast, where snow delayed the budding and blooming of the trees and flowers until after April Fools' Day. The bad weather broke, and it was just in time for the Mike and Tom Awesome show to trek up to New York City (you know, the concrete jungle where dreams are made of) to see Rise Against's spring 2011 tour, supporting the release of their wonderful new album Endgame. Always the type to put on a good show from start to finish, Rise Against hand-selected Bad Religion to be the direct support for the entire tour, a sort of "full-circle" move considering Rise Against opened for Bad Religion at Terminal 5 just a few short years ago. They also enlisted Four Year Strong to open up the show. Based on how the show went on Saturday night, it seems Rise Against haven't made a wrong decision yet in 2011.

The Obligatory 2011 Bamboozle Recap Post

The annual Bamboozle Festival has seen its lumps over the last few years, opting to appeal to the younger crowd with artists in the final stages of their fifteen minutes of fame rather than honoring the weathered titans of the scene. However, the 2011 edition of the festival proved to be the final stand for those bands who are still fighting for and writing music that's actually good (there were bad ones, too, but they were far outweighed by the good). Thankfully, all three of us at the Mike and Tom Awesome Show were able to snag tickets for Saturday's all-star, legendary line-up, and luckily for you, if you missed the festival (and really, there's no excuse for that), you can sit in on our look back through one of the best Bamboozles (that should be a word if it isn't) of all time:

Album Review: Panic! at the Disco!- Vices & Virtues (2011)

It's been three years since we last saw the dance-emo youngans of Panic! at the Disco, and that's probably a lot longer than the band probably wanted to wait to release their make-or-break third full-length album. However, the departure of key songwriter Ryan Ross and bassist Jon Walker left the band in a state of flux, as if the underwhelming and unexpected direction the band took on the Beatles-esque Pretty.Odd. divided the band's fanbase. Now, vocalist Brendan Urie and drummer Spencer Smith have found the stability the band needed, got a little older, and have a new album to boot. So does Vices & Virtues bring the band back to the days of the groundbreaking A Fever You Can't Sweat Out, or will they continue to toe the line between catchy and corny as Pretty.Odd.  so often crossed?

Critics be damned: this album is a return to form if there ever was one. 

In case you missed it: The Vinnie Caruana Interview!

Just another great show from us at the Awesome Show: for our Bamboozle special, I was able to sit down with Vinnie Caruana, lead singer of The Movielife and I am the Avalanche! Vinnie was able to stop by for a few minutes before he played an acoustic show at The College of New Jersey, and we were able to get him into the studio for a brief interview, where we talked about what his outlook on The Bamboozle Festival this weekend, where both of his bands will be playing (The Movielife on Saturday, I am the Avalanche on Sunday), and the possibility of new music for both bands! Check it out below:

Album Review: Silverstein - Rescue (2011)

The emo/screamo scene that once thrived in the mid-2000s is, for all intents and purposes, dead. Heroes like The Used and My Chemical Romance have strayed from the path, while screamo darlings like A Static Lullaby and From Autumn to Ashes have fallen by the wayside. Senses Fail is still trying to re-create their magic they found on Let it Enfold You, and Finch's Say Hello to Sunshine sent their career right back to obscurity after the undeniably great What it is to Burn shot them near the cusp of modern-rock success. And then there's the heartbreaking story of how Island Records completely mishandled Thursday. So, with all this negativity, one can easily draw the conclusion that the emo scene didn't produce a single band that was able to sustain a career without completely changing their genre/sound, falling off the map completely, or calling it quits? Fear not, for I give you Silverstein. After a lengthy deal with Victory Records (that they somehow actually fulfilled), the band have found a new home on Hopeless Records, and have released Rescue, their sixth (SIXTH!) studio full-length album. We all know its easy to stick to the same formula, but can Silverstein change up the pace a little bit and continue to be the sole keepers of the screamo faith?

Radio Show Playlist for 4/23/11 (Bamboozle Preview Show)

Hour 1
"Feel Good Drag" - Anberlin - New Surrender
"Image of the Invisible" - Thrice - Vheissu
"What If" - Rx Bandits - Halfway Between Here and There
"The Silence" - Mayday Parade - Anywhere But Here
"Buried a Lie" - Senses Fail - Let It Enfold You
"Light Up Ahead" - Further Seems Forever - Hide Nothing
"Secret Valentine" - We the Kings - We the Kings
"Velvet" - Breathe Carolina - Hello Fascination
"Help Me" - Alkaline Trio - Agony & Irony
"Theatre" - Gatsby's American Dream - Volcano
"Everything Went Numb" - Streetlight Manifesto - Everything Goes Numb
"Broken vs. the Way We Were Born" - Emarosa - Emarosa

Album Review: Foo Fighters - Wasting Light (2011)

After 4 years we finally have the new album from the Foo Fighters! Now for those of you who did not hear, the Foos ditched the fancy studios and computers for Dave Grohl's garage and analog tape. Once I heard about this, it honestly made me skeptical of the album. I had semi-low expectations, and I really didn't think it would be up to Foo Fighters' standards.

Was I ever wrong....

"Wasting Light" has a very raw rock feel to it. They went back to their roots of heavy guitars and loud drums. Their last 3 albums (Echoes, In Your Honor, One by One) seemed to rely a lot on Dave's vocals. However this album is different. It's a trip back to the self-titled album and Colour and the Shape. I'm not saying the last 3 were bad albums (I actually really liked them), but the Foos went back to what they are best at: guitar-driven rock. When you listen to the record, you get the feeling as if the Foos had a lot of fun making the record.

The album shoots out of the gate with the first song, "Bridge Burning". The drums and guitar in the intro are some of the heaviest I have ever heard from them. But the song gives the album a fantastic start and honestly, it is one of my favorites on the record.

Despite being a very guitar and drum heavy album, there are some songs where Dave's vocal and lyrical abilities shine. Songs like "Walk" (my favorite on the record) and "Dear Rosemary" prove that Dave Grohl is still one of the best vocalists in all of rock music.

To sum it all up, this is an album that will surely be on a lot of Top Album Lists at the end of the year. There aren't a lot of standout, sure-fire "singles" on the record. You won't find "Everlong" or "Best of You" or "My Hero" on this record. But I feel it is one of the most complete albums they have ever written.

PICK IT UP!!!

This is my first ever album review. I would love to hear your feedback, both praise and criticism. Leave your comments!!!

-Mike Leatherwood

Album Review: Dance Gavin Dance- Downtown Battle Mountain II

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Member changes and comebacks are all the rage nowadays, but Dance Gavin Dance have run the gammut in that department for the better part of the last decade. With four full-lengths and an EP all released on Rise Records, the band hasn't seen the same lineup in any two of those releases, but that hasn't stopped them from making waves in the post-hardcore/experimental scene. While 2009's Happiness, which saw the band mature with the evolution of former frontman Kurt Travis, was what most would consider a breakout album, many DGD fans were still yearning for the band to return to the unmistakable and unique sound the band displayed on their debut full-length Downtown Battle Mountain. Only problem with that is that both vocalists who graced DBM (screamer Jon Mess and embattled singer Johnny Craig) weren't even in the band anymore. Not to fret, as the band announced in mid 2010 that they would be reuniting with Craig and Mess to record the highly-demanded Downtown Battle Mountain II. Two things were certain as the band went into recording for the album: one, that the pressure was on the band to deliver another scene classic, and two, there was really no way to predict what the album would sound like.

Radio Show Playlist for 4/16/11

Hour 1
"Heart in My Hands" - Trust Company - Dreaming in Black & White
"The Meaning of Life" - The Offspring - Ixnay on the Hombre
"Readyfuels" - Anberlin - Blueprints for the Black Market
"One by One All Day" - The Shins - Oh, Inverted World
"Stare at the Sun" - Thrice - The Artist in the Ambulance
"Set Off" - Hey Monday - Hold on Tight
"In the Now" - Cursive - Mama, I'm Swollen
"Librarian" - My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges
"Twilight" - Elliott Smith - From a Basement on the Hill
"Let It Burn" - Red - Until We Have Faces
"Spiders" - System of a Down - System of a Down
"Almost Easy" - Avenged Sevenfold - Avenged Sevenfold

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Album Review: Beady Eye - Different Gear, Still Speeding (2011)

Beady Eye?  Who the hell is Beady Eye?  If you're asking yourself that, the answer is simple.  Beady Eye consists of the former band Oasis minus Noel Gallagher.  After the split with Oasis, Liam and the rest of the Oasis gang decided to continue making new music.  Eventually they settled on the name Beady Eye (if they couldn't come up with a name before the album was done, they were going to settle on Oasis 2.0).

So finally, Beady Eye releases their first album, Different Gear, Still Speding.  Is their album a far departure from Oasis, or is it just Oasis 2.0?

In case you missed it: The Anthony Green Interview!

Hey Mike and Tom Awesome Fans! Donald here. So, in case you didn't listen to the show this weekend (HOW DARE YOU), you missed a doozie of a show: but fret not, for we at the Show want to include as many people in this journey through the world of modern rock as we possibly can. And with that, here it is, a dream of mine coming true: the interview I did on Tuesday, April 5, 2011 with Anthony Green, lead singer of Circa Survive!

HOW COOL IS THAT?! Many thanks are due to Jillian Polak and the entire CUBRat staff at The College of New Jersey, and most of all, Anthony Green for not only giving us a great interview, but allowing me to fulfill another silly childhood dream of mine.

What'd you guys think of the interview? Leave some love/hate/babbling/banter in the comments, and we'll see you for the show on Saturday!

Radio Show Playlist for 4/9/11

Hour 1
"Diamond in the Rough" - Social Distortion - Hard Times & Nursery Rhymes
"I Think I Found It' - Manic Street Preachers - Postcards from a Young Man
"Save Me" - Shinedown - Us & Them
"The Valley" - Eisley - The Valley
"Rainy Monday" - Shiny Toy Guns - We Are Pilots
"Where I've Begun" - Depswa - Two Angels and a Dream
"Southern Weather" - The Almost - Southern Weather
"This Scene is Dead" - We Are Scientists - With Love and Squalor
"Bleed for You" - Hidden in Plain View - Life in Dreaming
"XO Skeleton" - A Skylit Drive - Identity on Fire
"Cracks in the Surface" - Flobots - Survival Story
"Wait and Bleed" - Slipknot - Slipknot

BIG Surprise on this week's show!

That's right folks:  don't Act Appalled, the Mike and Tom Awesome Show is dedicated to bring you a great show in Everyway. In Fear and Faith, our listeners have supported us over the years, and we want to thank them for going The Longest Mile to support us. We are not your Imaginary Enemy, we will not let you go Through the Desert Alone. That's why this Saturday, we'll be bringing you something we never thought possible, even in out wildest Fever Dreams. So cross that Strange Terrain, sing the Travel Hymn as you walk over Frozen Creek and be sure to tune in from 6-9PM on 91.3 FM WTSR to see what all this means!

Now, Get Out and enjoy this lovely Spring weather!

Radio Show Playlist for 4/2/11

*NOTE:  This is the Mike and Tom Awesome Acoustic Show playlist from last night.  All albums mentioned are where the songs originated from.*

Hour 1
"Meagan" - Bayside - Acoustic EP
"Today" - Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream
"The Sky is Falling" - Lifehouse - Stanley Climbfall
"Here Without You" - 3 Doors Down - Away From the Sun
"I Felt Free" - Circa Survive - Blue Sky Noise
"Don't Be So Hard" - The Audition - Controversy Loves Company
"Black Hole Sun" - Soundgarden - Superunknown
"Vitamin R" - Chevelle - This Type of Thinking (Could Do Us In)
"Are You Gonna Be My Girl?" - Jet - Get Born
"All Over You" - Spill Canvas - No Really, I'm Fine
"Mess of Me" - Switchfoot - Hello Hurricane
"Iris" - Goo Goo Dolls - Dizzy Up the Girl

Radio Show Playlist for 3/26/11

Hour 1
"Aberdeen" - Cage the Elephant - Thank You, Happy Birthday
"Summer Hair = Forever Young" - The Academy Is... - Fast Times at Barrington High
"Bones" - Radiohead - The Bends
"Attitude" - Alien Ant Farm - ANThology
"19-2000" - Gorillaz - Gorillaz
"Red Flag" - Billy Talent - Billy Talent II
"Jejune Stars" - Bright Eyes - The People's Key
"The Carpel Tunnel of Love" - Fall Out Boy - Infinity on High
"What You Know" - Two Door Cinema Club - Tourist History
"Screaming Infidelities" - Dashboard Confessional - The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most
"Away From Here" - The Enemy - We'll Live and Die in These Towns
"Break Your Little Heart" - All Time Low - Nothing Personal

Radio Show Playlist for 3/19/11

Hour 1
"When It All Goes Wrong Again" - Everclear - Songs from an American Movie, Vol. 2: Good Time for a Bad Attitude
"Desperate Graves" - Mars Volta - Octahedron
"Get What You Need" - Jet - Get Born
"Waiting" - Red Jumpsuit Apparatus - Don't You Fake It
"Well Enough Alone" - Chevelle - Vena Sera
"Thank You - Drive By - A Delicate Situation
"Holding On" - Simple Plan - Simple Plan
"Zebra" - Beach House - Teen Dream
"Loser" - 3 Doors Down - The Better Life
"Abra Cadaver" - The Hives - Tyrannosaurus Hives
"Change" - The Young Veins - Take a Vacation!
"What's My Age Again?" - Blink-182 - Enema of the State

Album Review: Yellowcard- When You're Through Thinking, Say Yes (2011)

Say the words "April 2008" to any Yellowcard fan, and you'll be opening a can of worms you wish you didn't come anywhere near. When the band said in an interview they were going on an "indefinite hiatus" after a short acoustic tour, it sent shockwaves of sadness through the hearts of fans the band once helped to mend with their uplifting, catchy blend of pop-punk and straight-up rick. Two years later, after they saw bands like The Maine, Mayday Parade, and countless others saturate the summertime pop-punk they revolutionized, the band were done focusing on their personal lives, and it was time to re-emerge and attempt to take back the throne they left vacant that fateful April. Now, a short eight months after the official announcement of their reformation (that was on August 1, 2010), the band have wasted no time in coming out with new material as a reward for their fans' patience. But is When You're Through Thinking, Say Yes going to be able to satisfy fans waiting over four years since 2007's Paper Walls, or will it just leave fans longing for the band's pre-hiatus glory days?

Album Review: Rise Against- Endgame (2011)

Complacency in today's music industry has become far too common, with far too many perfect examples: Lady GaGa's "Born this Way" is a Madonna rip-off; You can't listen to a Ke$ha song and tell whether it was on Animal or Cannibal; And then there's the whole over-saturated heap of junk that Nickelback loosely call a "career." The point is, when success is achieved, its really, really easy to get comfortable with where you are. Rise Against may have fallen victim to that horrendous disease, as Appeal to Reason was viewed by fans to be their least-inspired work. Sure, songs like "Savior" and "Long Forgotten Sons" were standouts that entered the band's already bolstered plethora of quality tracks, but the key criticism of Appeal was that the band was trying too hard to make a statement against the world. Now, enter Endgame: the return to form everyone should have seen coming.

Radio Show Playlist for 3/12/11

Hour 1
"Hammerhead" - The Offspring - Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace
"I Feel So" - Box Car Racer - Box Car Racer
"Sound of a Gun" - Audioslave - Revelations
"Hard to Explain" - The Strokes - Is This It?
"Where Do We Go From Here" - Filter - The Amalgamut
"Ad Hominem" - Bad Religion - The Dissent of Man
"Best of You" - Foo Fighters - In Your Honour
"You and Me" - Attack! Attack! - Attack! Attack!
"Stupid Girl" - Cold - Year of the Spider
"Devour" - Disturbed - Believe
"You Overdid It Doll" - The Courteeners - Falcon
"Wake Up" - Framing Hanley - A Promise to Burn

Happy 311 Day!

Since I was reminded by a few people, happy 311 Day!  And now for your enjoyment, some 311 songs to get you through the rest of the day and into the weekend.  Enjoy!



Upcoming Albums for the Week of 3/8/11

Welcome to the first installment of what hopefully will be a weekly tradition of informing YOU, the reader, on all the great and wonderful new music that gets released each and every week.  Below you will see albums that are due out either today or later in the week.  Well, without further adieu, here is the list!

Radio Show Playlist for 3/5/11

"Song Title" - Artist - Album



Hour 1

"So Far Away" - Staind - 13 Shades of Grey

"Get Over It" - OK Go - OK Go

"I Stand Alone" - Godsmack - Faceless

"Hands Down" - Dashboard Confessional - A Mark, a Mission, a Brand, a Scar

"Filthy Beasts" - Gatsby's American Dream - Gatsby's American Dream

"Only Ashes" - Something Corporate - North

"Feed the Machine" - Red - Until We Have Faces

"Standing Ovation" - Good Charlotte - Cardiology
"Before I Forget" - Slipknot - Vol. 3: The Subliminal Verses
"My Heroine" - Silverstein - Discovering the Waterfront
"My Best Friend" - Hot Hot Heat - Happiness Ltd.
"Signals Over the Air" - Thursday - War All the Time

Album Review: Linkin Park - A Thousand Suns (2010)

Linkin Park's newest album, A Thousand Suns, was one of the most anticipated albums of 2010.  Their previous release, Minutes to Midnight, was met with a positive reception, and a double platinum certification from the RIAA.  They also released a song for the Transformers 2: Rise of the Fallen soundtrack "New Divide" which was also met with a favorable response.

So all signs point to this being quite possibly being the greatest Linkin Park album ever, possibly even surpassing Hybrid Theory, right?

Album Review: Cage the Elephant - Thank You, Happy Birthday (2011)

Cage the Elephant released their second album this year, Thank You, Happy Birthday.  I didn't really know much of Cage the Elephant except Ain't No Rest for the Wicked which debuted sometime in 2008.

Album Review: Bayside - Killing Time (2011)

You can say your favorite band has gone through a lot to get to where they are, and chances are you're right. But that's likely nothing to what Bayside have had to endure on the way to the top of the punk-rock scene. After a horrible van accident claimed the life of their drummer Jon "Beatz" Holoman, Bayside pressed on in his honor, and have put out solid effort after solid effort while tirelessly touring the globe to assert themselves as worthy of their self-proclaimed "Cult" of fans. While 2008's Shudder was considered by some to be their least-loved release (you can't call any Bayside release bad, after all), how would their new album, and first released on Wind-Up Records, stand up to a discography already lined with classic anthems?

Show Review: Jimmy Eat World at House of Blues, Atlantic City 2/11/11

Hey guys, I know it has been a while since we posted anything up here but I decided to do a review of last night's Jimmy Eat World show in Atlantic City that Tom and I both went to.

Ok first off, if you have never seen this band live, you are missing out. They had a ton of energy in just about every single song, starting with Bleed American...all the way through the big finale, Sweetness. With the exception of a soundboard fault causing background music to be playing over the speakers right before Hear You Me, the show was great. Here is the setlist: