Date: September 15, 2002
I can’t think of a better way to have spent 12 dollars then to go see Mest on their headlining tour. I was blown away by their energy and their love for doing what they do. Out of every band I’ve ever seen, Mest is definitely the best live band.
It all started an early Sunday afternoon. The wait outside the venue sucked for my buddy and me. We waited in the heavy rain for roughly two hours. Thanks to the girls in front of us we didn’t catch pneumonia. They shared their umbrellas.
After getting our tickets we walked into the venue. I was surprised at how small the venue actually was. If you’ve ever been to the Webster you know what I’m talking about. We waited impatiently for the show to start the kids were already getting restless and wanted to see the show. After all everyone one of them were completely drenched and cold from the air-conditioner. As the lights went dim and the background music faded the atmosphere of the theater become more excited. The first opening act took stage and ripped through.
I myself never looked at Madcap as a band to look forward to seeing, that changed however. The girls loved this band and I was amazed at how many people knew their music. I knew of them from The Atticus album “Dragging The Lake” so I sang along to the only song I knew which was “Bright Lights Big City”. The energy from this band was so intense that circle pits broke out everywhere. Only a few crowd surfers really got up during Madcap because of how tight security was. Overall, their performance was excellent.
The next band, Yellowcard was very impressive. I never actually heard their music before but from what I heard they were really good live. I got a kick out of the violinist, you have to have balls to play the violin in a punk band. The lead singer, Ryan Key was getting into the crowd and surfing over our heads. Very interactive to the fans, the best I’ve seen at a show yet. They did their job and left leaving a mark. I recommend their newest album “One For The Kids”.
As Yellowcard left the stage, my friends and I were already starting to feel the great aftereffects of the mosh pit. They left me to go find some refuge in the back of the venue. As the next band came out, which was Catch 22 I started to feel a bit more anxious for Mest. I really like Catch 22 as an album band, but their performance downright sucked. I wasn’t impressed by the performance at all; they weren’t really into the fans. Either they were having a rough night or they just aren’t a live band. I do recommend their album “Alone In A Crowd.” I left the pit after they were finished to find my friends. Watching your favorite band without your three best friends isn’t much fun.
Mest took a long time to set up, so it gave us the perfect chance to go spend our allowances on merchandise and water. We waited yet again for another fifteen minutes before the lights went dark and the music stopped. Chants started yelling “Mest” for what seemed like five minutes before the announcer guy walked out grinning like a fool. No one really liked this guy; they liked to throw water bottles and papers at him. Finally the crowd erupted in cheers as our favorite boys took the stage. We had the perfect view from where we were and they could see us as well. They played their hearts out that night, playing almost every song on both albums. I was kind of disappointed about a few things, one being Matt broke his foot a few weeks before so he couldn’t run around like he usually would. I was looking forward to that. Another thing was that Jeremiah didn’t really dance a whole lot. As the show went on Tony had two females and two males that were over the age of 21 come up to the stage for a drinking contest. They had a hard time finding the girls, I was asked by Tony himself if I was 21. They finally found two women, one being 21 and another being her mother, around the age of 46. The mother won and so did some guy. They dived into the crowd with their winnings, free tee-shirts. Even the mother dived, it being her first and last time ever. The show finished with “Fuck The Greyhound Bus” a crowd favorite. Mest is defiantly a high energy level band. The best live band I ever and probably ever will see. Although they didn’t play “What’s The Dillio?” I enjoyed the show so much that I will never forget about it. If you are a Mest fan you need to check them out live, you won’t be disappointed. With more bruises and a lost eyebrow ring I made it through another punk show.
For More Information:
Location: Webster Theatre - Hartford, CT
Bands: Mest, Madcap, Catch 22, Yellowcard
• Mest Official Site: www.mestcrapp.com
• Catch 22 Official Site: www.njcatch22.com
• Yellowcard Official Site: www.yellowcardrock.com
• Madcap Official Site: www.madcappunx.com