This past Saturday was a daytime banger! I was lucky enough to catch Hungover, The Weekend Classic, For What It’s Worth and Tidal Waves during a matinee show at Amityville Music Hall. I’ve only been to two matinee shows so far since starting the blog and I did not know what to expect from either of them. It’s not easy to get a bunch of people to come to a show during the day on a Saturday, especially a Saturday with as nice of weather as this past one! Thankfully, the band’s had enough support to draw people in and put on awesome performances!
The day started off with Tidal Waves, a four piece Alternative Rock band from Long Island. Being the first band to go on is always tough on the nerves, especially when the doors just opened and people are slowly coming in. Tidal Waves did not let that deter them from rocking out! The band released their self-titled debut album this year and played a setlist all off the album!
Tidal Waves started their set with Absurd. I really like that they started with this song because it is fast and upbeat and gets the crowd moving and engaged immediately. It was this song that made me notice, almost instantaneously, how great the vocals sounds! “It’s so absurd how I bent backwards for, the words you said to me, you fed to me”. As soon as these words were sang in the mic, the vocals echoed through the venue and sounded crystal clear. I LOVE when the first band of the show kills it both with their vocals and instrumentals, and Tidal Waves did just that!
Tidal Waves continued with four more songs off their self-titled album, but two songs stood out to me in particular: In the Dark and Never Enough. In the Dark stood out to me because as I looked around at the people watching the show, I saw multiple people singing the words along to this one. This song has a much softer and more emotional tone to it. The guitar chords paired with the soft tone of the vocalist let all of those emotions be felt in the crowd. Tidal Waves ended their set with Never Enough, my favorite song off the self-titled album! Never Enough reminds me so much of The Starting Line and Brand New. The song began with a beautiful guitar chord that leads into the vocals being sung over it. As the song continued, the band progressively picked up until every member was rocking out on stage. This style of starting off slow and getting heavier as the song goes just screams Brand New (at least to me)! Tidal Waves came into this show as the opening band at 2:00 pm on a Saturday. To some bands, this would spell failure, but Tidal Waves rose to the occasion and killed it! Make sure to check out their upcoming shows below!
For What It’s Worth, a four piece Alternative Rock band from Long Island came on next! The band is comprised of Chris Beyer (vocals/guitar), Mike Beyer (guitar), Cody Hermann (bass) and Mike DiLello (drums). The band formed in 2010 and has been on a roll ever since. They consider their influences to be “90’s alternative and early to mid 2000’s Emo/Rock. For anyone that knows my taste in music, I love everything about that music! For What It’s Worth demonstrated those influences during their awesome set!
For What It’s Worth released their album, “Contention” in 2017 and it was heavily played during their set. I really enjoyed this album so it was awesome to be able to watch them play some songs from it. The band started their set with Eighty-Five, the first song on the album. I love the way Chris Beyer comes in immediately and begins singing; an awesome way to start the album and an awesome way to start the show. “Those glory days, they came and fade, blink of an eye, they’re over, now I don’t know, where the time goes, and I can’t stop this now”. This song was great because it got people moving right away. The instrumentals during the verses of the song have an infectious drum kick that makes you move to the beat automatically.
For What It’s Worth really holds true to their influences within the lyrics of each of their songs. Just like those 90’s and 2000’s songs that made the band what it is today For What It’s Worth incorporates deep, emotional lyrics. Later in the set, the band played Contention. The opening verse is so deep and powerful and you were able to feel it when it was being performed. “Discovered half my hell, I fabricate myself, responsible for baggage I carry. Ironic to be tied, constantly paralyzed, from all these endless options which vary. This nightmare needs to end for goodness sake, cause every day just seems like such a waste. It’s time to spark a match on my cold feet, cause the devil’s in the mirror and he’s me”. The highlight of this song was the sick band jam that occurred at the end. Every member of the band rocked out and absolutely killed it.
For What It’s Worth finished their set with Westbound and Search. Westbound is the song that you will definitely hear on the radio some time soon. It holds so much of those 90’s alternative vibes that people love so much. The set finished with Search, one of my favorite songs from the album. It is one of the heavier songs on the album. The band played their hearts out on this one, immediately bouncing around when the song began. The fast paced, upbeat guitar chords and quick drumming had everyone moving to the music! Check below for upcoming For What It’s Worth shows!
The Weekend Classic followed up with an amazing performance. I had never heard of them prior to the show, and was pumped to hear and see just how killer these guys are. The Weekend Classic is a three piece, Alternative Rock band from Madison, Indiana. The band is comprised of Chris Webster (vocals/guitar), Ryan Wells (guitar/vocals), and Christian Richards (drums). After doing a little research on the band, I learned that they formed in 2012 in high school and have been playing ever since. It’s pretty cool to see a band that hasn’t changed members and have stuck together for years!
The Weekend Classic has multiple recorded EP’s and were able to play a little bit from each during their set. They started off with Tethered, a song that features Joe Taylor of Knuckle Puck. As soon as the band began playing, their energy was felt throughout the place. The trio was definitely into the music and showed it. They were moving all over the stage and jumping around. Most of the time, the crowd is only as energized as the band is, and The Weekend Classic definitely understood this. As it was a day show, it wasn’t sold out by any stretch. That didn’t matter to the band. After their opening song, they invited everyone to move right up to the stage and get into the music with the band!
Later on in the set, The Weekend Classic played More Alive, one of my favorite songs of theirs. It became an instant favorite the second they started playing it because I love the guitar intro. It reminds me a lot of a The Story So Far with an intro that starts softly and builds up. The Weekend Classic continued their set with four songs from their new EP, “Room to Grow”. The first song they played was Mutual Interest, my favorite song overall. The second the band starts playing, you’re hit with heavy instrumentals that will melt your face. Seriously, you can’t help but go nuts when you hear this! The sound of vocals remind me so much of Knuckle Puck. “I drove around all night because I couldn’t sit at home, I’m overthinking things you said and reading too much into what you don’t. I won’t last another winter with this cold lonely apartment, all my friends say I should lighten up but I’m only getting darker”.
The Weekend Classic ended their set with Daydream and Room to Grow. I loved hearing Daydream played because it sounded so different from what the band had played so far. The song has those classic Alternative Rock roots but with a heavier, darker twist. The deep tones of the guitar had me head banging immediately. The chorus is one that everyone will be singing along to at every show; if only I knew the song, I would have been singing at the top of my lungs with the band. “I often wonder where you’ve been, I’ve started talking less and sleeping in, I want to feel alive again, I want to rid you from my head”! I came into this show not knowing of The Weekend Classic and I was turned into a huge fan. I’ve been listening to them nonstop, and you should be too!
Hungover was the headliner of the afternoon and they were amazing! I had seen them once earlier this year at Makeshift’s comeback show and they rocked the house! Of course, I couldn’t wait to watch them again. Hungover came out swinging with Exit: Stage Left. As soon as they started playing, it was like a tornado came through on stage. Every member was dancing and jumping around and definitely had a strong stage presence. It’s amazing to see a band that is so genuinely into their own music. I don’t think they would have acted any different if the crowd wasn’t into their music at all; they were in their own world on stage and were having an amazing time! Of course, this energy spread to the crowd and everyone was dancing and singing along with the band.
The first time I saw Hungover, I quickly noticed how great Marc Cortes (vocals) sounds when he’s on stage. He sounded just like he does on the albums, something that unfortunately isn’t so easy to come by anymore. Luckily, this show was no different for him! Cortes voice echoed throughout the place with each word he sang. On Three’s Company, Cortes shined and sang the opening line beautifully; “You’ve been telling all your friends, that I’m worthless but I’m not so worthless when, you’re a few drinks in, and I’m not quite sure I like that. I am not one of those fools, clinging to your every move and word, when you let go, I’ll be gone”.
Something that I noted while Hungover was playing was how well they interacted with the crowd. They made sure they kept the crowd engaged, talking to them continuously between songs. Cortes did a great job of explaining the meaning behind the band’s songs. It’s always fun to learn the backstory to some of your favorite songs! Hungover ended their set with Irish Goodbye and Girlfriend, my two favorite songs on their new album, “Wilt”. Irish Goodbye is one of the more personal songs for the band, going back into childhood and the hardships that come with one’s family. “Are you still my father, and am I still your son? Ran like a bat out of hell and said you were done. Ran out on my mother, me and my brother, I wish we still had each other, your the unlucky one, unlucky one”. I really like this song because it strays from the path of a typical Hungover song. Usually, you will hear harder, faster instrumentals in their music, but Irish Goodbye is a softer, more intimate song.
Hungover ended their set with Girlfriend, a kick ass song that had every one ready to go wild. The song began with vocals backed by heavy guitar chords and a slow build up of the drums that amped everyone up! This song has a classic Alternative/Pop Punk vibe that fans love. There were plenty of people singing every word to the song and dancing away right up front with the band! Hungover brought this awesome afternoon to an end in a memorable fashion, rocking out as hard as they can and making sure the crowd was going as hard as they were!
Hungover, The Weekend Classic, For What It’s Worth and Tidal Waves took on the challenge of playing a matinee show and turned it into a memorable afternoon. Each band tore up the stage and played sick sets. Make sure to check out music from each band on the blog’s Spotify playlist: After Hours Review!
Upcoming Shows
Tidal Waves
June 9th – SIU Summer Fest – Lake Ronkonkoma, NY
July 1st – Shakers Pub – Oakdale, NY
July 14th – Arnoldstock – West Babylon, NY
For What It’s Worth
June 9th – SIU Summer Fest – Lake Ronkonkoma, NY
FWIW will be doing a weekend run of shows at the end of June! Keep an eye out for dates!