Photo | Brendan Bianowicz

Tommy Rogers of Between the Buried and Me

In a word, Between the Buried and Me’s performance could only be described as explosive. Or maybe dynamic. Or maybe electric?

No, I don’t think that quite sums it up either.

I suppose the all inclusive “one word” doesn’t work on a band like Between the Buried and Me. They are  constantly changing — a band who’s sound is never pinned in one place. 

BTBAM opened with new crowd pleaser, “Obfuscation,” during which, I frantically raced away from my spot behind a large, matted-mop-topped high schooler to assume my spot in front of guitarist Paul Waggoner’s crotch — er, guitar amp. Vocalist Tommy Rogers commanded the crowd from the get go — pacing back and forth from his Korg emblazoned with “The Dank Bank” and the edge of the stage whenever he was not needed for a scream or growl — leading the huddled, sweaty masses from his perch atop his monitor at the most pivotal moments.

The intensity continued during “Disease, Injury, Madness.” And along with the movement of a large group of metal fans in a very intimate, sold out space comes the smell of a large group of metal fans in a

Photo | Brendan Bianowicz

very intimate, sold out space. Of course, this is something you deal with if you are a regular of the metal scene. Occasionally there’ll be a dude who didn’t shower, or a bunch of dudes who didn’t shower. Just be glad you’re not one of the four girls in the audience. If “fish out of water” is used to describe any situation, I’d say it’s best suited to describe the permanently shrugged-shouldered, sour-faced look of a Hollister wearing chick unfortunately cemented between two sweaty, shirtless and most certainly deodorant-less dudes moshing while relishing their first girl-touch action in the past month. Extreme, yes. Funny, absolutely. Common, unfortunately.

At one point in their set, they jumped from their most recent record The Great Misdirect, back eight years to their first EP, then up to their 2007 masterpiece Colors. When lined in a row, it became an aural game of which one of these things is not like the other. However, for a fan who is familiar with their back catalog, you want to hear songs from their first album. You want to hear what the current lineup — composed of much more talented musicians, whether original members or not — can do with what was once raw material. Even more, it makes their increasingly experimental productions of late stand out when placed alongside their origins.

To initially close the night, BTBAM broke out their most recent epic, “Swim to the Moon.” The 17-minute leviathan featured band merch and light guy Chuck Johnson on guest vocals. The moment he fulfilled his guest role, he swan dove into the sea of amped-up kids and they passed him off, one after the other, until he rested in his chair at the light station to re-assume his duties. And then, finally, after thinking they couldn’t possibly have the energy for more — that they’d get to the dressing room and collapse, maybe take a day off from their next tour date — they returned for an encore.

This was after a 17-minute song.

Photo | Brendan Bianowicz

They got back on stage. They saluted the crowd. They put on their instruments and played. One song and 15 minutes later, they called it a night. That song — “White Walls” — inspired the crowd so much that it exploded. You could practically see the hair on the back of your neighbor’s neck, standing pin straight, as the crowd exclaimed in unison “this is all we have … when we die.” Followed by another jubilant cry of “White Walls” as loud as the Trocadero could contain.

After the show, bassist Dan Briggs told me that they love playing Philly over almost anywhere else, the biggest reason they love to visit is for the only place they can get a good vegan cheesesteak for their (nearly) all veg band: Gianna’s. “Every time we visit, we call in our order before we even get into the city.”

A fitting meal after such an electric concert. Or was it explosive?

Oh, goddamnit.

REVIEW: Between the Buried and Me @ Trocadero, 1/31

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 4th, 2010 at 11:41 am and is filed under Show, concert photos. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.