My parole officer allowed me to go to an all ages show even though I can't come within anyone under the age of 18 without properly identifying myself. The stipulation was, my parole officer had to be there, which I was fine with because HEY designated driver!

I showed up early to the Lynam show at The Blockley Pourhouse to catch a band named Legend of the Fall. They were a screamo band out of New Jersey, but now have decided pop was a more lucrative effort. Whoever told them to make the jump from screamo to pop is a smart person because that is definitely a better market for them. In my opinion, lead singers JD and Levi just don't have the voices for screamo.

The band modestly proclaimed their name, Legend of the Fall, to the sparce crowd of family, friends, myself, and my parole officer. Right off the bat, the sound man didn't do these guys any favors, which is a shame. Poor Casey Jones was playing his heart out, but damned if you could hear him. The rest of the band drowned him out and no on purpose. A second guitar probably would have rounded out their sound nicely, but you just couldn't hear him at all. Legend of the Fall are strong on the dueling vocals between JD and Levi, trading off like Peaches and Herb. They won't get that reference, shit, Lacuna Coil? No, they weren't really into metal. Oh well trading off vocals like a singing duo who trade off vocals - there!

Anyway, the sound man didn't have their microphones correct either and most of the time the vocals blended together into a singing mess. This isn't the fault of the band and luckily I have a trained ear. I could hear what the band was going for and they would have been great if they had a soundman who could do his job. The voice of JD was a bit grittier and he had the stronger voice, but Levi had the prettier voice suited for the pop stuff. It was a tandeum that works well for keeping their foot in the past screamo realm and moving forward into the pop realm.

It was tough to really determine how good of a stage precense the band had because there was no one really there to feed energy into the band. Everyone sat back sipping their shitty beer (Bud Light...come on!) and didn't really interact with the guys. I felt bad for the guys because they were trying hard, but it just wasn't working. I am positive they would be a great fun band in a headlining show in New Jersey. Plus I am almost positive the girls show up in droves to these shows, which is why I won't be able to catch any more of their shows.

The songs are catchy and saturated in hooks. The keyboard was used perfectly to round out the sound in some songs and provide the rotating hook for others. The songs they write have meaning and are topical to their age group, like the song about cutting. I appreciate this method of song writing because the audience can really connect with issues like these and the songs remain engrained in the minds of the audience well after the show ends.

While the cutting song meant something to me, the last song Legend of the Fall meant something to the band. It was the first time I could see the unbridled passion they had for their music. The song was a screamo punk anthem a la Saves the Day or A Day to Remember. The gusto they showed helped me understand that the band is still very much attached to their previous roots of screamo/hardcore, while trying to move forward into an arena that will bring them more girls than guys.

The band has a few booked including one with George Thorogood and the Delaware Destroyers. You can see all their upcoming shows on their MySpace site. My advice to the band is keep performing in front of a live audience. You will get more comfortable on stage, work on your stage personas, and you will be fine.

I fucked up the pictures like I knew I would. I am no photographer and totally took more blurry shots of the back of people's heads than I did of the band.