So when I found out that We Came As Romans was coming back to Birmingham, I cried happy tears. I had not seen them in almost a year and the last time I saw them, their newest album, Understanding What We’ve Grown To Be, had not come out yet. The tour that they are currently on is called The Scream It Like You Mean It Tour. Which basically is a lot of screamo and metal bands in one place. The show was supposed to be at a venue called Sloss Furnace. Well, the day before the show, we found out that the venue had been changed to a place called Zydeco because Sloss decided to cancel the show. Zydeco is a much smaller venue and the bands had to cut their set times short because of another show happening that night. But luckily, that did not stop this show from happening. I had to drive a little over two hours for this show so if it was not going to happen after I drove all that way, I would have been livid. Once my cousin [Seth] and I arrived, we had to stand in line for a little while. The show started at 12 and we were still standing outside. I did not really care because I was mainly there for We Came As Romans and they did not start until late. When I finally got in the door around one, two bands had already played. They were called Deleo and Strength From Within. I heard both bands were really good so you should check them out. I walked in at the very end of At The Skylines’ set. The first thing I see are the these kids moshing and “hardcore” dancing and then, out of nowhere, I see ATS’s screamer jump from the stage and land right in front of me. It was awesome. The next band was Hands Like Houses. They were from Australia. It was their first time in Alabama. They played four songs and one of them was called Long Way From Home which is funny, because they were a “long way from home” I am punny. The band after HLH was called Volumes. They had really loud screamers and they were the first band of the day that I saw that made us jump and down like crazy people. They told us that they were not very excited to play for us today because of all the drama that went down with the show cancellations. But they came back and said that we changed their mind on playing because we were so awesome. In response, we screamed back. Then for their final song, they asked us to start a wall of death. I did not take part in this, but I stood back and watched. Then they walked off and it was time for the next band. They were called Secrets. It was their first time in Alabama and they also had a wall of death that I did not participate in. Their singer was really cute too. The next band was Glass Cloud. They said Roll Tide and I freaked out because I love my football team, The Alabama Crimson Tide. Then they followed it with War Eagle. Those horrid words got mixed reactions. More boos than woos. Can you blame them? Roll Tide for life. The band after them, was Close To Home. I did not realize until the next morning that they followed me on Twitter and I thought that was awesome. Their new album comes out in two weeks. Go buy it. When they were done, with their set, I went to buy merch outside. Their singer got behind me and some dude started talking to him. He told him they were a bunch of faggots. His response was “Thanks! I love dicks like you!” I just looked at the singer and laughed. I should have given him a high five because that was the most clever response I have ever heard to that statement. Then it was time for the band For All Those Sleeping. They were from St. Paul, Minnesota. They covered You Belong With Me by Taylor Swift and they said Roll Tide. That was just awesome in my opinion. After FATS, was In Fear and Faith. They like pirates. They played their song that featured Craig Owens and they played a song called A Creeping Dose. It was their first time back in Alabama. After IFAF was Like Moths To Flames. I had heard of them before but I never listened to them. I now know what all the talk is about. I was astounded. They also told us they had just put out a new video not too long ago. Their fans were all there and they were really into the show. I swear they are going to be the next big band in the screamo world. Mark my words. After them it was time for The Chariot. I have heard about them for years but, again, I had never listened to them. Their singer and bass player both jumped into the crowd and started screaming their heads off. It was pretty freaking awesome. After The Chariot was Oceano. I thought they were a little out of place but it did not seem to matter. The crowd did not seem to have an aversion to them. They were really loud. Their drummer was amazing. They were the first band of the day to have a drum set with a double bass pedal. This was not their first time in Alabama though. They played a show with White Chapel here last year and they were glad to be back. After Oceano was Abandon All Ships. It was their first time in Alabama. They were from Toronto, Canada. Their singer said “Alabama, your water tastes like piss.” I was quite curios to know how he knew what “piss” tasted like. He also said “It isn’t this hot in Canada.” They even joked around and said they hated Bama. They played Infamous, Geeving, and Take One Last Breathe. At one point, the singer burped but I am probably the only one that heard it. I would totally go see them again and I hope they come back to Alabama soon. After AAS, was Woe, Is Me. They are from Atlanta. I really liked them when their old singer, Tyler Carter, was in the band. I had never heard their current singer before even though he was apparently the singer before Tyler. They had just joined the tour two days prior because they had been in the studio for a month and a half. They played several songs off Number[s] and they did a cover of We R Who We R by Kesha. That cover really got the crowd going. Close to the end of their set, someone threw a water bottle on stage and hit the guitar player. In response, he grabbed the bottle and threw it back in the general direction from which it came. When their set was over they called security on stage to try and pin point the exact person that hit him. OK, there were hundreds of people in that room. Do not try and be a drama queen. It really is not a big deal. They probably will not ever come back to Alabama again, though. Anyway, the band after WIM, was The Acacia Strain. They were extremely loud and they were really out of place on the tour as well because they were more metal that screamo. During their last song, their singer called a girl from the front up on stage. During a previous show at Zydeco, the roof apparently collapsed and busted her head open. They thanked her for risking her life and continuing to support them because they thought they were not worthy of such. She stood on stage with them until their set was over and she hugged their singer. I thought that was really nice of them to do that for her. Then it was time for the reason I wanted to come to the show in the first place……. We Came As Romans!!!! Ah! I was so excited that I was jumping up and down for fifteen minutes while I patiently waited for them to brace the stage. They all ran out on stage in matching shirts and started paying Mis//Understanding. Talk about Kinsey freaking out. Their merch guy, Brian, even came out and screamed part of the song. Kyle then asked “How are we doing out there?” The crowd screamed in response. They said the next song went out to their tour manager’s scorpion. (Story about that will come later in the blog). They played Just Keep Breathing, one of my favorites. Kyle asks us again “How are we doing out there?” The screams again. Then they started playing Broken Statues. We were told by Kyle “ I want you to follow me right now! And Bounce and Bounce and Bounce.” And we did. After that song, Dave thanked us. Then they introduced the next song and said “This song’s called Scorpion.” The song Scorpion actually turned out to be Roads That Don’t End And Views That Never Cease. I had a moment. The next song was dedicated to anyone that supported music and still went to live shows. Dave also said “we’ll continue in just one second. everybody make some noise for every single band that walked on this stage! Give it up for Oceano and The Acacia Strain!” The Kyle chimed in and said “And I know you guys are super excited to see our boys in Attack! Attack!” Then Dave said “It’s been awhile, it’s been a good year and a half since we’ve been back here! How many of you guys saw us last time we were here with For Today? *crowd screams* Alright a few of you that’s awesome! Thank you for coming back! If you’ve never seen us before tonight, thank you for checking us out and giving us your eyes and your ears we really appreciate that! We’ve got merch outside and it is raining but we’ll be by there at some point tonight. Come by, introduce yourselves, and say hi. We’d like to meet some of you guys and say what’s up?” Then Kyle said “We’re gonna keep this going right now” Dave came back and said “Like I said, this song goes out to all you guys! Thanks so much for supporting music. Keep buying CDs and keep coming to shows!” Then the band started playing Intentions. Dave ended the song by saying Thank You! After that song, Dave says “We only get to play for about half the amount of time that we normally would which is very sad news but im sorry to tell you guys we only have time for one more song. You guys want one more song? Because we only want to play this if you promise to let out everything you’ve been holding back. If there is something you’ve wanted to do but you are too scared to do it, don’t hold back. No one is going to judge you for doing it. Let loose Alabama!” and the band went straight into To Plant A Seed. That is on of my favorite songs on that album. In the middle of the song, Dave said he couldn’t hear us. That is when the crowd energy really intensified. Then Kyle took off his shirt. Yum. Before they sang the end of the song, Kyle said “I want to hear you sing this even Scorpion in the back!” The crowds unison of the lyric “My future started with the first note that was ever played/sang” was absolutely beautiful and it gave me chill bumps. Dave said “It’s been a privilege. We’re We Came As Romans and then they walked off stage. I was a little disappointed that they did not have time to play the song Understanding What We’ve Grown To Be, but I understood why the did not have time to play it. I made my way to the back of the crowd and watched Attack! Attack!’s first song, because they are not my favorite band. I heard they played Sexual Man Chocolate and gave a really good speech on not committing suicide. But I did not stay for it because I did not have to. Instead, I walked to WCAR’s merch table. I bought a few things and I made “friends” with Brian, WCAR’s merch guy. He was super awesome. He was wearing the same shirt that the guys were wearing when they walked on stage and someone asked him if they could buy his shirt. He politely declined. The shirts were read with a the word Scorpions written on it and it had a picture of a scorpion with a soccer ball on its tail. I asked him why they wore those and he told me their tour manager had a huge scorpion tattoo and they found the shirts and had to get them. It was a really cool shirt and I wish I had one. Anyway, so this other guy and I stood by the table waiting for the band to come out. Brian was nice enough to send a text to the guys and asked them to come out. Dave and Andy were the only guys that came out. They both thanked me for coming out and for the support. I got pictures with them and they autographed my poster. I talked to them about all the shows that I had been to and they seemed very thankful for coming out to their shows. It is no trouble on my part. Then they walked off and I waited for the show to end because my cousin was still inside. I met back up with him and we went to wait by their tour bus for a little while. We saw Andy again and we both asked him several questions. Seth asked him if the beginning of Broken Statues had a harpsichord. Andy told him yes and that a lot of different orchestras were also layered in it. I asked him if they had ever thought about doing some acoustic stuff and he told me to keep my eyes and ears peeled. Seth asked him if they thought about doing any more Punk Goes Pop covers. Once again, he said “Keep your eyes and ears peeled.” Then I asked him why the did not play their cover of My Love because every time I see them, someone next to me gets mad because they do not play it. He said “We used to play it a lot but then we released another album and we just don’t play it that much anymore.” I told him that made perfect sense. Then I asked him a question that was on a lot of people’s minds. I said “I know y’all are not a religious band, but are the members of your band religious?” He told me that four of them were Christian and two of them, were more agnostic. He said that Kyle and Louie were the two that were not religious but their religious differences did not get in the way of them making music that they love and they all agree on the music. I nodded in agreement. And then I jokingly asked him to write a song with my name in the title. He laughed and he told me, once again, to keep my eyes and ears peeled. I really think he likes that answer. I also told him that the song, Understanding What We’ve Grown To Be made me cry the first time I heard it because it was so beautiful and it hits me emotionally every time I hear it, especially the line “Tonight, when I look into the sky, I know this why I am alive.” He told me that he was sorry they did not get to play it but he appreciated me telling him that and he told me that song got a big crowd response, especially during that part because Kyle normally stands with his arms in the air. I told him that was really awesome and I thanked him for taking time to talk to me. He said no problem and he thanked me for supporting the band. Then he walked off. At some point I saw Louie and he walked over and took a picture with me and I thanked him for that. Then it was time for me to go home. I was so excited that I got to see We Came As Romans again and I am so glad that I learned about so many new bands.
