Some said the Taste of Chaos Tour would be like a mini Warped Tour and actually it was

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What: Taste of Chaos Tour

Date: March 9, 2005

Place: Aragon Ballroom - Chicago, IL

Bands: A Static Lullaby, Underoath, Killswitch Engage, Senses Fail, My Chemical Romance and The Used.

LOTS OF PICTURES AT THE END!!

Some said the Taste of Chaos Tour would be like a mini Warped Tour and actually it was. There was a main stage with six bands, plus an acoustic stage with four bands. In Chicago, the Taste of Chaos Tour was held at the Aragon Ballroom, which is probably one of the bigger venues in the City, yet still a little cramped for everything that was going on.

The first floors was lined from the entrance to the stairs to the main stage area with merch booths and promotional booths. Obviously the bands had their stuff set up, but even Myspace.com was representing. The small acoustic stage was set up just in front of the entrance to the women’s bathroom and if people were standing there to watch it got a little tight in the main traffic corridor.

On the Chicago leg of the tour A Static Lullaby, Underoath, Killswitch Engage, Senses Fail and My Chemical Romance each put on the standard 30 minute Warped-like set, while The Used got a little more time to rock the crowd.

One thing was for sure, the crowd at this show seemed a little more mature than say the crowd at the Good Charlotte and Sum 41 tour. It wasn’t that the kids on the floor were older, they just acted like they were. That’s a good thing for those of us who want to go and actually enjoy the show.

Unfortunately, by the time I made it through the first floor mini-mall, A Static Lullaby was already about 10 minutes into their set. From what I saw they were extremely professional and very energetic. They played a great variety of their old material off Don't Forget to Breathe combined with their more mature and technical material on Faso Latido. One of the band’s new songs called “Stand Up,” is something I think we’re going to be hearing a lot more of in the future. One thing that ASL have going for them is their music doesn’t cater directly to the same types of people who would like a band like Senses Fail or Taking Back Sunday. It’s got a harder edge and more grown up topical content.

Underoath has sure come a long way from being a band that was at one time just pigeonholed as a Christian band. Now landing an opening spot before Killswitch Engage and Senses Fail, Underoath is making its presence known. The band’s lead singer Spencer Chamberlain surprisingly only weighs about 110 pounds, but what a voice he’s got on him. It could probably wake the dead.

With Underoath it was all about intensity. One of the guitarists broke a string within the first 30 seconds of the first song. Chamberlain spent a great deal of time bouncing around the stage, crawling all over the monitors and slithering around on the floor. Additionally, he was spinning his mic while throwing in his gut wrenching screams. Underoath played songs like “It's Dangerous Business Walking Out Your Front Door” and “Reinventing Your Exit” and even though the band came across as insanely crazy their material was strong and precise. It’s really amazing how with so much going on, these guys can keep their songs extremely tight.

One kid in the crowd told me that Killswitch Engage didn’t belong on this tour and I’m not sure if he was correct, but they were the loudest, hardest and heaviest band of the night. Appearance-wise, these boys were sure interesting. The lead singer was huge and almost resembled a bodybuilder. He wore a baseball cap, a long sleeve dress shirt and jeans. His voice was loud, but again extremely surprising. I didn’t expect those sorts of high-pitched screams to emit from that body. One of the guitar players had a wife-beater shirt on with shorts so small that his boxers protruded from the bottom. He played his guitar extremely high up on his torso, but was intense as he rushed around all parameters of the stage. Another guitarist had long hair that he swung around and around as he shredded at his instrument.

Honestly, I’d never really heard a single note of Killswitch Engage, but since I find myself getting more and more into heavier music, I was persuaded enough by their performance to go buy their album the day after the show.

Senses Fail always put on an exciting and energy-laced set, so I was stoked to see these guys for the third time. Vocalist Buddy Nielsen is renowned for jumping all over the stage, while swinging his microphone around like a helicopter, add some ninja-kicks and you’ve got all the makings of a great visual show.

Senses Fail played songs like “187,” “You’re Cute When You Scream,” “Buried a Lie” and “Martini Kiss.” They also performed the powerful “The Irony of Dying on Your Birthday,” which is extremely chaotic and overly energetic. Nielsen sings with enough ferocity that it’s surprising his throat doesn’t ejaculate out of his mouth. Senses Fail had all of their sing-scream-sing harmonies in order and appeared to be really tight with the soaring guitar lines. The crowd was really into the set. Senses Fail had the most crowd surfers barreling around and I saw at least one girl have to leave early with the paramedics for what appeared to be a broken leg.

As it grew closer to My Chemical Romance and The Used taking the stage, the crowd grew louder and louder when the bands would ask, “Are you ready for My Chemical Romance?” Surprisingly, the roadies and tour coordinators were on top of their game and turned over the sets quickly so the crowd wouldn’t get too bored between bands.

My Chemical Romance is another one of those bands that are sure to rock your socks off when you hear them live. MCR didn’t let anyone down this time either. Vocalist Gerard Way seemed a tad more angry this time around, saying things like, “Chicago, do you want to fuck me?” and “If you don’t like what I’m saying, get past the sexy security guards and knock me the fuck out.”

The crowd ate up every word Gerard said and threw songs like “Cemetery Drive” and “Helena” right back at him. Obviously, MCR were one of the crowd’s favorites and as I looked around at the packed ballroom, it was evident that this show was in fact very sold out.

Gerard loomed over the stage in his black pinstriped suit coat and red tie as he sang the band’s dark concept-driven songs, while the rest of the band presented themselves like rockstars on a mission. It became even more obvious that MCR are probably going to be bigger (if not already) than Good Charlotte and New Found Glory. Just watch them and pay attention to their balls-out style, it’s obvious that they have made it to the big leagues and aren’t taking any prisoners.

The band played an great collection of their songs like “You Know What They Do to Guys Like Us in Prison,” a very sped up “To the End” and “Thank You For the Venom.” It’s obvious that MCR’s hook-filled morbid content is addictive and as they closed with “I’m Not Okay (I Promise)” the crowd seemed satisfied, but always willing to hear more.

Now, admittedly, I wasn’t necessarily ecstatic to see The Used. I saw them a couple times before the release of In Love and Death and that was when I still thought the band was good. See I just wasn’t impressed by In Love and Death, to me the band had gone soft. After hearing The Used perform their new stuff, my mindset changed. Their new material sounds great live and it’s like the CD doesn’t do the songs justice. The Used proved that they are a live band.

The Used launched their set with songs like “Take it Away,” “Listening” and “I Caught Fire” while playing old favorites like, “The Taste of Ink,” “On My Own” and “A Box of Sharp Objects.” The crowd was extremely into The Used’s set even though vocalist Bert McCracken didn’t puke or jump off the speakers. McCracken made fun of a security guard on a power trip, but pretty much just sang (or screamed) his songs and left it at that.

The encore was interesting. McCracken and Gerard of MCR came out on stage together and kissed… on the lips right at center stage. The rest of MCR came out and joined The Used on stage where they joined together to play a cover of David Bowie’s “Under Pressure.” After that the lights came back up and it was time to go home.

Overall, the Taste of Chaos Tour was enjoyable, but it was a lot like Warped Tour in the sense that each band played for only a half hour and their was a lot of rushing around. I’m sure this tour will become an annual outing for some of the genre’s most intense and upcoming bands and with that said, I’ll be back too.

By: Adam K. Zakroczymski III - Senior Editor / Founder

Underoath Pictures: