Alkaline Trio Comes Home

Date: May 15, 2003

Venue: The Riviera - Chicago

Bands: Pitch Black, Pretty Girls Make Graves and Alkaline Trio

The last time Alkaline Trio was supposed to come to Chicago, vocalist Matt Skiba damaged his vocal chords while recording the band's new CD Good Mourning. The band was forced to cancel all of its January and February tour dates so Skiba could rest his voice and finish the album. No doubt the Trio's return to Chicago would be huge.

The show had been sold out for weeks and the Riviera was packed with a diverse audience of teenagers dressed in black like their heroes while the older fans stood in the back of the venue clenching their beers.

Pitch Black got the night started and was probably hoping it would end quickly. Equipment problems kept Pitch Black's guitarist from playing the majority of the first song. Once he finally got it fixed he joined the band in perfect unison.

While not overly exciting, Pitch Black did parallel the sounds of early AFI, but without Davey Havok's distinct vocals. It seems to be a band that needs to find its own niche.

The drummer was the bands saving grace. He spun and twirled his drum sticks almost as often as he hit the instruments and stood as much as he sat. His drumming was energetic, crisp and seemingly talented.

To add to equipment problems, Pitch Black's keyboard went out toward the end of the set and the crowd seemed eager for the band's finish. The failing equipment and musically repetitive songs seemed to disengage the crowd from the performance.

Pretty Girls Make Graves were the middlemen (and woman) of the night. This female fronted band has the ferocity of Thursday mixed with the vocals of the Cranberries. Vocalist Andrea Zollo delivered crisp, emotional and confident vocals while the band carried her along.

It was clear PGMG were having fun. Zollo sipped a beverage between songs and band mates interacted with each other throughout the set. It was a performance that offered musical diversity and visual enjoyment.

PGMG combine a unique mixture of punk, emo, trance and funk, delivering an extremely listener friendly brand of rock music. A drum machine and keyboard complimented the band's sound nicely and gave them a certain individuality. The crowd was now ready for their icons to emerge from the darkness.

Alkaline Trio tore open its set with "We've Had Enough" and played two other tracks off Good Mourning before playing "Maybe I'll Catch Fire" and "Armageddon."

Not to my surprise, each band member wore all black and gave off an aura of darkness just from appearances. The backdrop was an awesome curtain of black and red. The lower half depicted three black crosses resting in a black cemetery-like mound of dirt with a thick red sky above. The heart and skull logo dominated the center of the curtain.

Matt Skiba seems to be losing his voice. His vocals were as raspy as ever, yet perfect for songs like "Cringe," "All On Black" and "Private Eye." He'd show the crowd his appreciation by whispering a spooky, "Thanks" into the microphone. He also experienced some equipment problems. Skiba said he'd never worn the in-ear monitors and wasn't used to them. "I'm falling apart," Skiba said at one point.

Andriano performed songs like "Emma" and "Another Innocent Girl" girl with fearless energy and raw emotion. When he addressed the crowd he was soft spoken, shy and genuine.

Alkaline Trio were clearly excited to be back in Chicago, singing, "Maybe my friend CHICAGO, will tell me what to do," in "My Little Needle. The band appeared to have more confidence and professionalism than ever before and played an extremely memorable one hour set.

Alkaline Trio Set List:

"We've Had Enough"

"Fatally Yours"

"One Hundred Stories"

"Maybe I'll Catch Fire"

"Armageddon"

"Continental"

"Emma"

"Cringe"

"All On Black"

"I Lied My Face Off"

"If We Never Go Inside"

"Another Innocent Girl"

"Private Eye"

"Sundials"

"My Little Needle"

"Tuck Me In"

"97"

Alkaline Trio will be playing at Milwaukee's Summerfest on June 28. It's guaranteed to be an awesome show!

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

May 19, 2003