10 Years, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
Let’s pretend it’s 2006. I’m a Junior in college, and just getting into the hard rock and metal scene. I walk into one of my first festivals early in the day, and head to the little bitty side stage, with no expectations what-so-ever. The first band walks out, with a dude that has dreads hanging below his shoulders leading the way. I have no idea who they are, but immediately I like their sound. By the third song, I was hooked, and their last song (Wasteland) would soon become one of my all time favorites.
Fast forward 6 years. I now know that band is called 10 Years, and I have been listening to them ever since. In fact, I’ve learned that for the past decade, they have created quite a name for themselves in the mid-market hard rock genre, and they are only getting better. Earlier this year, they released their strongest album to date, called Minus the Machine, which highlights their signature intense yet reserved vocals, but with a much heavier spin than albums in the past. The album also features an increased usage of backup screams that works very well, and overall, the album sticks out as one of 2012’s best.
So, even though lead singer Jesse Hasek has long ditched the dreads for a more reserved look, the band still hangs out there as a favorite of mine, and with the recent album release, I thought it was a perfect time to check them out in concert. Their latest tour, dubbed the Cutting Like Knives Tour, happened to cross paths with my work travel schedule at a tiny venue downtown Philadelphia. 10 Years – lets do this!
The Venue
The Trocadero Theater is a small venue in downtown Philly in the heart of what appeared to be China town. It was mainly one story, with a tiny balcony area for cast and crew only, and had really cool decor that took elements from fancy Broadway theaters and fused them with the giant speakers and posters expected at rock shows. Like any good small venue, most of the narrow place was taken up by an open area in front of the stage so that the fans could get up close to the band. The sound system was typical for a small venue – it sounded great but had to be a few notches too loud to get there. My only complaint – the alcohol policy prevented drinks from leaving a tiny bar area in the back of the venue, so a vast majority of the patrons were packed into a back corner for the whole show. Seems a bit backwards to me…but overall a cool place.
The Show
Red Jumpsuit Apparatus opened for 10 Years, and while RJA isn’t one of my favorite bands, they did put a on a great show at Rock on the Range in 2011, and so I was anxious to see them again. This show was solid, but was lacking a bit in energy, and the lead singer was clearly protecting his voice, which was really annoying. Instead of the interesting vocal elements that give RJA that cool punk sound, it was mostly simple choruses and holding the mic out over the audience for anything difficult. Overall, B- for Red Jumpsuit Apparatus.
On to the main event. I’ll come right and say that the 10 Years show was better than I expected it to be. Compared to previous shows I’ve seen them play, it just seemed like the latest album gave them the additional 4 or 5 really solid songs they needed to put on a headlining show without any “filler”. This was high energy, quality music for an hour and a half straight, and I don’t think they could have pulled that off a year ago at this level.
10 Years walked out to the relatively small crowd, and really blew us away from the very beginning. The show opened up huge, with the intro Forever Fields playing as they walked out, and then their new hard hitting single, Backlash, which was really awesome to see live. It was so good, in fact, that I worried that they would regret pulling out such a big gun this early in the show, but looking back I think it was a great way to set the energy bar high right from the beginning. Other songs early in the show that worked really well were Dancing With The Dead (which featured surprisingly great backup screams from the lead guitarist), and Fix Me, off of their 2010 release Feeding the Wolves.
About halfway through the show, the biggest wow moment came when the drummer walked out to the front of the stage and picked up an acoustic guitar and played Writing on the Walls. It was quite impressive to see a drummer switching instruments like that, and combined with the amount of emotion that Jesse put into the lyrics, the image of those two in the front of the stage is one that will stick with me for a while. The cool thing about the song is that about 80% off it is acoustic, but by the end, the rest of the band was on stage, and the energy had built right back up to where it was the song before. Most bands try to slow it down once or twice, and often times it seems forced or awkward. This was really well done.
Other high points include the song Minus the Machine, which is a really great song off their latest album, and the song Knives, which featured Jesse standing on top of a 10 foot speaker while singing. Of course, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Wasteland, which is always awesome to see live. Interestingly enough, Jesse made a comment about how they got burnt out on Wasteland a while back, but that they recognize that it got them to where they are now, so they still play it for the fans. I’m glad they realized that….it would have been really disappointing if they left it out.
They closed with Shoot it Out, which has been their staple closer for years now, and it still works really well. They didn’t play an encore, which is a bit atypical, but didn’t bother me that much. At the end of this show, I was left impressed with how far 10 Years had come since I saw them last – they had great stage presence, and the ability to keep the energy up for a long headlining set. As I walked out, I remember thinking “If these guys continue to get better, they may be playing arenas soon.” I still believe that to be true.
At a high level, one of my favorite things about the way 10 Years writes and performs is that the slow portions of their music have a certain suspense and mystery to them. They don’t let you relax at all, because you never know when the song could explode. It gives those slow parts another dimension, keeping things interesting, even when its calm. (I compare their sound in my head to Hurt, like when they sing The Rapture). This came through incredibly well at their show, and allowed the band to transition between between intense moments and softer, more intimate moments almost flawlessly, even within the same song, which I think is rare.
Overall, the expanded song library allowed 10 Years to bring a high energy show that was definitely worth checking out. I’m looking forward to seeing what’s ahead for this band. Until then, I will continue enjoying the album and the memories from this show!
Cheers!