Archive for the ‘The Higher’ Category
Van’s Warped Tour 08 Recap
So the day I’ve longed for this past summer has gone and past. Off the bat the verdict is good, and I want to give a special thanks to the guys at Warped for supplying me with tickets and photo passes. Now due to certain circumstances I arrived about an hour and a half late, and as such, missed three of the bands I was looking forward to seeing; including Automatic Loveletter, that was a disappointment. But I still caught a lot of great performances and will recap my experience with you all.
After arriving, I was pretty confused as to the schedule and locations of the stages. After about twenty minutes of wandering and what not, I found the schedule and planned the day accordingly. Seeing as how I had already missed The Academy Is…, We The Kings, and Automatic Loveletter, I headed towards the Myspace tent to watch a special acoustic set by Forever The Sickest Kids. The tent was packed, but there probably weren’t more than fifty people, and the performance was amazing. The vocals were spot on to the recordings, and the acoustic instrumentals were warm and mellow. While their personalities really shined, I expected that their performance on stage would be ten times more energetic with room to rock out. So after that acoustic set, I was bent on seeing them later that afternoon.
After the acoustic set by FTSK, I caught the last three songs by A Cursive Memory. One of the songs they played was a cover of Vanessa Carlton’s A Thousand Miles, which was actually really good. They also played their infamous single, Everything, and if you haven’t seen the music video for that song, do it now. I was shocked to see a very small crowd formed in front of the stage, with not more than forty people. Nonetheless the performance was still amazing, and everything from the vocals to the drums stood out. I was pleased to see that the two vocalists had really talented voices, and they complement each other very well. While I only caught three songs, I had to head over to their merch table and get some stuff.
At this point I had a bit of a break to check out all the merch tables and different shops setup. The venue was located at the parking lot in front of Arrow Hall, so it was quite a big venue, although Downsview Park would have been much nicer. At the ACM table all the cds were sold out, so I left empty handed but my friend scored a free EP. I did get a chance to pick up some EPs that would otherwise be hard to find in Canada, such as Automatic Loveletter’s. Being my first time at a music festival I enjoyed the whole walking, and choosing what I wanted to see and how my day would go, though I didn’t quite agree with the schedules, since they had bands in similar genres on different stages. It was quite a hassle to walk from one end of the venue to the other to see bands that should be grouped together, but not exactly a big deal.
The Higher – On Fire
The Higher, a Las Vegas pop punk group, has that same LV swagger that can be seen from fellow Las Vegas natives, The Cab. Through their fast paced instrumental rhythms, and up-tempo vocals, you get action packed music, that’s as if soul meets pop. Having already released an album prior to On Fire (2007), they are somewhat veterans to the genre, yet have managed a low profile. With the release of founding member, Tom Oakes (guitar/vocal), it’ll be interesting to see how The Higher continues, but nonetheless, On Fire is a spectacular album.
Insurance?, the first track comes through in full throttle with every element that I enjoy about this band being brought out. First and foremost the vocals are really catchy, and have quite an original sound. Slightly high pitched with a hint of rasp, it’s very cool and really fitting for the music. With the high paced rhythm of the lyrics, it makes the music more exciting and pleasing. A lot of the jazz of this band comes from the instruments, with their exciting guitar work, and epic synths. The drums round out the sound, to create a thrilling rock/dance lounge type feeling. This may be one of the more dance oriented songs on the album, with its higher pace, and upbeat styling.
Guts, the second song, is a little less jazzy and a little more soulful. Slowing things down and changing the tone of the instruments, it shows a softer side to The Higher. With such an intuitive range of sounds, The Higher has shown a great collection of talents. Guts uses the same vocal approach as Insurance? but by tweaking the instruments and lyrical melody, we get something totally different. This song doesn’t have the swagger of the first track but is much more sentimental, an equal trade off.
The rest of the album has tracks in between this range from glamour dance to soulful rock. Some other notable songs are Histrionics, the title of their first album, and a song they transferred over to On Fire. Being only a minute and forty-seven seconds long, it’s a really short acoustic track that is full of catchy, emotional music. Darkpop is another song I really enjoyed, with an epic aggressive verse it turns into a climatic chorus that’s moving and hits the spot. DARE is a track that’s very mellow, from the instruments to the vocals, everything is slowed and made much simpler.
The Higher is an amazing band who has a wide variety of sound. Every track on On Fire, have individual elements that make them stand out, and in the end listeners get an album full of entertaining songs. With their bar/lounge type instrumentals, it’s easy to guess these guys are from Las Vegas. On Fire is a great album, definitely recommended to anyone who has been following my posts. Their swagger, their style, their class, is what makes me want to listen to them more and more. With their participation at Warped, I’m stoked to get the opportunity to see them live, and it should be a great performance.
Check out their Myspace for official tour dates and news.
