If the world is ending, I hope Empires is throwing the party. Every so often, I forget why I love live shows. The drinks are overpriced, the sound is shit, and the place is crowded.
Then, on nights like tonight, I remember why I love live shows. The venue was made for 65 people, but there were about thirty. None of the bands that went on were huge, so it was a respectable turnout.
New Ghost, who I mistakenly thought was New Death for a portion of the evening, were pumped to be playing to the six people who were actually watching them. I was sitting off to the side, but even I can admit they were pretty fantastic.
Then it was time for Empires. Since I tend to focus on one member when I see them, I made an extra effort to look around at everything this time. Holy. Fuck. I remember hearing an interview with them where they said Empires was Ryan banging the shit out of the drums and Sean writing these huge songs. They were right. Very few times in my life have I been impressed with drumming the way I was tonight.
Also, I wasn’t on Tom’s side of the stage, so I actually got to watch Max. I hate that he has more talent in his pinky than I have in my entire body. I wish I’d gotten a chance to tell him. Maybe next time.
Standout number? Hello Lover, probably. I was a little disappointed they didn’t play Strangers, but if I had my way, they’d never get offstage and then the rest of the night wouldn’t have happened. And the rest of the night was pretty great.
If you want to check them out: Empires, the link will take you to a free download of Howl, their first album.
