I’m still trying to set my head straight after tonight’s show at the ICC church in Allston. The line up included Lover Left You Bleeding, Verbana Darvell, Vanna, and the Number Twelve Looks Like You.

Lover Left You Bleeding is a “post hardcore” band from the Boston area. To be completely honest, I’ve never been a fan of LLYB. They put on an all right show, and I don’t personally think that their music is anything special. I guess I should give them credit for more than an all right show. The guitarists definitely give their set a little bit of flavor. Verbana Darvell is another “post hardcore” band, but they’re from Providence, Rhode Island. Front man Blaine started off by apologizing if he offended anyone (he was wearing an I Love New York shirt) because he didn’t realize he was “playing in Boston tonight”. While this was going on there was a girl in the back who appeared to be tuning her electric violin. Interesting. Suddenly, there was an extremely bright light facing the unsuspecting (and now unhappy) crowd. They began to play. They sound much better recorded than they do live, although that isn’t saying too much. I almost felt like they were trying to rip off Every Time I Die (vocally speaking), but they couldn’t quite do it. The violin added in (only in one song) made it sound a little more like a train wreck. I did however like the added effect of the lightshow and the brief use of the smoke machine. By the end of their set I almost felt like I was into it.

Vanna (Epitaph) took the stage. Despite being to many Vanna shows in the past, this was my first time seeing them. I previously reviewed the music posted on their myspace account for BLM, and I wasn’t a huge fan of the new song, but hearing it life made me want to like it…and at some point, I just may. Vanna has a lot of energy and they are pretty well put together. Musically, they were tight. They had a decent pile on during Dead Language for a Dying Lady. All in all, the crowd was very into the set; Vanna was in fact the first band that anyone really seemed to be into.

When The Number Twelve Looks Like You (from Bayville, New Jersey) was setting up, I’ll admit that I was nervous. I had been talking to a friend of mine, and he basically told me that Number Twelve is one of those bands that leaves you feeling like you don’t know what to think. When they started playing all I could think was “well this is definitely a new experience”. I absolutely wasn’t feeling it at all. They have this grindcore kind of sound, and I never could understand how kids just sat there and listened to that. Despite my dislike for the sound of the vocals and the thrashiness (there is no better word for it; sorry) of the music, I have to admit that they put on an excellent show. As the set went on I started thinking about the time an acquaintance of mine said he was tired of making intelligent music because no one understood it. Number Twelve’s music got better as the set went on. I wouldn’t necessarily say that they are a talented band, or that they’re a good band. I think that they have talented musicians that have a lot of potential to do a lot of great things. The guitars started getting a more technical, metal type of feel to them. One of the things I really liked about their set was the way the vocalists fed off of each other. There was a point when it appeared one vocalist was on his knees on the floor facing the other vocalist, who was holding himself up with one hand on the stage wall. They looked just as pained as they sounded. As I said before, I don’t think I would call Number Twelve a great band, or even a good band, but I do think that their show is worth seeing. Afterwards, I really just felt like “what just happened”, and I really wasn’t sure what I thought directly after. I still may not be entirely sure.

For more Mass Live Events shows check out their myspace.

I want to thank Reena and Eric of Mass Live Events for putting me on the guest list to this show, Jon Burke for helping me get there and back, and Vanna for being supportive of BLM.

-Lalz