Drive-Thru Records CMJ Showcase

The omens aren’t exactly encouraging. Mere moments before the first of six bands take to the stage a seriously annoyed kid huffs and puffs his way through the crowd to get a better view of proceedings. The word brandished across his t-shirt? Obituary. Talk about writing off a night before it’s even begun...

But maybe our young “fan” is onto something if we judge the entire night by the opening act. House Of Fools (who, disappointingly, don’t act like fools at any point) might have the crowd clapping along with their opening number but we refuse to - ahem - get fooled again and quickly realize that this is sub Guns N’ Roses drivel that even Axl Rose would be ashamed to put his name to. The end can’t come soon enough but, with their final song, some hope shines through. Ironically, it’s House Of Fools’s quietest moment and this softly spoken approach pays instant dividends as the bombast is put to bed and an introspective side takes over. Still, isn’t “doing” raucous their very raison d’etre, as they don’t say very often in these parts?

Look up exuberant in the dictionary and you’ll see a photograph of Houston Calls. Needless to say, you’ll probably want to return your dictionary as pictures of pop/rock bands have no place there...they should be under L for Loud. And, naturally, Houston Calls are that too but at least lead singer Tom Kreiger can hold a tune and isn’t this the least we should expect, nay, demand from our future pop heroes? This band is so happy that even the members who don’t have a singing role merrily chirp along to all the words. The keyboard player holds onto his instrument with gusto while leaning into the crowd and screaming out the lyrics as if his life depended on it. Naturally, it’s infectious behavior and it’s as apt a metaphor for modern music in 2005 as you’re likely to find. Their 2005 material isn’t too shabby either: ‘Sunrise Goodbyes’, ‘Conversation With The Wind’ and ‘One More Won’t Hurt’ wouldn’t sound out of place at a Blink 182 show and who could begrudge anyone with a song called ‘Amtrak Is 4 Lovers’ up their youthful sleeves? And though this shows their innocence - in five years time, the tune will have the readjusted title of ‘Amtrak Is A Frustrating Experience And I Don’t Think We’ll Ever Get There (Why Didn’t We Fly Instead?) - it’s entirely appropriate to conclude that Houston Calls, we don’t have a problem.

The start to Socratic’s set is not your usual affair. The customary feedback does kick in but during some initial guitar strummings on ‘Theme From Your Mother’s Garden’ (what is it with these titles? Remember when songs were called ‘She Loves You’ and you knew what you were letting yourself in for?), another kid in an ever so negative t-shirt (‘Looking Forward To Death’) casually strolls on carrying a human sized cardboard cutout of the band’s latest album. As a publicity stunt, it’s nothing short of relative genius (the average age of this crowd must be 15) but how could Socratic possibly measure up to it? You can read that on a literal level too, if you like. Lead singer Duane Okun means well, and material from their album ‘Lunch For The Sky’ is briefly engaging, but it’s instantly forgettable. Socratic come off as Queen, just without the bad hair, issues with sexuality and, sadly for them, the songs. The album’s huge though. You can read that on a literal...oh, never mind.

Continuing the tribute theme, I Am The Avalanche resemble a Dave Grohl fan club meeting. Except that they scream Brooklyn in that “we’re cool but are trying not to look it” way. You couldn’t fault them musically but much like biting into rhubarb and being unaware that candy exists, you just know that there’s something better out there. I Am The Avalanche’s lead singer Vinnie Caruana was the singer with The Movielife and his new project is attempting to be more ambitious. The effort is admirable - their tracks feature the requisite crunching guitars, ‘Murderous’ tips its hat to reggae and ‘New Disaster’ is about as optimistic as a mission statement written exclusively for pessimists can get. But Dave G can rest easy.

The real surprise of the night comes with Steel Train. Perfectly pitched between the Vans wearing Warped tour fans and those of us who want more from our music than the simple pleasure of banging our heads, this is a band with the chutzpah to cover The Jackson 5’s ‘I Want You Back’. Indeed, their ‘1969’ record has the good grace to pay respect to the year in question by offering a fresh perspective on David Bowie’s ‘Space Oddity’ and the barely known ‘Natural Mystic’ by Bob Marley (the name Steel Train is also a Marley reference). Grace is an apt word for their performance: vocalists Jack Antonoff and Scott Ranniar have it in spades and the fact that they’re so different from anything else on the Drive-Thru roster works in their favor. They sound like the official end of summer - it’s smoky and sultry as only country tinged rock seems to be these days - and as that New York Yankees advert would nearly have it, ‘Steel Train’ are as comfortable looking back as they are looking forward.

Headliners HelloGoodbye are what the majority of the kids have come to see and they don’t disappoint. Resembling a Fountains Of Wayne crossed with The Buggles, this is life affirming power pop. Not for nothing is a picture of a rainbow on their website and anyone who sings about a ‘Bonnie Taylor Shakedown’ (“Here’s a thanks for a summer I will always remember”) demands our attention. Predictably, the kids go wild, everyone claps their hands in perfect unison and exits the venue happier than when they entered. And isn’t that the point? You couldn’t say for certain that Obituary has been crossed out across our favorite fan’s chest but we’ll all fight to live another day.