Strung Out @ The Hard Rock In Vegas

If you've followed this blog for more than the past six months, then you know that Strung Out is kind of my band. I was home teaching some guys on Sunday and telling them about the show, and they remarked that there really are no casual Strung Out fans. If you're in, you're in 100%. It's true, and you really feel it when you go to one of their shows. Everyone in the audience either has Strung Out attire, tatoos, or knows every word to every song. And it's not just the people in the pit, it's even those in the back of the audience.

I went down with Mike Reid last Friday for an overnighter in Las Vegas last Friday June 12th to catch them playing at the Hard Rock Hotel because I won't be able to catch them in California and they're not traveling up here any time soon. The venue was small. I actually kind of hated it. There was hardly any room, they didn't allow for any moshing (when did I become a mosher, by the way? It started out for me only during Matchbook at the end of the show, and now it's any song that I like), and the sound quality was terrible. The doors opened at 8:30pm, but the first band didn't even get on until about 10pm, which meant that the second one got on at about 11pm, and Strung Out graced the stage after midnight. The show lasted until two in the morning. It would have been fine had I been prepared for that.

I didn't care for either of the first two bands. They were way too heavy on the distortion, and their songs all sounded the same. You also can't say enough about stage presence and for the artist's ability to engage the audience. Neither of those bands had it to any degree. Jason Cruz, however, has it. The actual stage was small, but with the bar immediately adjacent, close enough that he decided he could walk over on the bar and reach some of the fans not directly in front. Usually they play a good smattering of songs from all of their albums, but they didn't play anything from Element of Sonic Defiance, and not as much as I would have liked from Twisted By Design or even their most recent album, Blackhawks Over Los Angeles. To be honest, the set felt a little short and maybe that was because they had gotten on so late to begin with.

You know what's so great about punk shows? They rarely cost more than $20, and you can get close enough that Jason's sweat can actually drip on you. I was close enough to sing into his microphone on a couple songs, and this band is great because they'll always stick around after their set to glad hand and take photos. They always always always stick around. You know what else is awesome? I'm never going to run into a person at a punk show who gets upset because I'm standing. If I fall in the pit, there will be 3 or 4 people right there to pick me up. I've high-fived strangers at these shows and had a dude I didn't know put his arm around me and sing a song together. It's a weird kind of aggressive camaraderie that exists at these things.

Part of what makes me love these guys so much is not just how great they are live, but how consistent they are in producing albums and going on tour. I have seen them at least five times in the past two years, and more than 15 times in my life.

It wasn't the best I've seen them, but it was still definitely worth the trip. This song has become one of my favorites to hear live. I love the "huahs" and the way those guitars sing at the end. Awesome.