2008 Woodie Awards
Band Review: A Midday Atlantic
Adam Lowe
Issue date: 3/18/08 Section: Entertainment
A Midday what? My thoughts exactly. I went to a show last Tuesday night in Long Beach at a place called DiPiazza's and was wondering who the hell I was listening to. Wait, time out! Is Adam Lowe finally going to rip on a band? Yep! I, Adam Lowe, who have been writing only praising reviews of musicians the last few weeks, am about to shred a band.
The band is called A Midday Atlantic, and I don't get the name, but I digress - onto the music. While I was sitting at the bar enjoying a marvelously mixed Captain and Coke, the music began. At first, I was pleasantly surprised - the melodic guitar intro was amazing. Had I known such talented musicians came to this school, I'd go to more of their shows. Ryan Lunde, a Literature and Writing major here at CSUSM, was shredding on guitar. Then the second guitar kicked in. Next was the bass, and last were the thunderous drums. These guys had a great sound…until the singer made his vocal debut of the night. Ouch!
I think I actually laughed a little bit to myself. To be brutally honest, he sounded like a cat being neutered without anesthesia. So this music went from an amazing instrumental quartet, reminiscent of Jimmy Eat World before they were popular to sounding like a bad imitation of Taking Back Sunday's worst show. But just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, the drummer chimed in. Double ouch! I'm not sure if he was worse than the lead singer, or if he was just louder. He was quite a talented musician, true of all the musicians-it's just that the vocals were far from pleasing-on both the singer and drummer's accounts. To redeem themselves a little, they had great stage presence. But honestly, it was too hard for me to get past the novice vocals to truly enjoy their performance.
To recap the night would go like this: Great opening instrumental piece; vocals were pitiful; the awkward interjection of a violin solo could be completely omitted; and the drummer should just throw his microphone out. Overall, these guys are really instrumentally talented, but a new singer would be a great investment. I think I'd give them an "8" on their instruments and at most a "4" on vocals, but probably more like a "3". They have amazing potential, but they do need some improvement. Hey, just because I didn't really enjoy them doesn't mean you wont. If you want to have a listen for yourself, check them out at www.Myspace.com/AMiddayAtlantic. Give them a try. Perhaps you'll disagree with me.
The band is called A Midday Atlantic, and I don't get the name, but I digress - onto the music. While I was sitting at the bar enjoying a marvelously mixed Captain and Coke, the music began. At first, I was pleasantly surprised - the melodic guitar intro was amazing. Had I known such talented musicians came to this school, I'd go to more of their shows. Ryan Lunde, a Literature and Writing major here at CSUSM, was shredding on guitar. Then the second guitar kicked in. Next was the bass, and last were the thunderous drums. These guys had a great sound…until the singer made his vocal debut of the night. Ouch!
I think I actually laughed a little bit to myself. To be brutally honest, he sounded like a cat being neutered without anesthesia. So this music went from an amazing instrumental quartet, reminiscent of Jimmy Eat World before they were popular to sounding like a bad imitation of Taking Back Sunday's worst show. But just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, the drummer chimed in. Double ouch! I'm not sure if he was worse than the lead singer, or if he was just louder. He was quite a talented musician, true of all the musicians-it's just that the vocals were far from pleasing-on both the singer and drummer's accounts. To redeem themselves a little, they had great stage presence. But honestly, it was too hard for me to get past the novice vocals to truly enjoy their performance.
To recap the night would go like this: Great opening instrumental piece; vocals were pitiful; the awkward interjection of a violin solo could be completely omitted; and the drummer should just throw his microphone out. Overall, these guys are really instrumentally talented, but a new singer would be a great investment. I think I'd give them an "8" on their instruments and at most a "4" on vocals, but probably more like a "3". They have amazing potential, but they do need some improvement. Hey, just because I didn't really enjoy them doesn't mean you wont. If you want to have a listen for yourself, check them out at www.Myspace.com/AMiddayAtlantic. Give them a try. Perhaps you'll disagree with me.
Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 3
jeremy albers
posted 3/18/08 @ 8:08 AM PST
way to lay it down sir...
JT$
posted 3/18/08 @ 9:15 PM PST
You really laid into them but at the end you said hey, don't beleive everything I say, check it out and you decide. I thought that was a nice touch.
michael
posted 5/22/08 @ 1:31 AM PST
Man, I was searching around for stuff on A Midday Atlantic, found this and I was really bummed when I read this review...
I love A Midday Atlantic, have probably seen them 5 times and never heard Miguel sound the way you just described! Your description actually seemed like a personal attack more than a critique', which I find pretty unprofessional on your part. (Continued…)
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