From My Chemical Romance to Michael Cera Palin, the Tri-State Area Remains Emo As Ever
In the dog days of sweltering August, the emos of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut have been eating ridiculously well. In rebuking the pitiful $9000 floor resale tickets listed for the My Chemical Romance MetLife Stadium show, I sought out a handful of equally electrifying acts for an exponentially smaller fraction of the price.
August 7th - Rematch, Eternal Boy, Card Reader at Amityville Music Hall
Rematch at Amityville Music Hall
Hailing from Chicago, five piece pop-punk enthusiasts Rematch dub themselves “the ghosts of the no coast,” but I’m sure they saw plenty of the East Coast toiling out to Bumfuck, Long Island for the second-to-last stop on their summer tour with Eternal Boy. Long Island punk ensemble Card Reader opened to their loyal local supporters, and Eternal Boy of Pittsburgh delivered on their brand of “honest” pop punk, despite sneaking in a short verse of Creed’s Higher to whip up the crowd.
Outfitted with new singer, Matt LeGrand, this marks the first time I’ve caught Rematch since their 2024 show at Bowery Electric in Manhattan. Despite my preference for former Rematch singer Alex Vito’s vocal inflections, I was pleasantly surprised by LeGrand’s fervor on stage and mastery of Rematch’s most tongue-twisting verses. Easycore lives on in their (uniquely named) explosive set intro, UWU, and chugga-chugs all the way through to new single, 6SPEED. With incredible licks from guitarist Noah Polino, and a ton of stage presence, I could only hope to catch their performance at Four Chord Festival later this year.
August 14th - Cheem, AVATAREDEN, Pretty Bitter at The Broadway
Cheem at The Broadway
Indisputably one of my favorite current acts, Connecticut-outfit Cheem set out to tear the roof down on the first night of their Secret of the Orbs mini-tour. Featuring fellow close-to-home openers Pretty Bitter and AVATAREDEN, the sweaty upstairs of The Broadway had its floors rocked by sheer riffage. After Pretty Bitter warmed up the crowd, AVATAREDEN brought the heavy with intense vocals and crowd work, ending with an impassioned thank you to the venue for remaining a safe space for those targeted by this current political climate. In contrast to Cheem’s full catalogue spanning show at Purgatory in May, this mini-tour intended to showcase brand new tracks from the group’s highly-awaited upcoming LP. Dual vocalists Sam Nazaretian and Skye Holden proved to be sonically flawless for 40 straight minutes. From already released singles Pivot and Freeze Tag, to never-before-heard room-rocker Elastic, it was clear this funky quintet will be filling even larger rooms in the near future. And my personal favorite unreleased pick? The bass-forward track Y On Earth, credited to Cheem’s bass maestro, Prince Porter.
August 16th - Michael Cera Palin, Oolong, Ogbert The Nerd at Elsewhere (Zone One)
Michael Cera Palin at Elsewhere (Zone One)
The ID line at Elsewhere was comically mixed - one half, trendy Brooklynites heading to The Rooftop, where a house mix of Shakira’s Hips Don’t Lie thumped down the stairs, and the other half, band tee warriors rushing to Zone One, the dank, crowded ground floor where bursts of Ogbert The Nerd’s chords sputtered out as the entrance door opened and closed. Dripping in sweat, the New Jersey band had completely packed the room for a feral performance of Get In The Robot, followed by similarly noisy Long Island group, Oolong. Looking like they barely made it past security themselves, Oolong thrashed on the cramped stage through heaters Tofurkey Tough and Mount St. Mary, before featuring an even younger, gawkier fan’s request from the crowd: Rick Murphy.
After the infectiously frenetic Oolong hightailed it offstage, midwest emo stalwarts Michael Cera Palin jammed to massive proportions. After the Atlanta-trio introduced themselves, a fan shouted, “Do you know Microwave??” And they laughed, because yeah, they do! Michael Cera Palin tore through offerings from their new album, We Could Be Brave, and their 2018 classic, I Don’t Know How To Explain It, alike. Equally as impressive as the goosebump-producing cover of If It Makes You Happy punctuating the set (a melancholy reimagining that served as many’s first introduction to the band), it’s admirable that vocalist Elliott Brabant utilized their time on stage to call for community among the underrepresented in the face of fascist times. Sheryl Crow would definitely be proud. Among other set standouts like Wisteria, and Laughing Makes It Worse, Michael Cera Palin had the crowd circle-pitting in harmony until 9:15 sharp - and for only $27 a ticket after fees!