Images: Outlier, Genesis Company, Deep End, Color Cast Cinema August 23, 2016 (house show)

Due to my day being a bit up and down, I thought I was going to miss this show completely. At the very least, I knew I’d miss the first band. Thank goodness for punk time.

I arrived just in time to catch Color Cast Cinema, the acoustic solo project of Quinlan Braiwick from No Relief. I was pretty surprised to see him play in a stripped down style after knowing him from the much louder hardcore band but honestly? This style suits him just as well. The crowd seemed to agree, bobbing their heads to the calm music.The second local of the night was Deep End and to say things got louder is an understatement. Despite playing for a shorter amount of time than the last few times I caught them I still enjoyed seeing them get the crowd pumped up.

Genesis Company was up next and truthfully, this Tempe melodic hardcore band is the main reason I came out to the show. The guys blew me away when I saw them earlier this year and pretty much gained a fan for life. The band started with “Convictions” and continued through some of my favorites – “Rumination,” “Sleep” and “Pain & Agony.” It’s great to see how far the band has come in such a short amount of time, playing even tighter and having a few more people getting into the music this time around.

Closing out the night was San Jose hardcore band Outlier and despite having the opportunity to check them out beforehand after the urging on some friends who are fans, I decided to go in blind and let their live show be my introduction to the band. I’m glad I did, because they’re absolutely wild live. They play hardcore in the vein of Counterparts and Hundredth with a frontman who oozes sincerity with every word. I was basically speechless by the end of their set and can’t wait until they come through Vegas again.

-Margaret Schmitt | http://margaretschmitt.wix.com/margaretschmitt