The Under the Radar Tour - as the name implies, is a traveling show made up of bands that lack the widespread exposure of more established acts. Last Thursday, the tour stopped at the Sphere Entertainment Complex for the Variety Rocks 2003 show, featuring The Stage, The Exies and Trapt. Sponsored by modern rock station, 103.3 the Edge, the concert raised money for The Children's Hospital of Buffalo.
Up-and-coming, but still relatively unknown, every band on the tour had something to prove, which made Thursday's show worth attending. Commenting on the possibility that they will end up on the MTV weekday afternoon countdown, which is host to a multitude of one-hit wonders and musical atrocities, Peter Charell, bassist of Trapt, says, "We don't try to be like a TRL band ... I mean, it is cool to see yourself on MTV, though."
Guitarist Simon Ormandy and drummer Aaron Montgomery grimaced when Charell said it. While it appears that the band does not want to portray itself as seeking air time on MTV, Trapt gives a unified impression that it will not bother them if they achieve such publicity.
Trapt finds itself nearing the end of an awkward stage. While they have been played on the radio for the last few months, they have yet to receive booming record sales. At times, the band finds itself in situations where they have to decide between playing a 100-person set and giving itself a night off.
Buffalo fans of the band are lucky Thursday's show didn't wind up in the latter category. Ticket sales for the show were astoundingly low and the band had cancelled two preceding concerts.
"Our singer's (Chris Brown) been having some trouble, he's been sick ... so we figured it would be to our benefit to take a chance to recover," said Montgomery.
The Sphere became a host to another 100-spectator show. But this had only a slightly adverse effect on the quality of performance for the evening. The Stage kicked it off and appeared a bit unenthusiastic at first, but as the songs picked up in tempo and reached their crescendos, the band put on a respectable show, introducing many to their "artsy" form of rock.
Commenting on The Stage, Montgomery said, "You can definitely hear the Jeff Buckley and Eddie Vedder influences."
The Exies basically gave a similar performance. On stage, lead singer Scott Stevens commented on another factor that had a negative influence on their motivation to rock.
"It is f-in' cold up here," Stevens said. "Us California boys aren't made for this."
The Exies played a mediocre set reminiscent of early Goo Goo Dolls-style rock, and closed with their hit song, "My Goddess." The reaction from females and the five or six guys in their early to mid-teens was quite positive. The rest of the crowd remained relatively docile for The Exies' set.
Trapt was hesitant to take the stage before asking those who were watching from the second floor at the bar to come down. After waiting an additional 10 minutes, the band came out and delivered an explosive set. Everything about Trapt's performance was solid. The vocals were charismatic, the music from the guitars were well-defined and the bass lines were catchy.
Montgomery's drumming is the finest aspect of the band. As opposed to simply providing a rhythm as hard as he can like many rock drummers, Montgomery comes up with creative chops that drive the band's best songs. It is this type of percussion that has led to many of the best pop-rock songs in the past five years, such as Blink 182's "Adam's Song," and P.O.D.'s "Youth of the Nation."
Songs like "Hollowman," and "When All is Said and Done" received excellent crowd response (based on what was available). While he certainly could have been bitter with the crowd size, Brown showed maturity by thanking those who paid to see him, and especially those who had taken the time to get to know their music ahead of time.
"It really means a lot to us when we come to a town we've never been to before and we see people singing the words with us," he said, pointing to one particularly avid fan.
Polishing off the evening with a solid rendition of their hit, "Headstrong," Trapt ended the evening on a positive note, receiving massive applause for such a small crowd. It was a fitting conclusion; perseverance is what that song is all about, and Trapt proved that they had it.
Photo: Meredith Forrest Kulwicki
