The Take Action Tour. A genuine cause or just another “cause” to justify the over marketing of the genre?

In the past years we have experienced an influx of tours hitting the road under the blanket of a cause, addressing such evils as cancer, war and alcoholism. The Take Action Tour, made its way to Warehouse Live last night, and was sponsored by Sub City Records. The tour helps bring awareness to the social problem of suicide. I think we can all agree that suicide is a bad thing and most of even can relate to the cause in one way or another, but is this tour really about the prevention of such an evil, or is it simply inspired by the dollar sign?

A few things I noticed during the show made me wonder. First of all from what I saw the tour itself was not promoted very well at all, as someone not actively searching for upcoming show information would not have ever known about it. There were 5 bands on the bill and I can recall only one scrambled comment about suicide from one of the band’s frontmen, in which he boasted that 10% of the proceeds go to the national suicide hotline. So 10% eh? I understand the venue taking a small portion, because well rent isn’t cheap downtown in the 4th largest city in the US. I can even understand the bands taking some to cover the costs of being on the road, but 90%? I Digress.

It had been a little over a week since I had been to the venue and as I walked in I remembered how much I appreciated the smaller amenities this place has to offer. It has a bathroom with its own attendant that serves you a peppermint before you exit; kind of like the service you receive at a fine hotel. We managed to catch the last half of the opener, Man Alive, who hails from Israel. These guys had some great energy and the elder, second guitarist (who was wearing an old Shai Hulud shirt) had some killer jumps. I felt bad that the band had to play to such a limited and lifeless crowd. I was excited to hear that these guys signed to The Militia Group. Their debut album, Open Surgery, was released last year. Man Alive was a pleasant surprise.

Man Alive was followed by the pop-rock quintet, Amber Pacific, whose whiney vocals and lackluster melodies failed to impress. Yes these guys are young and ill be the first to shun the stringent scene fashion standards that are so much a part of the shows today, but come on, these guys looked like they hopped out of a really bad Gap commercial. I was so perplexed by the popped collars and tilted caps to even pay attention to the bad music.

Luckily these guys were followed by The Early November. These guys know how to have a good time. Incredible musicians and 3 guitars. Watch out for a three disc release from these guys in the coming months.

Silverstein was up second to last. I’m not too big on the whole melodic plus screamo thing, but these guys were decent live at least. Probably not the kind of thing you’d catch in my CD player (or iPod for all you hipsters) but nevertheless they were fun to watch live. The vocalist sticks out his tongue really strange like when he screams. (see photo gallery for more on that)

Seeing The Early November end with Baby Blue and being introduced to Man Alive’s interesting blend of rock were the highlights of this night. Unfortunately we opted to pass on the headliner Matchbook Romance because of a scheduling issue; however I will be sure to check them out on their next go round.

I don’t support harsh preaching at shows, but I hope the tour’s organizers consider spreading the message that the tour is based on a bit more widely and heavily then they appear to be. Maybe even possibly giving a little more than 10% to their cause.