Taste of Chaos: The Used, 30 Seconds to Mars, Senses Fail, Sasosin, Chiodos, Aiden, and Evaline Review

by Kaylie Seaver

Not long after entering the venue, my friend Jude and I met up with two sixths of Chiodos, Jason Hale and Derrick Frost, to talk briefly about their upcoming album and their experience on the Taste of Chaos tour. What was supposed to have been time allotted to speak with Saosin, following our chat with the boys of Chiodos, was instead dedicated to sorting out a small mix-up regarding a photo-pass, as cellphone malfunctions prevented us from ever actually meeting Saosin. 

This ultimately stalled us from entering the arena on time, missing the first band, Callahan, a small Canadian outfit who had won the Ernie Ball Battle of The Bands. We did get in, in time to see Evaline, however, whose cello-scraping and keyboard-pounding frontman held the attention of every kid in the audience. Their dark, ambient instrumentals were accompanied by sporadic flailing and jumping around by the members, and at least one fan was made of an unaware show-goer that night. 

Giving the crowd not more than fifteen minutes of breathing time between sets, Aiden hit the stage after Evaline, confidently ploughing right into their first song. Aiden refused to give the kids a break, and decided that, as key members of the show, they had a responsibility to fulfill. Instructing everyone the crowd to split down the middle and move to the far sides of the arena, frontman wiL Francis directed the two masses of kids to meet and conflate with the force and speed of their next song. Bruised but grinning, the crowd's enthusiasm grew throughout the set, as the band earnestly preached their songs and messages.

Following Aiden, Chiodos took the stage and, I mean, really took the stage. Sending out their tour manager, dressed like a giant bunny, to introduce the band, Chiodos exploded onto the stage. Leaving no inch of it untouched, the members of the hardcore/emo group didn't let anyone's energy dip even a centimeter. Tinkling, haunting keyboard solos littered the pounding songs, while Craig Owens' falsettos produced goosebumps on the arms of every moshing kid there. Not a whole lot of talking between songs, but made up for enthusiasm throughout songs. 

Next came Senses Fail, not my cup of tea, but earnest in their endeavors, in any case. The band hammered out their songs one after another in their charging fashion, and then came 30 Seconds To Mars. Running out on stage, the hankerchief-clad foursome demanded attention and called for noises of approval from the audience. Aside from being clobbered in the head with a full water bottle by Jared Leto [I'm not complaining, as he took me aside to pet my head and assured the crowd I was ok], their set went off full blast, keeping the crowd on their toes with mid-song ramblings and high energy songs.

The final band of the night appeared behind curtains hung in front of the stage. Only their silhouettes marked their presence, and it was at this point that the crowd's rabid tendencies took over. The curtains dropped and were carried away, and The Used opened with their newest single, "The Bird and The Worm". The rest of their set comprised songs that melted into each other, with little to no breaks between, lung-ripping vocals and loyalty-testing moshing, as the diehards worked their way to the front, showing no mercy. 

Each band of the night brought with them their genuine desire to please the crowd, and I am pleased to state that their desires were easily attained. 

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