Photo Courtesy of I Set My Friends On Fire
Author: Julia Schwab
When I saw that I Set My Friends On Fire was touring AND coming to Seattle, my jaw dropped. My mind flashed to the times I’ve played them for my friends, thinking it was the funniest thing ever, just for them to be unamused. I was confident that I Set My Friends On Fire was surely a screamo Myspace memory, never to be seen again. Clearly I was wrong, because on March 6th at Funhouse, I Set My Friends On Fire will be playing a 10-year tour of an artistic masterpiece of an album, You Can’t Spell Slaughter Without Laughter.
Unfortunately, but maybe fortunately, I don’t know any of the openers I Set My Friends On Fire is bringing along on this tour. The first band playing will be Darkness Stole the Sky, and their name alone was a good indicator of what I could expect. The first thing I noticed about this band when I explored their Facebook page was their incredible logo art. Who wouldn’t be on board when they see this?
Photo courtesy of Darkness Stole the Sky
I further learned that Darkness Stole the Sky is a self-proclaimed “Melodic Death Metal / Thrashcore band” from just a few hours away in Olympia, Washington. Unfortunately, their music is not available on Spotify or Apple Music. In fact, the only platform I could really find it on was… Soundcloud. It just kept getting better and better. As I wrote this in the library, I made the pleasant mistake of accidentally loudly blasting the first song I chose by them. After what I thought was a lengthy instrumental (2 minutes and 50 seconds to be exact), I realized the entire album was instrumental. I think seeing Darkness Stole the Sky has the potential to be an enlightening and fulfilling experience.
My next opener to explore was Awaken I Am. It was clear that they have a much larger following than Darkness Stole the Sky, and I was surprised but not surprised to see they are signed to Victory Records. This makes them label-mates with bands like Emmure, A Day to Remember, and Silverstein. The five-piece band is from Brisbane, Australia, and embodies many common melodic post-hardcore sounds. The vocals and song structure can be compared to old school bands like Chiodos and Dance Gavin Dance. Their third album, Blind Love, was released last year and is promoted as a refreshing sound for the genre— a statement that could definitely be up for debate.
My last exciting opener to research was Kissing Candace. This one definitely has the biggest shock factor. Honestly, I’m still pretty speechless about it. I considered adding a photo of the band because of how wild they look, but I can’t bring myself to do it. Picture a group of people covered in gruesome special effects makeup. Please know that this isn’t a representation of my interests and tastes. So, that being said, Kissing Candace is definitely some creepy, intense scene kid screamo. I’ve been to my fair share of odd concerts, but I have to admit that I’m a little scared to watch this set.
Since the best is saved for last, I Set My Friends On Fire will close out the night. I cannot believe I’m seeing them in 2018. In the glory of 2007, I Set My Friends On Fire became a band due to a historic screamo cover of Soulja Boy’s popular hit song “Crank That.” After the song was released on their Myspace page, it received upwards on 50,000 hits a day. Because of this many listens, Myspace actually thought it must have been a hack of some kind and deleted their page. I can’t make this up. Every once and awhile I pay homage to this masterpiece of a song, and share it with friends. I can’t believe I’m admitting this, but I’ve actually played it on two first dates and I have a 100% success rate. This song is guaranteed to make you super cool and popular.
Photo by Adam Elmakias
After “Crank That” blew up, the Miami band released the full length album that this 10-year tour is based around, You Can’t Spell Slaughter Without Laughter. The album embodies its time period, creating a mess of metal, dance-pop, and synth electronics. I Set My Friends On Fire was a wildly successful Myspace band without really trying, and scene kids flocked to them quickly. You Can’t Spell Slaughter Without Laughter was sadly the band’s only release, but it definitely made a name for them. I would compare I Set My Friends On Fire to bands like Attack! Attack! and Brokencyde, who were active around the same time. However, I really don’t recommend you listen to those bands because I Set My Friends On Fire is enough to handle as is.
I know this night has a lot in store for me and my friends that are brave enough to face it. I’m excited to see what the environment will be like and how these unique bands will sound live. Stay tuned for a riveting account of my experience.
I Set My Friends On Fire, Kissing Candace, Awaken Am I, and Darkness Stole the Sky will be performing at Funhouse on March 6th. The event is all ages and doors open at 6:30PM. Tickets are available here.
JULIA SCHWAB | Attends a lot of Ten Year Tours | KXSU Music Reporter