Review: Polaris concert

Walking into the Georgia Theatre for the first time in a while felt refreshing. The old brick walls and signature red curtains felt like home to me. I’ve been to several shows there, starting when I was 5-years old, but this Polaris show was especially exciting for me even though I wasn’t too familiar with the bands. It’s rare now for the Georgia Theatre to host a hardcore concert, with Atlanta’s ‘The Masquerade’ being the most popular venue for those types of shows in Georgia. 

As the lights dimmed and the first act, alternative-rock band Nerv, came onto the stage, the audience was ready to party. The band started out with their song “Low,” featuring a heavy riff right off the bat. The voice of talented lead singer Dillon Jones sounded similar to Jonny Craig of post-hardcore band SLAVES, one you would more likely hear in pop music, providing contrast to the sometimes heavy instrumentals. On that same note though, they sounded like Taylor Swift if she was a metal artist: simple instrumentals and corny lyrics about heartbreak. This act’s small-band vibe brought a light-hearted mood to their set, with band members engaging in somewhat of a comedy act between songs.

When Thousand Below started playing, I thought they were just another modernized metalcore band with a plain sound. I was proven wrong when they played the breakdown of their first song “SHAKE,” and lead singer James DeBerg seamlessly transitioned from a clean voice to a deep growl. A common theme they follow is having simple instrumentals throughout the song but a heavy breakdown, similar to modern metalcore band Bad Omens, who the band has collaborated with before. I can’t say that I’m a huge fan of that sound, the heavy breakdown usually isn’t worth listening to the rest of the boring song. However, they still put on a great live show. The band members are energetic and animated on stage while channeling raw emotion into the performance. They were definitely successful in getting the crowd hyped up by saying ”everybody clap on 3,” or “everybody start jumping,” as well as opening up the mosh pit with their heavy riffs.

Metalcore band blessthefall is a classic in the emo/hardcore scene, releasing their first album in 2006. With those years of experience playing live, they had the audience crowd surfing quickly as rail security started hating their jobs. The band members themselves could barely stay still, sometimes climbing out into the crowd and standing on the rails or speakers. Too many classic hardcore bands water down their music as the years go by, as if they’re running out of ideas. However, I found blessthefall’s live show to be fairly heavy with bits of their original, more emo sound. Since the show fell on bassist Jared Warth’s birthday, the band celebrated by bringing out a ‘happy birthday Jared’ sign and eating cupcakes on stage mid-set as the crowd sang “Happy Birthday.” What a spectacle it was seeing heavily tatted men who play brutal music for a living getting giddy over cupcakes. As if the set couldn’t get better, they ended with emo classic “Hey Baby, Here’s That Song You Wanted” from their 2008 album “Witness,” which had the entire crowd screaming lyrics. blessthefall put on the best show of the night by far with their theatrics and heavy instrumentals.

Finally the lights dimmed and the bright stage lights started flashing in preparation for the Australian headlining band Polaris, my least favorite band that played. In some of Polaris’ newer songs, the lyrics tend to be repetitive and unbearably corny with instrumentals that usually don’t stand out. They seem to fall into that category of metalcore bands who’s quality declines over time because their 2012 EP “In Parallel” is heavy, unique, and creative. I can’t help but wonder where that same talent is in their newer work. However, the atmosphere radiating throughout the venue made up for the songs that were lacking. My feet had been killing me after the hours of standing, but the sheer excitement and energy coming from the crowd was enough to make me forget about the discomfort. Though I have my opinions of their newer work, they did play a fair amount of their older, heavier songs which made their set more enjoyable.

This was one of the best concerts I’ve been to in a while, probably the best one I’ve ever seen at the Georgia Theatre. The mixing of all of the bands was spot on, which is something other shows can fail to accomplish, becoming earsores due to poor audio tech. The audience was one of the best I’ve seen in terms of concert etiquette. There were barely any phones in the air, everyone made sure to keep each other safe, and most importantly everyone seemed to be having the time of their lives. While I may not go and add all of these bands to my playlist, I’m glad I got to go see all four of these talented live acts.