Non-Point & 10 Years at The Montage Music Hall

There was a semi full house at the Montage Music Hall this evening, with a very diverse crowd of men and woman from twenty year olds to fifty year olds. There were even a few teenagers in the crowd. There was an exciting vibe inside the venue. There was a certain level of anticipation in the air on this warm summer Wednesday evening. School or work in the morning was not a worry to those who were in attendance for this show.

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The night kicked off right at 7:00 p.m. sharp with Rochester, NY local support from a newly formed band rock band called A Vintage Year (Played a 25 minute set). The band was well received by the crowd that was now starting to fill up with a lot of familiar local faces from members of other Rochester bands. They had a fun sharp set with their witty riffed, catchy melodies and upbeat pace. A Vintage year is composed of Joe Williams (Vocals), Jordan Barney (Guitars/Vocals), David Pelletrier (Bass) and Nick Manka (Drums). Currently, A Vintage Year are touring in support of their self-titled EP that was released late January of this year – recorded at GRC in Buffalo, NY – which some of you may recognize as the Goo Goo Dolls’ recording studio. They have current air play Rochester stations, The Zone 94.1, WITR 89.7 and the Local Down in Fredonia. Their music can also be found on iTunes, Spotify, Youtube, and Bandcamp.com The evening continued to stay fueled with the grungy energy of special guest: Awaken the Empire (7:40-810 p.m.). An Alternative rock band righteous to their rooted sounds, hailing in from Seattle, WA. Currently in support of their debut album Aurora released on July, 24 2015, as a follow up from their 2011 EP The Awakening The band is composed of Damien Lawson (Vocals), Romina Fronti (Bass/Vocals), Daryl Falconor (Drums) and Shivan Somaratne (Guitar).

The band’s set was a tight one and Frontman Damien had a youthful Kurt Cobain mist about him, while watching drummer Daryl was like a flashback of a young Dave Ghrol. Meant to be that way or not the musical spirit was definitely there and appreciated. They introduced the third song which is a current single “Cross My Heart.” They even called a shot out to the local opener A Vintage Year –Damien announced: “I don’t remember the band’s name that opened the show but I fucking liked you,” then proceeded to ask the crowed what the name of the band was. By this point in their set they had the crowed engaged before their set was though.

The Family Ruin (8:25-8:50) kept the energy high as they ripped right into their set, showing no mercy with their heaviness. They are also a special guest on this tour. A Metal/ Alternative band hailing from across the pond in York, England. Currently in support of their debut Dearly Departed, released on September 26, 2014. Johnny Mennell (Vocals), Craig Robinson (Guitar/Vocals), James Langley (Guitar), Dom White (Drums) and Josh Adamson (Bass). Lead vox Johnny Mennell yells to the now almost packed house: “Wednesday night? Well fuck that. Tonight is FRIDAY night- now jump with me to this next song.” These guys had the crowd in the palm of their hands as they thrashed through the rest of their set.

The high anticipated Nonpoint (9:15-10:05) was very on point tonight. Coming right out with highly energetic aggressive pace for the night. The Montage Music hall that was now a packed house had a crowd that was singing along with these guys loud and proud through their set. Nonpoint, no stranger to the music scene, are a heavy rock band with a hard core twist. With members coming from various parts of the country: Ft. Lauderdale FL, Chicago and Cleavleand. Currently supporting their current album The Return and the new single “Breaking Skin.” The band is composed of Elias Soriano (Vocals), Rob Rivera (Drums), Rahseed Thomas (Guitar/Vocals), Adam Woloszyn (Bass) and BC Kochmit (Lead Guitar/Vocals). The band was chummy with the crowd and poking a little fun at their mostly dreadlocked sporting band members when leader of the pack Elias busted out with some banter: “Some of you might recognize us as a band called ‘Korn’ while the band played a few Korn riffs and beats for a brief second. This was leading the crowd into thinking they were going to cover a Korn tune — instead they surprised everyone with a Jay Z cover of “99 Problems.” The masses ate it up and chanted along. The band took this in stride and went into their 2005 single “Bullet with a Name.” As Elias duely noted that it was everyone’s job in the place to move around and make the person next to you jump along with you. He also made a shout out to the local support and their special guests.

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The headlining act was 10 Years. And it has been almost a decade since some people hear might have had a chance to see these guys live. The band got right down to business as they assembled on stage with mood lighting setting to a cool mellow ambiance. 10 Years is an alternative rock band from Knockville consisting of Jesse Hasek (Vocals), Ryan “Tater” Johnson (Guitar/Vocals), Ryan Collier (Bass), Chad Huff (Guitar), and Kyle Mayer (Drums/Keyboards). On the road to showcase their latest and greatest release From Birth To Burial that was introduced to the fans with the first single “Miscellana” released on Feb. 13, 2015. The band had an ambient jam band artsy vibe for their set, the crowd seemed euphoric as a reaction to what they were witnessing. The set was very intimate, until they kicked up the mood a notch with their 2005 single “Wasteland,” that got everyone back into a upbeat gear just about everyone sang along. Jesse was expressing much depth in this set while he narrated thoughts that candidly addressed the muse for certain songs.

Overall it was a great night for music, fans were reconnected with the more familiar bands Nonpoint and 10 Years. New fans were gained for special guests Awaken the Empire and The Family Ruin. And much new love was and respect was built for local support A Vintage Year. If anyone is able to catch any of these bands on any bill. Do yourself a big favor and check out then out live or stop over to their social media and band pages.

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