You Blew It!, Prawn, Crying, Marietta, and Secret Plot bring ‘The Emo Revival’ to the Fire

The Fire held an all-emo showcase Sunday night, bringing together Florida punk four piece You Blew It! alongside New Jersey’s Prawn, New York’s Crying, and Philly’s  Marietta and Secret Plot to Destroy the Entire Universe. Each band brought their emotional cues forward in their own way, showcasing how creative and loud they can be with the copious amount of tiresome energy that come through in their music.

Secret Plot To Destroy The Entire Universe | Photo by Rachel Del Sordo

Secret Plot opened up the night with a set of their vocally-driven and abrasive songs. Teetering in that delicate spot between destructive and beautiful, this band sure knows how to get their feelings across, especially live. New songs filled their performance, and the band mentioned that an album is in the works. Keep an eye out for that, and check out their other stuff on Bandcamp.

Local emo four piece Marietta was up next, playing a set of tracks from their debut album Summer Death. Their twinkly riffs and huge crescendos made for a terrific sing-a-long experience. The band plays faster and yells a little harder live, which really showcases their punk influence and how invested these guys are in the feelings of their songs. Drummer Andrew Weigel was especially crazy to see live; during some of the build ups he would be absolutely pounding on his toms while also shouting the lyrics at the top of his lungs. Listen to Summer Death here.

Crying | Photo by Rachel Del Sordo

Crying was definitely the most unconventional set of the night. A three piece indie pop-punk band consists of vocalist Elaiza Santos, guitarist Ryan Galloway, drummer Nick Corbo, and a Gameboy. This band uses 8-bit samples intertwined with some killer guitar riffs and drum fills that creates tunes that are fun and entertaining. Santos also belts some cool lyrics, making them a pretty interesting band to listen to, especially live. Listen to their EP Get Olde on Bandcamp, I recommend the song “Bodega Run”.

New Jersey post-rock band Prawn played as a five-piece, and their set included the first two songs from their in-the-works new album. These were probably the highlight of their performance, and that speaks volumes considering how heavy and intricate their music. Mixing ambient moments with aggressive energy, the band is remarkably talented at sounding huge. Vocalist Tony Clark especially helps get this across, with a great voice for both yelling and singing. Check them out on Bandcamp, and be on the look out for their next full length.

You Blew It! | Photo by Rachel Del Sordo

You Blew It!’s newest album Keep Doing What You’re Doing was released a few weeks ago, and their stop at The Fire was the last of several headlining dates. Even with their recent hyped release, the band played a mixed set of new songs and songs from their 2012 release Grow Up, Dude. You Blew It! plays fast and energetic, and they were the first band of the night to get the crowd moving after a light-hearted insult about how boring it looked. Once that barrier was broken, their fans had no problem rushing the stage and crowd-surfing, even hoisting guitarist Andy Anaya up at one point. This was a really cool band to see live, especially seeing as Tanner Jones’ angst voice is just as epic as it is on record. You Blew It! blurs the line between heavy grunge and laid back pop-punk, but their huge choruses and live shows should appeal to fans of both.