The Moth And The Flame w/ Young Rising Sons and 888
The Crocodile, Seattle, WA
11.01.16

As their track “Critical Mistakes” has continued to climb alternative charts, 888 has been booked pretty solid opening The Moth & The Flame’s headlining tour, which made its Seattle stop at the revered Crocodile. In its most basic sense, 888’s sound could be described as alternative, but each song tends to go in a slightly different direction. On top of the typical melodies and instrumentals is the kind of talk/singing voice typically found in pop-punk bands, but with synth additions commonly heard on current pop radio. Their set was filled with the five tracks of their EP, mixed with many new songs the band was waiting to release. The boys were a bit shy, especially with such a small crowd and venue, but were energetic enough to overshadow that. Their set was filled with continuous head-banging and jumping from both the band and the crowd. To conclude their performance, they launched into “Critical Mistakes,” and brought drums out into the middle of the crowd to finish off the song.

Next up was the most popular act of the night, Young Rising Sons. By this point, The Crocodile was about as full as it would get that night, with about 200 people spread throughout the venue. If you were lucky enough to get to the show early, the band actually went and got big jugs of coffee to hand out to the shivering fans before doors opened. Their set didn’t need the coffee to save it though, as the majority of the underage fans were shouting and dancing along. Frankly, YRS don’t have great studio recordings. With the exception of their most recent EP, the music that you’ll find on iTunes or Spotify isn’t the kind of stuff that’s great to listen to on repeat. On the singles they’ve released, it sounds like the singer has some sort of audio effect on for the entire track, and it’s just kind of odd. Their new EP however, cleans their sound right up, and sounds much more like their live show.

Their performance was upbeat, energetic, and the perfect Tuesday night pick-me-up, the kind of set that encourages you to have a good time as you sing and clap along. The band starts a lot of their tracks with an indie-alternative kind of sound, but that quickly develops into a more aggressive, shout-along style, like a younger version of New Politics. Opening their performance with one of their first releases, “King of the World,” their set was shaping up to be pretty fun. Mixing new tracks and old, they had a shockingly strong fan base among the younger half of the venue. Most of the fans knew every word, and there was even someone video chatting with a friend so they could see the show ‘together.’ After a very energetic set, the band closed with “Fucked Up,” a track that got everyone’s hands up and the singer walking on barricades to hold hands with crowd members.

As if getting coffee from the band while waiting in line for a relatively empty venue wasn’t weird enough, suddenly the majority of the crowd left before TMATF had even started their set. Now, the Crocodile was filled with what looked like less than 100 people. Whoever left though, definitely missed out. While their set was vastly different from 888’s and YRS’, it was absolutely incredible and really unique.

TMTF’s wasn’t the kind of set that the audience jumped around to. Their music isn’t all about partying and girls and having a good time, it’s more like putting Seattle weather into an album. It’s darker, it’s more moody, it’s the kind that you really just have to sit back and watch. They opened their set with “Red Flag,” a track that’s been on and off alternative radio stations since their album came out in February. For the rest of their set they worked their way through the majority of the new album, also throwing in tracks like “Sorry” from the older 2013 release.

It’s difficult to name specific highlights from TMATF’s set, because each song brought something new and amazing to the table. A few, such as “Silvertongue,” featured beautiful, clean bass riffs that really added to the sound of the songs. The bass parts brought the tracks to a higher level than it would’ve been left at, had the bass been turned down as it typically is in rock bands. Contrary to their two openers, TMATF chose not to close with their most popular or upbeat party song, instead they closed with “Wishing Well,” a hauntingly slow and whispery song. It’s the kind of song that fans really love, but because it’s the slow track off the album, it’s typically played in the middle of the set between more exciting ones, therefore closing with it seemed like a bit of an odd idea. They did it wonderfully though; it really rounded out their set. The track began very quietly, featuring mainly piano and the sad voice of lead singer Brandon Robbins. It slowly built up to something much more intense, each band member passionately leaving their all on the stage, and the audience in shock.

888 was a great opener for the show. They had a fun performance where their talent was evident and the set was fun, but closing off “Critical Mistakes” by drumming in the crowd really brought it home. YRS followed with another intensely energetic and upbeat set that I would highly recommend for a good time. Finally, The Moth and The Flame had one of the best live performances I’ve seen in a while. It was skilled, well put together, unique, and amazing to watch.

Review by photos by Lulu Dawson