Poison The Well performs at Blender Theatre

The Gramercy Theatre of New York City was packed when Ontario, Canada’s Billy Talent headlined a concert in support of their newest album, Billy Talent III, which was released in the U.S on September 22. Chicago, Illinois’ AM Taxi and Miami,  Fla.’s Poison The Well (PTW) supported Billy Talent, who recently embarked on a tour opening for Rise Against! and Rancid.

The Gramercy Theatre, also known as the Blender Theatre at Gramercy, was an excellent host for this bill, as it was the perfect-sized venue for the crowd of mostly older fans, with a relative few teenagers amongst the audience.

The venue is known to have one of the best lighting rigs out of all the New York City concert venues and it was put to good use throughout the show. The stage was elegantly lit with luscious yellow, white, blue and red lights, providing a magnificent illumination to the stage.

AM Taxi, formally American Taxi, opened up the concert with a 40 minute set that was moderately impressive. This punk rock quintet is made up of vocalist and guitarist Adam Krier, bassist John Schultejann, drummer Chris Smith, guitarist John Schmitt and keyboardist Luke Schmitt.

They were able to get the crowd riled up for both PTW and Billy Talent while gaining new fans and impressing a handful of supporters.

They played very well and are definitely worth a listen. AM Taxi cites bands such as The Clash, The Replacements and The Police as influences. Recently signed onto Virgin Records, AM Taxi will be releasing a new album entitled We Don’t Stand A Chance, sometime in 2010.

Post-hardcore/metalcore band PTW took the stage shortly after AM Taxi. PTW, who is also celebrating the release of their newest album The Tropic Rot, seemed to have more fans than both AM Taxi and headliner Billy Talent combined and it was obvious as to why — this band puts on an action-packed live show.

Vocalist Jeffrey Moreira bounced back and forth on the stage, very rarely taking a break from his constant movement, all while keeping the quality of his vocals — ranging from melodic singing and heart-stopping, shrill screaming — at top-notch caliber.

The rest of the band, consisting of guitarist Ryan Primack, drummer Chris Hornbrook, bassist Bradley Grace and guitarist Bradley Clifford, kept pace with Moreira, providing a well rounded and epic live sound.

They played an enjoyable, yet seemingly quick, set, which gave the crowd reason to move and get ecstatic. Shortly after PTW took the stage, the crowd showed some movement in the form of typical pushing, pulling and the occasional mosh pit.

PTW recovered swiftly after suffering from some adverse events—their tour bus and trailer, filled with all of their equipment, were stolen after the first date of the tour in Detroit, Mich., causing them to drop off the tour for a few dates.

Fortunately, with the help of their record label, Ferret and several other companies and individuals, they were able to get some equipment and a rental van together and resume the tour.

After PTW rocked the stage and left the crowd yelling for more, a banner proclaiming Billy Talent and showcasing the artwork of Billy Talent III was hoisted up behind the drum set placed on the stage and the lights grew dim. After two great opening bands, Juno-award winning punk rock band Billy Talent took the stage, with much fanfare and cheering originating from the crowd.

Billy Talent jumped right into their set, playing fan-favorite “Devil In A Midnight Mass,” which instantaneously opened up the mosh pits and got a few crowd surfers going.  By the end of their set, the band played songs like “Saint Veronika,” “Devil On My Shoulder” and “The Dead Can’t Testify” amongst many others.

Although many audience members seemingly came to see PTW, a large majority stuck around for Billy Talent, as their set was quite enjoyable —  even for those who have not listened to Billy Talent before.

Benjamin Kowalewicz’s unique voice separated Billy Talent from the many other similar bands of its genre. Billy Talent’s blend of catchy beats, anomalous vocals and easy-to-jam-to songs made their set quite enjoyable, making it easy to recommend this band to anyone who wants to listen to something different.