Concert review by Kacie Fuller
A few weeks ago the metal/punk band, Modern Color, came through Lawrence. I’d never heard of the band before, but my partner is a huge fan. And so, we marched our way the few blocks from my apartment to The Bottleneck on a lovely Sunday night to absorb the sound waves and color that was sure to emanate from that wonderful stage in LFK.
The set featured three openers, Webbed Wing, Milly, and Garage Sale. Normally, I get exhausted at more than one opener, but with such a high energy show like this one, I felt that the time passed quickly and enjoyably. Garage sale is a band from Australia, which is already attention grabbing. There’s always the passing thought of curiosity on how this band from thousands of miles away is enjoying their brief stay in Lawrence, what their opinion is, and the trouble they had to go through to get here.
The femme-led grunge band was a great start to the evening, transitioning to Milly, a rock band that I could only describe in my notes as “exhausted” in presentation but full in content. The lead interacted briefly but memorably with the audience making comments about how his dad is named Lawrence (something I can not fact check) and that not to eat from the Chipotle on Mass (something I can fact check) that provided a good midway point for the openers.
Webbed Wing, which is not only just fun to say, felt like a reasonable jump back to more early 2000s punk rock right before Modern Color finally came on stage.
With their appearance, the crowd got noticeably more wild. I’ve been to a lot of punk shows – whether at the Bottleneck or in DIY venues – and I can confidently say that this is the most intense I’ve seen Lawrence in a long time. With stage diving and mosh pits forming in the space, it not only felt like a good concert but a bit of a minefield. In several instances, people yanked their friend away from being hit by a loose shoe or (in my case) my partner from being hit upside the head by someone’s foot after throwing themselves into the crowd.
I like metal music and the punk scene, but I’ve personally never been able to subscribe to moshing. My demeanor isn’t cut out for it, and I apologize when I accidentally bump into someone… but they’re fun to watch. I support it, but I tend to be a little soft to being body slammed.
But between watching out for flying people, I found myself really enjoying Modern Color. Their mix of classic punk vocals and screamo-metal felt familiar yet new to me, and their charisma and energy on stage was very engaging, especially in a venue like The Bottleneck. They’ve entered my rotation since the show, and if that high-energy environment is your scene, I highly recommend catching them on tour and giving them a listen!