A few weeks ago I made the trip down to the Auricle in Canton, Ohio to see We Are The Union, I Call Fives, and The Story So Far, along with locals Hometown Remedy and Call it Fiction. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to watch Hometown Remedy or Call it Fiction, since I was interviewing while they played, but I’ve seen them both before, and I’m sure I’ll see them both again, so it’s all good.

I set a new personal record for myself by doing a total of five interviews that night! The Auricle is a bit of a “different” place to see a concert, mostly because it’s so nice. Going downstairs, the hallway feels like a rec center or school… not a dingy concert venue in what is, quite honestly, not the nicest town. The venue is absolutely immaculate! It’s all carpeted, except for the dance floor (like, an actual dance floor… not a few strips of wood, but an actual dance floor that you’d find in a ballroom, though perhaps a bit smaller)- even the stage was carpeted! It’s definitely a different feel. But it was air conditioned, and the bar stools were in perfect condition. Everything felt really clean and new!

Overall, it was a fun show. Check out my comments on the bands below.

Up first was We Are the Union.

WATU is a punk/pop-punk/ska band from the Detroit area that’s been around since 2005! I haven’t seen a whole lot of ska bands, so seeing a band with a trombone was new to me. Nevertheless, there were a lot of tried-and-true punk elements, which made it feel familiar to me. I’m hardly a ska convert, though.

Verdict: If you’re a ska fan, you’ll enjoy We Are the Union, so they’d be worth seeing. They weren’t quite enough to draw me in, though, so while I had a lot of fun watching them, ska just isn’t my thing, so I wouldn’t go out of my way to see them again.

The Story So Far played next.

I originally heard about this show through Call it Fiction, and hadn’t seen The Story So Far before. I kept reading about them in pop-punk blogs/groups, so I figured I’d check them out, and I’m glad I did!.

With a name reminiscent of a New Found Glory song, I expected old-school pop-punk songs that were serious and told true stories, but a lot of fun. I was pretty much right on the mark. It was the first time The Story So Far had toured outside of their home state of California, but it definitely won’t be their last: while they weren’t playing to “thousands of screaming fans”, the venue was pretty full and everyone seemed to be having a blast. I can see them going far.

There’s a certain honesty- without being too raw and at the same time, without trying too hard- about their sound, their look, and their performance that I really appreciated. The crowd really got in to their songs.

Verdict: Worth seeing. While I’m not sure if I see them breaking out into the mainstream just yet, I think their classic pop-punk songs have the potential to make them underground heroes.

I’d also like to mention that The Story So Far was, hands down, the most entertaining interview I have ever done. They were really funny, and I can’t wait to post the interview.

Finally, I Call Fives went on.

I Call Fives were my favorite band of the night. They had a classic, snot-nosed-yet-ridiculously-catchy, pop-punk sound that felt nostalgic, and definitely reminded me of the stuff that first got me in to music. Every song made me want to sing along.

Like The Story So Far, the crowd got really in to I Call Fives, moshing and piling on, singing into the microphone (you can see Ryan, drummer of Call it Fiction, singing too- he’s in the white shirt).

Verdict: 100% worth seeing; I’d definitely go out of my way to see them again. They were exactly what you’d want to see from a pop-punk band on stage.

It was a fun show, and I’m glad I went! Be sure to keep your eyes peeled for my interviews with all five bands.