What Emo is Meant to Sound Like
Spitalfield Look to Leave Their Mark

Advertisements

>> Spitalfield's Mark Rose is passion personified. >>

>> Hollywood, CA, August 21, 2003 >> With more passion that Hollywood’s famous Troubadour could hope to contain, Spitalfield marked their return to the area with thirty minutes of superbly riveting emo rock.   Normally, Thursday nights in Tinseltown are reserved for the industry crowd to hang out and casually chat while the band slaves away, but not this evening – this was one for the fans, who eagerly joined in singing along to every tune.

Limited only by the size of the room and the poor sound mix, which left the vocals muddied and far too low, the Chicago-based foursome obviously figured that with barely half an hour to their disposal, they ought to make the most it.  Ripping through their best material and leaving every last bit of energy on stage, Spitalfield’s set was highlighted by an intense rendition of their single, “I Love the Way She Said ‘L.A.’”, from their first full-length, Remember Right Now (Victory Records). 

>> Rose had himself and the crowd in a trance. >>

It’s easy, after seeing them live, to understand why the band has been generating so much attention, especially after their very successful stint on this year’s Vans Warped Tour.

Though singer Mark Rose’s vocals occasionally got lost, his impassioned delivery and the dynamics of bassist TJ Minich and guitarist Dan Lowder, backed by the amazing stickwork of drummer J.D. Romero more than made up for the shortcomings.  Romero’s drumming is impressive – he must have a metronome built in his head and he’s obviously spent plenty of time honing his chops.  He’s one of the better drummers we’ve seen in some time.