You Say: Thoughts and Reviews

Book Review

The Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer has taken the nation by surprise. The once referred to as the “vampire book” is now on the New York Times best sellers list. Heart throbbing scenes paired with characters to near and dear to us we feel what they’re going through this book is one for the ages and as a matter of fact for all ages.
-Wannabe Bella

Show Review

The Secret Handshake show at Funk N Waffles on September 23rd was amazing. It was just so much fun. All the bands were great (well, except for one mediocre Rochester local). All the people were great. And the waffles were great. The venue is hands down one of the best I’ve ever experienced. It was a small cafe with what can barely be considered a stage as it is only a couple inches higher than the rest of the floor. It is extrememly intimate and made the show very different than most played even in the smallest of clubs.

The local band was Urgency, from Rochester, who I have seen numerous times despite strongly disliking. Not much to say about them, they played and then we all started paying attention. Farewell played second. They were great. I had previously heard great things about them and had listened to a couple songs so I had an idea of what to expect. My expectations were not high enough. Their songs are catchy and their live performance is energetic. After seeing them live I can honestly say they are one of the best new bands out right now.

Powerspace played next. I was expecting to completely dislike them, since the first time I saw them was in July with Envy on the Coast and at that time I did not like them at all. But much to my surprise I really enjoyed their set. It was extrememly fun and energetic. Alec, the lead singer, was very entertaining. At one point he left the stage and no one knew where he went, then after a couple minutes he was suddenly behind me in the crowd dancing. Alec moved in closer to everyone and danced with us for a good minute or so before getting back up on “stage”.

Then, of course, The Secret Handshake played, and it was amazing. Luis’ interaction with the crowd makes the show so much more enjoyable. He doesn’t just talk at the crowd, but he talks to the crowd and individual members within it. The songs sounded great. Overall GREAT set. At one point he said he recognized some faces; he pointed to Lenny and said “Lenneth” and then pointed to Jensen and said he remembered her and that at the last show she was wearing a blue t-shirt. Only a little creepy.

After the show we hung out for about 45 minutes. We talked to Luis for a few minutes about song remixes and how he looks like Max Bemis and how his strange memory allows him to remember useless things such as what color shirt Jensen was wearing in March. We photosessioned with Marshall from Farewell. Lenny told him my name is Goat Cheese and about 20 minutes later when I said goodbye to him and that we would see him Tuesday and called me “goat cheese” and I pretended to be really upset and like I was about to cry; he said “aww she’s so cute” and he blew me a kiss. Needless to say it was adorable.

We also talked to TSH’s drummer, Greg, and Buddy from Farewell. As well as a couple guys from Powerspace. Thom, from Museums and They Sleep They Dream, was there and he saw that I was wearing a TSTD shirt and called me out. He made a big deal about it and asked if I was going to the show at Waterstreet on Tuesday. I told him no because since Valencia cancelled I decided to go to the show at the Icon instead since they are closing and whatnot.

Then when I was getting ready to leave and I was saying goodbye to Marshall, Thom said something about how I was wearing his old band’s shirt. It was pretty cool, he seems like a nice guy.Overall, it was an amazing show. Regardless of how small the crowd was, everyone was into the music and having a great time. More shows need to be like this one was; no stage to seperate the bands from the kids, because really we’re all their for the same reason…because we love the music.
–Kristina