Nothing, Superheaven and Unwed at Great Scott 6/12

By Mo Kelly

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Nothing may hail from Philadelphia, viagra 100mg and but it’s unlikely they’d call home a “City of Brotherly Love.” After Nothing frontman, look Dominic “Nicky” Palermo stabbed another man during a fight and spent two years in jail for aggravated assault and attempted murder, seek he took a hiatus from the hardcore scene he once frequented as the lead singer of Horror Show. After time away from the spotlight, Palermo returned to music to focus on a new project with an entirely different sound. Nothing’s 2014 Guilty of Everything distances itself from Horror Show EPs with hazy melodies and soft vocals, while still maintaining dark lyrical themes and constant, pounding rhythms. Still Palermo’s tribulations are evident no matter his genre of workthe hysterically angry punch of Horror Show evolves into the hopeless guilt of Nothing. 

Thursday’s show opened with the voices of Unwed’s Neltie Penman and guitarist Arty Shepard. Their harmonies, coupled with Jason Black’s basslines and Jeff Gensterblum’s drumming, had many showgoers comparing the band to Evanescence. Logical, Unwed’s members are veterans of the late 90’s alternative scene. Hot Water Music, Small Brown Bike and Error Type: 1 all have a place on Unwed’s collective resume. But even with each member’s place in pre-millennium limelight, Thursday’s Unwed was slightly underwhelming. 

superheaven_2014Next came the boys of Superheaven (formerly Daylight) with an even grungier sound than that of their recent recordings. A pleasant surprise for certain, this band’s power lies entirely in their on-stage performance. Superheaven maintained fuzzy distortion throughout their set while still keeping focus on every note they played. When the reverb of “Sponge” (title track of 2013’s Jar) faded, guitarist Taylor Madison made a point to the crowd through his shoulder-length curtain of greasy hair. “We’re Superheaven. Not dumbass fucking Daylight.” After roughly five years as Daylight, getting Superheaven’s new name to stick with fans is not proving to be easy.

“Nothing rounded out the night with a blast of droning shoegaze.”

Nothing rounded out the night with a blast of droning shoegaze. Contrasting the pleasant surprise of Superheaven’s live performance, Nothing’s sound was more murky than that of their recent release, and at times, difficult to pick apart. The bulk of Nothing’s set came from Guilty of Everything in a wave of rumbling guitars and slow, crushing drum beats. In his transition from hardcore punk to shoegaze, Palermo has openly stated Nothing’s vocals to be more difficult than those of his past. At times this was evident, though largely from the challenge of matching the incredible volume of Nothing’s instumentals. Despite inconsistencies the crowd was eager to take in Nothing from start to finish, cramming around the stage for crashing cymbals, reverberating guitars and the voice of a man singing for redemption.