As the lead singer of Brooklyn pop-punk heavyweights I Am The Avalanche, Vinnie Caruana has become somewhat of an elder statesman in a genre that doesn’t normally lend itself to longevity. While many of Caruana’s contemporaries have either flamed out or drastically changed their sound, Cauruana has been cranking out pit-worthy jams for over 15 years, first with the Movielife, and now with I Am The Avalanche, who visited Great Scott on Wednesday in support of their new album Wolverines.
The album marks the band’s third in nine years – and over that time they have built a loyal fan base on the strength of their rousing live shows. Caruana once again proved he is one of the game’s best front men, taking advantage of his strong vocal abilities and seemingly limitless energy to stir the sold-out crowd into a frenzy on early tracks like “Holy Fuck” and “I Took A Beating”.
While the audience at a typical Great Scott show normally offers a lot of nodding heads and polite applause, this crowd sent bodies flying through the air and kept the pit raging the entire set – an impressive feat in such a small space.
Caruana and Co. would play 14 songs before closing with “Brooklyn Dodgers”. The final cut combined everything that made the show great into a three minute blast of punk energy, with its sing-along chorus, smart lyrics, and a textbook “hey hey hey” breakdown that had everyone’s fists in the air.
And while the Avalanche set was quite the thrill, it would be a huge mistaken to ignore the performance of openers The Swellers, who also tore it up. The band actually looked and sounded somewhat out of place on the small Great Scott stage. Frontman Nick Diener is a giant with a commanding presence – think Steve Rodger (aka Captain America) if Rogers had been born in Flint, Michigan and had joined a punk band.
Sonically, the Swellers melodic anthems sounded absolutely huge – and they wouldn’t have been out of place on modern rock radio or blasting from the speakers in an arena.
Their latest effort The Light Under Closed Doors is a perfect example of how a band can meld juicy hooks and big choruses with lyrics that make a statement. A number of songs reference the hardships endured by their Flint hometown and the fight to rebuild, such as on “Call It A Night”, where Diener sings “You handed me a brick / Special delivery / Told me to live my dreams / And the older I get / I grow tired of throwing it / I just wanna build something”.
Both I Am The Avalanche and The Swellers have toiled in the punk rock trenches for the better part of a decade, and during that time they’ve come to embody the genre’s “we’re all in this together” mentality by staying true to their roots and their fans. While huge commercial success is probably out of the question at this point, they certainly don’t have to worry about losing the small but dedicated fan bases they have built after an electrifying performance like this.