Vinnie Caruana, lead vocalist of former band The Movielife and current band I Am The Avalanche, and Arthur "Ace" Enders, lead vocalist of former bands The Early November and I Can Make A Mess Like Nobody's Business, took over the Rathskeller last Tuesday night. The simplicity of an acoustic performance seemed to please both the fans and the artists.
As Caruana tuned his guitar early in his set, he said to the audience, "Usually you don't hear the guy tuning, but since it's acoustic, it gives it a kind of fourth dimension."
He started with a song from I Am The Avalanche called "Clean Up" and followed with a Movielife composition titled "Hey." The crowd listened attentively, many mouthing the words.
Between songs, Caruana talked and joked with the crowd. The acoustic aspect made it easy for him to display his meaningful lyrics.
Caruana's favorite part of a small, intimate setting is that people can actually hear the words of his songs.
"It establishes a huge connection with the audience," he said.
Enders opened up his performance with a song from I Can Make A Mess Like Nobody's Business. Like Caruana, Enders was very personable with the audience. The light atmosphere and close proximity of the crowd made it easy to institute a connection.
For his second song, Enders played a cover of "Bittersweet Symphony," which was originally performed by The Verve. The song was later recorded by many artists, including Enders, Mark Hoppus from Blink-182 and Craig Owens from Chiodos, among others. All proceeds of the sales of the cover song go to VH1's Save The Music Foundation.
When asked why Enders chose "Bittersweet Symphony" to cover he said, "It always had been one of my favorite songs and I wanted to find a way to give back to Save The Music."
Enders also played a few hits by The Early November, including, "Figure It Out" and "Ever So Sweet." His raspy but strong voice was refreshing. Enders asked the audience to sing along.
"I want to feel it," he said.
To finish off the night, Enders concluded with "Motion," a song he let the audience choose.
Both Caruana and Enders are leaving this week to embark on a tour throughout Australia. Caruana said he is going to continue writing and recording and eventually release a new record. Enders' newest record, "When I Hit the Ground," will be released on March 17 on Drive-Thru/Vagrant Records. He is also set to tour with Owens of Chiodos in March.
