I thought emotionally-charged heavy music had fallen off the musical map ever since “emo” became a dirty word, but there’s a whole new crop of emotional post-hardcore (yes that is a euphemism for “screamo,” basically) bands that are young and extremely popular.  I found out about Touché Amore, an LA-based hardcore group, a couple of weeks ago.  I bought tickets to their 11/13 show at the Echoplex because I liked their latest album, Parting The Sea Between Brightness And Me, so much.  Luckily I bought tickets early, because the show eventually sold out.  Apparently more people than I suspected are still listening to this type of music.  And it’s much better than it was 10 years ago.

Opening for Touché Amore was Seahaven, another local act.  Seahaven tends towards the softer side of the hardcore spectrum, singing rather than screaming their lyrics.  Still, they delve into experimental aspects that were not explored by similar groups (and likely influences) like Dashboard Confessional and Jimmy Eat World.  And for an opening band, there were quite a few people singing along.

Second on the lineup was Baltimore, MD’s Pianos Become The Teeth, a band that Touché Amore vocalist Jeremy Bolm would later claim released “the record of the year.”  That recently released album is The Lack Long After, and Bolm’s high praise isn’t too far off.

While Seahaven and Pianos Become The Teeth are both on tour with Touché Amore, the third slot of the night was reserved for special guests La Dispute (pronounced “la” as in the Spanish “the,” and “Dispute” as in the word Google defines as “a disagreement, argument, or debate.”  I know, I thought the “La” meant “Los Angeles” or “Dispute” meant something in Italian or French, too (in fact it might be an Italian reference.  not entirely sure at this point)).  It was a treat to see La Dispute, a band from Grand Rapids, Michigan that brings unique spoken word influences to their songs.  Vocalist Jordan Dreyer sings, speaks (in rhythm), and screams poetic verses as the band plays loudly around him.  He could have been a rapper if he wasn’t so skinny.

“I weigh 32 pounds… and my voice just cracked when I said that,” Dreyer even joked when justifying his inability to assist the crowd after asking for more security for those in the front rows that were being squished against the railing.  Dreyer, similar to those in Seahaven and Pianos Become The Teeth, also repeatedly referenced that all the bands preforming that night were “best friends,” a claim that proved to be true when Touché Amore vocalist Bolm appeared onstage to help sing a song from a split EP the two groups recorded called Searching for a Pulse/The Worth of the World.

Anticipation grew after La Dispute finished their set and Touché Amore’s instruments were set up, as the crowd began clapping in an atypical manner.  I noticed that the amount of claps in the pattern was equal to the number of syllables in the title of Touché Amore’s sophomore album, Parting The Sea Between Brightness And Me, but it turned out that was just a useless coincidence.  The crowd was actually mimicking the recorded claps on “And Now It’s Happening In Mine,” the first track from Touché Amore’s first album, …to the beat of a dead horse.

The audience knew that the band would open with that song because Touché Amore had announced that they would be preforming both of its albums throughout the night (while that sounds like a recipe for a lengthy night, both of the group’s albums are around 20 minutes long).  The crowd’s energy intensified as the band played through their debut album, and people continuously jumped on stage and screamed along with the lyrics.  The band returned the energy, almost constantly moving.  Bolm had visible sweat and spit dripping and flying off him like an exhausted boxer.

For those that’ve ever wondered what happens to a voice after repeated yells and screams, Bolm is a great example.  In between songs his normal speaking voice sounds shaky and relatively high-pitched, like a less exaggerated and more awesome Kermit the Frog.

“That dude is the reason for pretty much every cool thing that happens in Los Angeles,” Bolm said during one break between songs, referencing FYF creator Sean Carlson.

Carlson stood on the side of the stage, passing out water bottles and ensuring crowd surfers safely made it to the stage and back around to the audience.  Carlson’s FYF promotion company (you may recognize the acronym from the growing annual FYF festival (formerly Fuck Yeah Fest)) organizes several punk and indie concerts around the Los Angeles area, and Touché Amore’s headlining concert proved to be one of the company’s most entertaining events.

Touché Amore finished preforming …to the beat of a dead horse fairly quickly, and decided to play the two songs from the aforementioned split with La Dispute in between albums.  La Dispute’s Dreyer returned to the stage for another live collaboration.

“Round two,” Bolm joked before driving into Parting The Sea Between Brightness And Me track opener “- ~,” a frustratingly-named song yet also a personal favorite.  The rest of Touche Amore’s performance was relentlessly energetic and entertaining, and the crowd remained interested.  Despite his loud, often emotionally pained screams Bolm seemed like a genuinely nice singer, lending the microphone to fans in the front rows that were singing along.  He also explained that his parents, as well as his bandmates’ parents, were all watching from the side of the stage.  That only further added to the sense of community experienced and repeatedly referenced throughout the concert.

Before “Amends,” the album and night’s inevitable closer, Bolm told the crowd that the band formed in 2008 and has mostly played house shows around the area (and, according to the singer, still are willing to play those shows).

“If it’s never this good again I’m cool with that,” the singer said, smiling at the sold-out crowd, “Because this is fucking awesome.”  Yes.  Yes, it was.