The Ataris and Authority Zero
March 29, 2014
Brighton Music Hall- Boston, MA
On Saturday night, March 29, 2014, The Ataris tour rolled through Boston, to the Brighton Music Hall in Allston, MA. This was the second to last show on their current tour, and it proved to be an amazing night. It was a reunion tour for the band, who played their classic album So Long, Astoria in its entirety.
Taking that stage as direct support on the tour was Authority Zero, an Arizona-based punk rock band who formed in 1994. The energy level of this band was evident from the start, as lead singer Jason DeVore jumped around the stage, singing right out to the front of the crowd. This was a band that knew how to bring up the energy in the room, and the crowd reacted in turn. Although the band has gone through many lineup changes over the years, their performance was top-notch.
Before The Ataris even took the stage for their first song, lead singer Kris Roe was getting rounds of applause while tuning his guitar. That was the point where it was evident this would be an epic night. From the first note of So Long, Astoria, the fans were sucked into the mesmerizing sounds of this amazing album. It was if it was 2003 again, and the crowd had been memorizing every line of every song. It was great to see the original lineup of Roe, John Collura on guitar, Mike Davenport on bass, and Chris Knapp on drum. For the tour, a third guitarist also joined the band – Donald Spence, lead singer of Versus the World. Although the crowd, both old and young, were singing along to all the songs, their voices got the loudest during the Don Henley cover, Boys of Summer. The band finished out their performance with three old-school songs, from the 1999 album Blue Skies, Broken Hearts…Next 12 Exits, ending the night with I Won’t Spend Another Night Alone.
It was a great night of music in the Boston area, and not even the pouring rain outside could dampen the experience of all who were at the show. So Long, Boston.
Review by: Dave Gannon
The Ataris
Authority Zero
