The PMA Tour feat Senses Fail – REVIEW

We were very intrigued to be attending The PMA Tour since it had very diverse lineup that included the headliner, Senses Fail, and support from The Ghost Inside, Man Overboard and Transit. The date we were in attendance at was at Durty…

The PMA Tour feat Senses Fail – REVIEW

We were very intrigued to be attending The PMA Tour since it had very diverse lineup that included the headliner, Senses Fail, and support from The Ghost Inside, Man Overboard and Transit. The date we were in attendance at was at Durty Nellie’s in Palatine, IL on March 17, which served as the Chicago date of the tour. You can read our full review after the break.

Durty Nellie’s in Palatine, IL welcomed the Senses Fail tour on Tuesday, March 15th. Transit, Man Overboard, The Ghost Inside, and Senses Fail brought an energetic vibe to the venue, creating a good concert experience.

A typical band venue, Durty Nellie’s large open floor hosted a distinctive audience of hard core dancers and adolescents. The crowd was a little younger than what I was expecting, given the intense nature of some of the bands, but when I ventured up to the bar area, I soon found out where the older crowd disappeared to. Because I’m only 20, I had to be escorted up to the bar by a charming security guard named Hans. With his great sense of humor, Hans was easy to talk to as he showed me around the bar and patio area. I could tell he was happy for being able to escort somebody somewhere without having to throw them out. The bar was a more relaxed, chill environment compared to the downstairs floor, with places to sit and a great view of the stage, making me long to be 21. Thanks to Hans, I got to pretend for 10 minutes or so.

The walls of Durty Nellie’s were pretty cool. A city was painted and all the windows were glow in the dark, a nice affect to the concert scene. There was a restaurant next door, the restaurant I accidentally went into first before the show, but from what I could tell, there was no connecting entrance.

Transit entered the stage in mainly plaid and flannel t-shirts, very traditional garb for a punk/rock band. The backup vocalist had a green guitar that I could not take my eyes off of. There were some heavily dedicated fans of Transit in the middle front who started mini moshes and crowd surfing, throwing people up on stage. The security guards weren’t too happy about that. On more than one occasion I saw Hans pulling surfers down and giving them a stern talking to. But the music was great, a light alternative sound with a good combination of vocals and instruments. I hate when instruments overpower the songs. Transit played “A Living Diary” which is one of my favorite songs. The band induced so much rhythmic clapping from their fans, and they complied.

Next up:  Man Overboard. One super skinny guy with glasses + one sweater-wearing bass player + one half naked drummer + one older lead singer = a fantastic sound. Everyone blended well together and their unique style really draws attention. Man Overboard had a good, upbeat rhythm. Their song “Parting Gifts” was an interesting take on blind dates that I really enjoyed.

The Ghost Inside came out, tattooed up, in a coordinating black ensemble and ready to get people moving. Differing a great deal from the other bands, The Ghost Inside took over the crowd and their bodies. Hard core dancing broke out almost immediately, causing security to move in before anyone got hurt. Someone was being escorted out for being too rough and the band stopped playing to calm everyone down. After that, the dancers sort of took over the middle of the room, spreading everyone else out as they flailed their arms and legs around.

After The Ghost Inside finished up, I noticed Hans was guarding the back stage door with a guy who looked like he was from the Matrix. So, I went up to my bulky escort and asked him what was up with the door. He whispered something to the Neo look-a-like and they let me in. Behind the door was the loading and unloading area for band equipment to and from stage. Hans couldn’t pull any strings to let me into the three rooms where the bands actually got ready, but I did run into the shirtless guitar player from The Ghost Inside.

80’s pump-up music blared through the speakers as Senses Fail ran out on stage as if they were entering the arena. It was very Rocky-esque. Energy surged through the band as they played through three or four songs straight. Buddy Nielsen, lead vocals, had an “I <3 GB” t-shirt on. I went through all the ridiculous possibilities of what this could mean: I <3 Ginger Bread, I <3 Glowing Beads (I’m not very creative). But once he started talking about how happy he was that the packers won the Super Bowl, it hit me. GREEN BAY. Duh.

The band played a bunch of songs from their new CD, “Fire,” but reverted back to their oldies towards the end. There were plenty of jeers from the crowd for older stuff. I suppose “Fire” isn’t as popular as their old material. Either way, the show was spectacular. Senses Fail took advantage of lighting for musical emphasis where other bands didn’t and it really made the show.

Information about the tour…
Tour: The PMA Tour featuring Senses Fail
Bands: Senses Fail (Vagrant), The Ghost Inside (Mediaskare), Man Overboard (Rise), and Transit (Rise)
Date: March 17, 2011
Venue: Durty Nellie’s in Palatine, IL