Back in 2001, I went to see Beloved, a hardcore band from North Carolina, in what is now the Assembly of the Outcast building in Boones Creek. While most of the people at the show were hyping the fact that Beloved was playing, a little-known band from Florida set up and began their set.
From the first song where lead singer Aaron Marsh sang, “Remember when I’d run to you through fields of white flowers,” Copeland had my attention as well as everybody else’s in the building.
Fast forward to four years later, and Copeland now has a record contract with Militia Group, a full-length album, 2 EPs, and another full length on its way.
Last Wednesday, I ventured to Furman University to see Copeland play for the 11th time and Tooth and Nail artists, Mae, for the first time. There was a crowd of about 300 to 350 there for the free show, and everyone was jubilant to see these two bands.
Copeland opened with a stellar performance of “When Paula Sparks” that was perfectly executed.
Soon after the song, bassist James Likeness retorted, “Does anybody know how to get this microphone to stop shocking me, because it turned that last song into ‘When James Sparks’?”
Before this show Copeland had been off finishing its second full-length In Motion, which has kept them off the road since before Thanksgiving.
During the show, Marsh complained of having voice problems and politely requested a Halls, but if he did not get one he said he would be a rockstar and sing until his voice was gone.
Marsh did get a Halls from a giving fan and his voice did not falter the rest of the set as they powered through old hits from 2003’s Beneath the Medicine Tree as well as three new songs from their upcoming full-length In Motion.
Each of the new songs revealed maturation in songwriting and development in musical skill since their first record. Among new songs, “No One Really Wins” seemed to stand out the most.
The new songs seem to be a tad more “rocking” as Likeness put it. Not only that, but the bass lines have improved by leaps and bounds since Beneath the Medicine Tree, and new drummer Jon Bucklew, who was the drummer for Dennison Marrs for 10 years, has made for a tighter sound with his exemplary drum fills.
* * * * 1/2.
After the show I caught up with Marsh and Likeness to ask them a few questions. Likeness said that the new record has already been pressed, printed and is ready to come out on March 22.
Marsh described the new record as more daring than anything they have done in the past. He also went on to say that right now the plans are to release “Pin Your Wings” as the first single on the album, but nothing was in stone, and he was not sure if they would have a music video for it like they did for their last single “Walking Downtown.”
Marsh and Likeness were both very positive about the new record, even though they received a disparaging review from Alternative Press. Likeness also thought it was very funny that they listed Copeland as one of the top bands to watch in 2005 after putting them down so badly in 2003.
After Copeland played an exceptional set, next up was North Carolina’s own Mae.
Mae had also been off the road since before Thanksgiving recording their new record before this show, and they showed a few signs of rust when their drummer dropped beat on more than one occasion.
Being the first time I had seen Mae live, I did not really know what to expect. What I got was two-hour set and virtually every song on their full-length Destination: Beautiful.
Throughout the ridiculously long set they did show sparks of genius with definite shades of New Order interwoven into some of their songs.
Mae not only played songs from their first full-length, but they also played songs from their second release Destination: B-sides. Most of the songs from B-sides had been altered from their original form, which made for a better overall feel.
They even played a few songs that would be on their sophomore effort titled Everglow.
The songs did not seem to stray much from what Mae had done on their first record. Not to say that the songs were bad, but they did not show much growth or development since 2003.
Maybe when Everglow comes out on March 29, and they tour with Relient-K and Simple Plan, it will give them a chance to prove me wrong.
* * *.

Author