For those of you new to the Johnson City music scene, the Hideaway is one of the hottest venues around for both local and traveling musicians. For most teenagers and young adults in the Tri-Cities area, it is the place to be.
I’ve been to many shows at the Hideaway, but I found this one to be particularly intriguing to the masses.
Crime in Stereo, an internationally touring hard core band, was headlining with openers including newcomers Sundale along with Golden Arm and One for the Ages.
The local Sundale took the stage first with a four song set including “Mommy Dearest,” a Saves the Day cover and my personal favorite, “Summer lasts forever.”
“All these songs are about summertime,” said bassist and vocalist, Jake Moore .
Interestingly enough, most of the band sang. Besides the drummer, Jason Gray, the other members of Sundale: Will Ford (also bassist for Speak of the End), Chris Mitchell and Jake Moore (also bassist for GoldenArm) were vocalists.
Having three strong, ranging vocal presences on stage added a pleasing harmonic texture to the already smooth, well-balanced tone prevalent in all their songs.
It was their very first performance at the Hideaway or anywhere for that matter, and they proved a band of refreshing new caliber.
With pop punk music a fairly extinct genre these days, especially in the hardcore scene, Sundale well held their own.
Expect to see more of them at upcoming shows. (Their next scheduled appearance at the Hideaway is May 20 for Stand Your Ground’s CD release show.)
Golden Arm, a local hard core band and frequent player of the Hideaway, performed their six-song set next, followed by One for the Ages, a traveling hardcore band from Winchester, Ky. Both performed well, stirring up the growing crowd just enough for the anticipated main performance.
Crime in Stereo, a hard core/rock/alternative band signed to major label, Bridge 9 Records, rocked the stage with their melodic hard core tunes reminiscent of mainstream bands like Brand New.
Frontman Kristian Halbert’s vocal range was extensive to say the least, maintaining near perfect pitch while scaling from high notes to deep lows.
The band played a nine-song set, not including the two-song encore performed upon the crowd’s request. They played their most notable song, “Small Skeletal,”- a music video is about to come out for the track.
Other songs performed were “Animal Pharm,” Unfortunate Tourist,” “XXXX” and “Almost Ghostless.”
The lyrics were meaningful, focusing on sensitive societal and political issues and problems other bands would never touch on (one of their songs is about Al Capone).
The performance was unforgettable and I found my body swaying to the music like all the rest of the crowd as Halbert passionately belted out his lyrics, arm extended, hand reaching towards the ceiling.
Between songs, however it became apparent that the guys of Crime in Stereo were, though painstakingly committed to their music, laid back and down to Earth.
It was their last night of tour before going home to Long Island, N.Y., and Alex, Scotty, Mike and Gary laughed as Kristian addressed the crowd with tales from the tour.
“Last night we had a night off and we wanted to play Monopoly,” Halbert said with a smile, “But we accidentally bought the Spanish one.”
Tuesday was Crime in Stereo’s first performance at the Hideaway and hopefully not the last.
By the end of this month they will be touring New South Wales and Austrailia and are scheduled for a UK/Europe tour with Comeback Kid at the end of the summer. For tour dates in the U.S. and abroad check their myspace.
The Hideaway is located at 235 E. Main St. in Johnson City. It is open seven days a week with shows almost every night.

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