KPConcerts.com

For Today

stubwire — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 23:00:03 +0000

Cain's Ballroom

Tulsa,OK

Wed Apr 4, 2012

DOORS: 6:00 PM

All Ages

$17.00 ADV
$20.00 DAY OF

For Today

Since the band formed in 2005, For Today has played over 1,100 shows on 4 continents in 19 countries and released 3 albums via Facedown Records. The hardcore-influenced metal band is known for their non-stop touring, high energy live performance, and unrelenting message. For Today will stop at nothing until the name of Christ is proclaimed to the entire world.

Abandon Kansas & Theatre Breaks Loose

stubwire — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 20:02:00 +0000

Eclipse

Tulsa,OK

Fri Mar 30, 2012

DOORS: 6:00 PM

All Ages

$5.00 ADV
$8.00 DAY OF

Abandon Kansas & Theatre Breaks Loose

Through the fire of sleepless nights, uncertain futures, and countless miles on the road, Abandon Kansas emerges battle-hardened and tested with the highly celebrated Ad Astra Per Aspera. This, their first official retail release, is a right of passage for a band that has demonstrated over the past half-decade that they are more than prepared to lay claim to their own territory among the industry elites. This-the consummation of their vision to be more than just a band, more than just empty words or singles-is the opus that most bands only fantasize about. This is their time, their most crucial hour, as frontman Jeremy Spring explains: "Ad Astra Per Aspera is Latin meaning ‘to the stars through difficulty.' The title is the Kansas state motto, and the concept for our new record. Nearly all of the songs refer to heaven, the sky, flight, the stars, and the challenges along the journey.. For every band there is that one record that outdoes all of the rest, and that record will always be your favorite. I have no idea what the future holds, but for me, this is going to be that record for us. Something has happened here, something bigger than four guys making noise with instruments and singing into microphones." This record is independent rock n' roll that stirs the imagination and conjures deep optimism. The sound is ethereal, yet tangible. Spring's voice harkens imagery of brisk fall evenings staring at distant stars, dreaming of hopeful futures, even amidst chaos. And the reverberation of Brad Foster's echoing guitars will etch themselves into your memory as they gently carry you to the outer reaches of the atmosphere. Balanced by bassist Chet Keuffer and drummer Brian Scheideman the record paints in subtle strokes, communicating with deep feelings, rather than stringent riffs or unsettling beats. There is a unity to the instrumentation that can only come from a seasoned unit of men who understand that, in order to be great, the sum of the parts must equal a greater whole. Teaming up with producer Mark Lee Townsend to create a sound all their own, Ad Astra Per Aspera defies comparison, yet sounds all too familiar, as a memorable release should. "This record is a story about where we are headed, without forgetting where we came from," states Spring. "The stars aren't fame and money. The stars represent heaven, or better yet, the presence of God. We are aiming for the stars, yet we seem to find ourselves in the middle of storm after storm. It is the story of how was have been able to maintain high spirits and use our valleys as fuel to create new music." Noteworthy tracks include the first single and album opener, "Heaven Come My Way," the methodical, art-epic, "The Golden State," and perhaps the catchiest tune in the band's catalogue, "Like it Or Not." But don't make the mistake of thinking this is a record of a few radio tunes followed by filler, though. Rather than approach songwriting as most do, desperately attempting to manufacture hits, Abandon Kansas has delivered an entire, cohesive collection of songs with one measure of quality control. This is an album to be consumed in its entirety, absolutely. Lyrically, these songs are the templates for a culture that is battling through challenging circumstances. For example, on "Heaven Come My Way," Spring's vocals lay claim to bright futures when as he croons, I've always aimed higher; don't let me off the hook. We wrote a chapter, haven't finished the book. On "Where Else Can We Go?" he speaks into the problem of pain: If pain produces harmony, we all have a note. If God conducts the symphony, no one sings alone. Steeped with the wisdom of a crafty veteran, the band's frontman has proven that eloquence is a given, as every single song contains nuggets of truth that will resonate, inspire, and even haunt the listener. With such an extensive touring history (having shared the stage with the likes of House of Heroes, Run Kid Run, and The Classic Crime), Abandon Kansas has developed a special, cohesive show that is a must-see. Theirs is a tale of evolution, however, as Spring explains, "Every band grows between albums, but our band specifically grew a lot in how we present our music live. As our songwriting has matured, so has the way we present ourselves onstage. We have started adding television screens that run multimedia during our set. We're trying to offer more of a presentation, or ‘show' rather than just get on stage and play loud songs for thirty minutes." If the present is grey, and the future is uncertain, then only one thing remains: faith. And faith is the binding element, the constant for this band—a band fighting valiantly to emerge in the current musical and cultural context. Rather than rely on hype or politics or even the promise of a truly career-defining album such as Ad Astra Per Aspera, Abandon Kansas have placed their livelihoods in the hands of a creator who never fails, who never abandons us. "At the end of the show we answer to our fans, at the end of the day we answer to our band-mates, at the end of the tour we answer to our label, and at the end of year we answer to our families and friends back home. But at the end of our lives we answer to God, and He expects us to follow through on what he has called us to do. God isn't a businessman, and I don't think He is interested in numbers. But I know he wants us to be good stewards of the talents he blessed us with and the time we spend on the road. I love the words from that old song "Be Thou My Vision" that say, riches I heed not, nor man's empty praise."

Andrew Jackson Jihad

stubwire — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 19:00:16 +0000

Newby's

Memphis,TN

Mon Apr 30, 2012

DOORS: 7:00 PM

All Ages

$11.00 ADV
$12.00 DAY OF

Andrew Jackson Jihad

Andrew Jackson Jihad is an American folk/punk/rock group from Phoenix, Arizona, formed in 2004. They have been classified as everything from indie rock to anti-folk to Americana. Andrew Jackson Jihad was formed after its original drummer, Justin James White, approached Sean Bonnette and Ben Gallaty, who had just left Rodan (not the Rodan of Kentucky fame) and The Sub-Standards. Since then, many significant Arizona musicians have sat in with the remaining duo of Sean and Ben, including John De La Cruz of Fatigo and Asleep In The Sea's Owen Evans. Dylan Cook also plays mandolin regularly with the band.

Whitechapel, Miss May I, After The Burial, The Plot In You, Structures

stubwire — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 17:02:17 +0000

Newby's

Memphis,TN

Sat Mar 10, 2012

DOORS: 5:00 PM

All Ages

$17.00 ADV
$20.00 DAY OF

Whitechapel, Miss May I, After The Burial, The Plot In You, Structures

Whitechapel is 6 piece death metal outfit from Knoxville, Tennesse. Formed in 2006, they have released 3 albums and have been on the road touring non stop delivering their pummeling brand of metal across the globe. This is A New Era of Corruption.

Cannibal Corpse

stubwire — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 01:02:14 +0000

The Scene-ary

Wichita,KS

Thu Apr 19, 2012

DOORS: 7:00 PM

All Ages

$16.00 ADV
$19.00 DAY OF

Cannibal Corpse

Chelsea Grin

stubwire — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 00:01:52 +0000

The Scene-ary

Wichita,KS

Mon Apr 16, 2012

DOORS: 7:00 PM

All Ages

$14.00 ADV
$16.00 DAY OF

Chelsea Grin

A Chelsea Grin in soccer hooligan terminology is the act of cutting a rivals mouth with either a credit card or blade and then kicking them in the crotch so their mouth muscles split into a bloody grimace. Chelsea Grin, the band from Utah armed with THREE guitarists use a foundation of hardcore grit combined with death metal technicality and grind speed to produce as much aural harm as the back alley jaw split. The band is the premiere artist on Artery Recordings, a new imprint of Razor & Tie Entertainment, and are releasing their debut full-length Desolation Of Eden this February. The album will hit in the midst of the band's two month run with The Red Chord and My Children My Bride (dates on following page). Artery Recordings is the recording arm of The Artery Foundation who are the management team responsible for jumpstarting the careers of Whitechapel, The Devil Wears Prada, A Day To Remember, Attack Attack! and Impending Doom. Speaking on why Chelsea Grin get the Artery seal of approval, Eric Rushing, President of the company says "The first time I saw this band I was completely blown away and the crowd interaction was just as intense, it reminded me of the first time I saw Whitechapel. This band is very young and the kids are already loving them coast to coast. Very excited about their debut!" Desolation Of Eden was tracked at Lambesis Studios owned by Tim Lambesis of As I Lay Dying and bares the hallmarks of Chelsea Grin's devastating live show. Songs like the title track and Sonnet Of The Wretched utilize the double bass drumming, three guitar attack, ultra low bass frequencies and wraith-like vocals into a wall of sound to devastating effect. Brutatlity aside what separates the band from many of their contemporaries according to Jaek (guitar) is "obviously our age, we are a very young band being mostly 18 and 19. I know a lot of people have an impression on metal bands is that they are big, burly dudes with beards and not very approachable. We pretty much are the opposite of that, we are always hanging out with the fans at shows because we are them! Teenagers that like heavy music and hanging out." Age aside Chelsea Grin is made up of Alex (vocals), Michael (guitar), Andrew (drums), Dan (guitar), David (bass) and Jaek, and have completed feats that bands existing twice as long have not. Forming from the ashes of Ahaziah, Chelsea Grin got active in March 2008. "Right after we formed we recorded our first EP made up of five songs and started playing local shows. Soon after we signed to a small indie called Statik Factory and released a single called Recreant and did a small west coast tour in June of that year. The following month Statik Factory released our EP. Very quickly after that our Myspace page was getting hits from around the country and we found ourselves not only being established in Utah but kids all over were writing us and listening to us." Speaking on the obvious development between the earlier songs and the audio crushing output of Desolation Of Eden Jaek comments "Lyrically we have matured quite a bit, when we wrote the EP a lot of our early lyrics dealt with betrayal by females that we didn't think very fondly of. A lot of younger males could relate those lyrics to ex-girlfriends, friends whatever. However after our experiences of freedom within this band, I find a lot of our songs are about breaking away from voices of authority and ultimately living life the way you want to live it. We also re-recorded our older songs Recreant and Cheyne Stokes so the brutal songs will still be there (laughs)." Chelsea Grin has completed tours with Arsonists Get All The Girls, A Plea For Purging, American Me, Dr.Acula, Attila and Within The Ruins and shared stages with Suicide Silence, Parkway Drive, My Children My Bride. (Tour dates follow)

Comeback Kid

stubwire — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 00:01:52 +0000

The Scene-ary

Wichita,KS

Thu Mar 15, 2012

DOORS: 7:00 PM

All Ages

$10.00 ADV
$13.00 DAY OF

Comeback Kid

Since dropping their debut full-length, 2003's Turn It Around, COMEBACK KID has been an undeniable staple of the hardcore community. Each subsequent release has built upon the foundation of its predecessor while continually experimenting with and incorporating new musical elements from beyond the confines of modern hardcore. Five seconds into the band's latest release, Symptoms + Cures, though, it's made clear that this time around, COMEBACK KID has pushed their output to a new plateau. Originally formed in 2000 by members of Winnipeg, Canada's underground music scene, COMEBACK KID has amassed a catalog of four full-length international releases along with a live CD/DVD. Says vocalist Andrew Neufeld about the band's origins: "We wanted to keep the intensity from our other bands or those we looked up to at the time, but also took influence from ‘90s skate punk and more melodic acts." He continues: "We wanted the music to be heavy, but the vocals were meant to incorporate a bit more melody than was found in traditional hardcore. Still, I don't think we knew how far we could go with it at the time." The band's sophomore effort, 2005's Wake The Dead, affirmed their position atop the heap of modern hardcore bands; however, when writing commenced for 2007's Broadcasting…, vocalist and founding member Scott Wade announced his departure from the group, finding Neufeld abandoning his axe to take over vocal duties. But Broadcasting… didn't miss a beat. With Neufeld more than capably filling Wade's shoes, CBK delivered a powerful record that was undeniably COMEBACK KID while incorporating further-developed musical ideas and a more colorful vocal performance. Having delivered their pure and passionate brand of hardcore to fans around the world since 2002, COMEBACK KID released a live CD/DVD package dubbed Through The Noise in 2008. On top of accurately relaying the intensity and attitude of a CBK performance through a 17-song set list comprised of favorites from the band's three previous releases, it also included an hour-long documentary entitled Our Distance that shared the band's story to date. Since then, the band has dominated stages on several continents and worked on an array of other projects, musical or otherwise, all while composing the fourth COMEBACK KID record. Officially dropping August 31st, 2010, Symptoms + Cures is the latest offering from the lineup currently consisting of Neufeld on vocals, founding members Kyle Profeta on drums and Jeremy Hiebert on guitar, as well as guitarist Casey Hjelmberg and bassist Matt Keil. The album is firmly rooted in the brand of hardcore that its three predecessors helped established, yet incorporates more musical layers and vocal variance than we've heard from the band thus far. "We really found our mesh with Andrew singing," says Profeta about the effort. "Our last album was more of a ‘feeler.' We were just getting in the mode of Andrew becoming our front man. With Symptoms + Cures, we've really found our sound with him and we're all really excited about it." Trademark elements of the band's sound are abundant on Symptoms + Cures – gang vocals, half-time bridges, and tastefully-placed breakdowns among them. However, the record also features a more dynamic vocal performance than we've previously heard, weaving a much harsher and urgent vocal delivery with sing-able passages, not to mention new musical expansions that stray from the straight-up simplicity of hardcore. Still, these new elements only serve to enhance, not overpower, the core of COMEBACK KID's sound – and this is assuredly a COMEBACK KID album. Once the record's been delivered to the masses, COMEBACK KID will embark on a world tour, hitting North America, Europe, Asia, and South America and sharing stages with acts like Madball, Sick Of It All, Four Year Strong, A Wilhelm Scream, Parkway Drive, Bleeding Through, and others. Says Neufeld: "It'll be nice playing with some new bands as well as some of our hardcore heroes – bands we all really respect." While fans will undoubtedly find much to embrace in Symptoms + Cures, it's notable that the band members themselves believe this to be the pinnacle of their cumulative output. "It's a good feeling that despite how long we've been doing this, we can still get so collectively excited about our music," shares Neufeld. "We love doing this. There's no better feeling for any of us than being in a room, losing our minds, and watching others lose their minds to the music."

RED, Thousand Foot Krutch, Kiros, Manafest!

stubwire — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 00:01:52 +0000

The Cotillion

Wichita,KS

Wed Mar 21, 2012

DOORS: 6:00 PM

All Ages

$16.50 to $35.00 ADV
$19.50 to $35.00 DAY OF

RED
Thousand Foot Krutch
Manafest
Nine Lashes

RED, Thousand Foot Krutch, Kiros, Manafest!

The epic quest of finding one's identity might be one of the most universal themes found in the pursuit of art. The hopeless wandering replaced by the hope-filled breakthrough has been chronicled time and again in painting, sculpture, prose, poetry, film and, certainly, music. The men who make up the rock band RED have been through those trials themselves. They've taken those experiences to heart, mixed them with a plethora of influences – be they observations on art they admire, or communications with fans they adore – and now burst forth with a dynamic new set of songs geared toward finding who we truly are, inside and out. The time is now for Until We Have Faces. "We had the title before anything else," says RED bassist Randy Armstrong. "And we didn't set out to make a concept record. But as I sat and listened back to the final record, it's amazing how much of the content, pretty much unintentionally, deals directly with the title of the record. From start to finish, it's about all the emotions people go through trying to find their identity." It takes some doing to meld divergent inspirational resources as author C.S. Lewis with the stylings of Sevendust and Slipknot. But that's exactly what RED has done with Until We Have Faces – merge those ideas that inspire with experiences that inform, and craft face-meltingly driving tracks as the end result.

Archnemesis

stubwire — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 03:00:18 +0000

Eclipse

Tulsa,OK

Sat Mar 3, 2012

DOORS: 8:00 PM

All Ages

$8.00 ADV
$12.00 DAY OF

Archnemesis

Kittie, Blackguard, The Agonist, Bonded By Blood

stubwire — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 17:02:06 +0000

Eclipse

Tulsa,OK

Tue May 8, 2012

DOORS: 6:00 PM

All Ages

$14.00 ADV
$16.00 DAY OF

Kittie, Blackguard, The Agonist, Bonded By Blood

Schoolgirls Mercedes Lander (drums) and Fallon Bowman (guitar) met in gym class and said, "Let's play together!" And thus, Kittie was born. At least, that's how legend has it, and it's not that far from the truth. Four teenage girls with a love of heavy metal, a desire to prove naysayers wrong, and a passion to rock formed the hard-sounding metal-esque quartet in 1997 while still in high school. One part glam rock and one part death metal, the women of Kittie signed with the NG Records-distributed Artemis Records after a stint of playing covers of Nirvana, Silverchair, and even Corey Hart. By the time indie record producer GGGarth had gotten hold of their demo, they had graduated from teen pop to pushing their sound up a notch along the likes of L7 and Godsmack. The debut full-length, Spit, showcasing their incisive sound, was released late in 1999 with Lander's sister Morgan picking up vocals/guitar and Talena Atfield (replacing Tanya Candler) on bass. The album was eventually certified gold and the Paperdoll EP followed a year later. In 2001, they released Oracle, their second full-length, followed by the Safe EP, which featured six live tracks, two versions of the title track, and an enhanced video of three cuts from a different live show. Various lineup shifts occurred, and the release further featured new bassist Jennifer Arroyo. 2004 saw the release of Until the End. More lineup shifts occurred (Arroyo left in early 2005 to join Suicide City), and by 2006, Kittie comprised the Lander sisters alongside guitarist Tara McLeod and bassist Trish Doan, formerly of the Ontario bands Sherry and Her, respectively. The group released Funeral for Yesterday the following year, with In the Black arriving in 2009. ~ Roxanne Blanford, Rovi