Located on the second floor of the Student Center, Under The Couch is a student-run music venue where members of the Tech community can go check out music from local bands around Atlanta, and even bands comprised of Tech students. The venue hosts multiple concerts each month, many of which are free to students with a Buzzcard. This past Saturday, Sept. 14 was punk/hardcore night, with bands Too Late, Deathbed, Malfunction and Take Offense rocking out on center stage.
Too Late started the show with a bang. By stomping on the stage and throwing microphone stands, they got the crowd excited; this electric energy lasted through the entire concert. The band did, however, seem slightly inexperienced. Their lead singer had a great stage presence, but some of the other band members showed signs of nervousness and were static on stage. Thankfully, as their set progressed, Too Late became more comfortable with their audience and gave a great performance.
Next came Deathbed, whose dynamic performance demonstrated a much more confident stage presence. In accordance with the general theme of the night, the band’s music was extreme, with every song starting with feedback from the guitar. However, they stood out from the other bands by having multiple instrumental breaks during their songs. Often, the singer would sing just a few bars then dance to the music with the crowd, effectively breaking the barrier between performance and audience.
Each band gave it their all, leaving everything on the stage.
After Deathbed’s time was up, Malfunction took the stage. Of all the bands, they had some of the most complicated songs. The rhythm of some of their tracks even changed a couple of times in the middle of the performance, as if they were multiple songs combined into one. Although the lead singer was not as powerful in his vocal range as the other acts, he excelled at engaging the crowd in between songs and keeping them amped up; at one point he even brought someone from the crowd on stage to sing along with him.
At long last the headliner of the night, Take Offense, took the stage. Bringing in the biggest crowd of all four acts of the night, the band lived up to their headline status and raised the intensity to the roof. With crazy guitar solos and a double bass drum, they had the crowd on their feet and practically bringing down the house; this exuberant audience response resulted in the speakers almost falling over at one point. The band also seemed to have the most recognition amongst listeners, with the lead singer frequently pointing the microphone at the crowd for them to fill in the lyrics. For those who could not make the show, both Take Offense and Malfunction can be found on iTunes and are currently on tour together.
Overall, it was a crazy concert. Each band gave it their all, leaving everything on the stage. The crowd did as well, forming mosh pits with people throwing fists and jumping on each other while others stood in the back, head-banging to the music.
Complementing the intensity of the music was the atmosphere. The venue was packed with people from wall-to-wall and right up against the stage. Multiple times people would jump up and run across the stage, firing up the crowd and the bands. Everyone seemed to have a great time, leaving the concert exhausted and drenched in sweat.