I Am The Avalanche heats up Asbury Park’s House of Independents
Witten by Brian Scott
ASBURY PARK, New Jersey – As the summer is heating up, a heavy feeling heated up with storm clouds in the distance—as did the House of Independents on the East Coast as the room went dark and bright lights hit the stage. It was the first night of I Am The Avalanche’s tour celebrating the release of their record THE HORROR SHOW.
Lead singer and guitarist Brandon Reilly of rock act Nightmare of You kicked things off with acoustic renditions of his band's songs. Hearing the tracks stripped down was truly beautiful and heartfelt. The early fans of the night could feel the joy that Reilly radiated on the stage. It was the calm before the storm that was building up both outside and inside of the venue.
Post-hardcore band Make Do And Mend took the stage next and exploded right into an exciting set. The energy was high and pulled the crowd right in. A few songs in, they announced that it was their first show in over 10 years—something so hard to believe when it sounded like they never missed a beat. The members covered all the stage grounds and enthralled the crowd even further.
The storm outside finally hit in full force as I Am The Avalanche dove ferociously into their set. The fans were captivated as the band played several new songs, including the title track and LAUGHING AND BLEEDING. Building onto the high energy already established, the band covered fan favorites such as Holy Fuck and Amsterdam.
The audience was in full chaotic movement as the hardcore pop punk band thunderously popped off. With every word Vinnie Caruana sang, the fans screamed them right back to him. The band may not be fully mainstream, but has already built a strong crowd of die-hard aficionados.
As the set carried on, they perfectly mixed together new tunes with old fan favorites including rarely heard gems such as Symphony and even a live debut of Love Song 69. I Am The Avalanche rolled through an exciting eighteen-track set that was full of incredible energy; it felt like it passed by in the blink of an eye and left the crowd wanting more.
At one point, Caruana and the other band members commemorated Reilly for his performance as the opener. Caruana had actually written Symphony, one of the very first I Am The Avalanche tracks, and showed it to Reilly, who then commented that it was the greatest song that he'd ever heard Caruana write—which ultimately led to the band’s origin not too long after. It was a full circle moment for all the artists who have been together for so many years. This music scene is full of love and has a family feeling that is rare to find.
