Coffee, Friends and Hardcore Music-A Night with Norma Jean

Good music, good coffee and a mall to shop in before the festivities begin—thus are the making of a great concert event—not to mention a fun time.

The House Café and Music, a small venue located in a small mall in Indianapolis was the location to be January 29, 2003. Norma Jean, me without you, Bowels of Judas and Asking Autumn all gathered into the dimly lit concert hall to put on a show of massive proportions.

First up, a power-pop-punk, emo group from the southern side of Indianapolis named Asking Autumn. These guys, with their raw energy and vivacious enthusiasm not only managed to get a hall full of metal enthusiasts to enjoy emo-punk, they also managed to put a grapefruit sized hole in the wall of the stage during their energetic performance. These rockers were a good way to start the evening off.

Next up came the insanity known as, Bowels of Judas. This reviewer has been to a lot of concerts. A few of them would scare even the biggest hardcore fan, but nothing could prepare me for the unreal moshing that would ensue when this young, passionate band took the stage.

At first, I dismissed these guys as ZAO knock offs, then, they started to sound, almost unique. After their third song, it was clear, Bowels of Judas had talent. Large amounts of talent and they were good---very, very good. A free demo CD was passed out to the audience. It was snatched up in mere seconds.

Finally, Tooth and Nail recording artist, me without you, took the stage.

Dressed in winter coats and carrying an ambience that was entirely unique, me without you carried the audience’s attention from the first note, to the last. Lead vocalist, Aaron Weiss, was quite humorous, making several references to his love for pinball, and his love for God. All in all, an entertaining set, as well as a bit of a glimpse into a relatively unchartered style of music this reviewer refers to as “art-core”.

Article Author: Jeff Petermann

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