Photos by: Brian DeFrees – Review by: Nadine Swiger – March 8, 2010

It was a superb night in Clifton Park, NY when Alkaline Trio, Cursive and The Dear and Departed performed an amazing show in Northern Lights Nightclub.

Warming up the crowd was The Dear And Departed. They take a darker esoteric approach to their mixture of punk and new wave. While none of the members are originally from the USA, The Dear and Departed reside in Southern California. Recently, they released a follow up to their debut album, a five song EP entitled “Chapters.” The band can be seen recording the EP on TLC’s reality show LA Ink, where vocalist, Dan Smith is one of the guys that tattoo along side Kat Von D on the show. The episode is slated to air in this month. The Dear and Departed will continue of this tour until April 3rd and then head overseas with AFI.

With a burst of energy, Cursive was next to taking the stage. The Nebraska natives put on a killer show, emerging themselves into each song with great emotion. Overall, they had a solid set with an experimental edge. They have been together for over a decade and have a catalog of seven albums. They are out in support of their latest album, “Mama I’m Swollen.” Their latest single, “Discovering America” is giving back as all the profits made off the sale of the single will be donated to the American Indian College Fund. (http://www.collegefund.org)

Nobody puts on a show quite like Alkaline Trio! The Chicago gothic punks had a phenomenal performance as they playing songs off of all seven of their albums. It was an excellent mixture of old favorites and new material. They even blew away the crowd with their cover of the Misfit’s “Angelfuck.” As always, they have great harmonies backed by catchy riffs that make you leave the show still singing the songs in your head. Currently out in support of their latest release, “This Addiction.” Alkaline Trio will continue to tour across North America until April, then head over seas for a European tour in May.

You can catch the remaining Alkaline Trio, Cursive and The Dear and Departed tour at the following dates:Mar 11 – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Mar 12 – New York, New York
Mar 13 – Sayreville, New Jersey
Mar 14 – Providence, Rhode Island
Mar 16 – Towson, Maryland
Mar 17 – Charlotte, North Carolina
Mar 18 – Charleston, South Carolina
Mar 19 – Atlanta, Georgia
Mar 20 – Jacksonville Beach, Florida
Mar 22 – Orlando, Florida
Mar 23 – Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Mar 25 – New Orleans, Louisiana
Mar 26 – Houston, Texas
Mar 27 – Dallas, Texas
Mar 28 – Austin, Texas
Mar 30 – Tempe, Arizona
Apr 01 -San Diego, California
Apr 02 -West Hollywood, California
Apr 03 – Las Vegas, Nevada

Alkaline Trio :
www.alkalinetrio.com

Cursive :
www.cursivearmy.com

The Dear and Departed :
www.thedearanddeparted.com