Take it to 88

            The weather outside was warm and sticky the night of June 29^th, so I looked forward to a nice cool atmosphere for a concert at The Zodiac (http://www.facebook.com/zodiacbar). The information I had listed the concert at 8:00 pm, so I showed up just after the appointed concert beginning time.

            Unfortunately, the venue was not as pleasantly cool as I had hoped and I learned that the bands would not start their sets for another hour or hour and a half. That hour/hour and a half turned into two hours when the opening band finally began.

            I waited patiently for Take It To Eighty Eight to take the stage in the near empty venue. The Field, The Ocean kicked off their set with ferocity. The next band did not introduce themselves and were not on the bill. Even though most members of the second band seemed almost too passive and nonchalant, I couldn't stop watching their drummer. He was hard-hitting and incredibly passionate.

            After what seemed like hours, and actually was, Take It To Eight Eight stepped up on stage. In order to fully appreciate the band, one must learn about the band's roots.

            The band consists of Tedd Arcuri on guitar, Leo Okamura on guitar, Sabato Enrico on bass, Josh Mahan on vocals, and Nathan Rodriguez on drums.

            “We actually met as part of a church group,” Take It To Eighty Eight's drummer Nate said.

            During my research, I was curious where the name Take It To Eighty Eight came from.

            “We chose the name as a reference to the Back To The Future movies,” bassist Sabato said. “But where we're going, you don't need roads.”

            The band has many musical influences including Blink 182 and some of the more obscure bands coming up today. Surprisingly, no one band member writes the lyrics for their songs.

            “Everyone pitches in to write the lyrics,” Josh said. “Except Sabato. He doesn't do shit.”

            Their Colorado Springs show was Take It To Eighty Eight's first show back in Colorado after a west coast swing. Life on the road isn't nearly as glamorous, though, as one might think.

            “Everyone had a lot of fun on the tour,” Nate said. “It was hours upon hours of spending time with some good friends.”

            “The only issue was that some people want to sleep in the van and others want to listen to music while on the road,” Tedd said. “The problem is that the speakers were in the back and that's where people wanted to sleep.”

            Like any good road trip, there were some incidents along the way that the band will never forget.

            “There was a woman in Oregon outside of a Taco Bell who complained that the restaurant was poisoning her,” Sabato said. “The problem is that the only thing she was carrying with her was a Bible and a jar of urine.”

            Two years ago, Take It To Eighty Eight released their EP entitled Call More Dudes. Their new EP, entitled Renegade Ways, is now available on their Facebook page (www.facebook.com/takeitto88).       

            This brings me back to the live performance. It is an odd thing to hear at a band's concert, even jokingly, how much they devalue their music.

            “This is how much we don't care about our music,” Josh yelled at one point in the show. “You can go download it for free on our Facebook page. We're just giving it away!”

            The band did put on a good performance regardless of the small audience consisting mainly of their friends. When I was listening to their music on Facebook and Myspace, Take It To Eight Eight definitely sounded a bit more pop punk than their live show. For example, “Stable Cruising” almost sounds like it could be a single from popular band Mayday Parade.

            During their live performance, however, the band kicked it up a notch and went for a much more hardcore sound. All of the music for the show was spot-on with plenty of energy and intensity.

            The problem I had is that it was incredibly difficult to hear and understand the lyrics to the songs being performed. Since I only had about two days to enjoy Take It To Eighty Eight's songs, I was far from an expert on lyrics for their songs. For me, words to songs are almost as important as the music itself. Whether it was the low volume of the vocals or the relentless pursuit to be hardcore, I was hardly able to discern any lyrics to the songs.

            Overall, I would say that the show was a fun experience. It was a pity that the crowd was so sparse, possibly from the fact that it was am 18+ show rather than their typical all-ages shows. If some of the technical aspects of the show had been better, it would have been a great experience. And I left with some words of wisdom to live by.

            “You can measure an eye by the size of a baseball, but you can only throw a deer carcass so far,” Josh said.

~David Shaver

Theconcertscene.com