I went in to this show at the Warehouse really only knowing Sparta, so coming out from the show with another act on the bill I enjoyed almost as much was a pleasant surprise.

I have no review of Attack in Black because we were late to the show (busy playing ball hockey), but we showed up about half way through the set by Moneen and I have to say I was very impressed. Sometimes the opening band is not quite up to the main act in terms of quality, and sometimes the pairings make little to no sense (see Metric and Billy Talent for an example of poor touring pairs). These guys definitely fit the musical tone of the night, and they had the skills to whip the crowd up in anticipation of Sparta taking the stage. The crowd was very much in to what they had to offer, so I would almost say this was a dual headliner show rather than Sparta being the reason for 90% of the people being there.

I bought 2 CD’s based on their performance, so that is a good sign. One is a shared / joint effort of 6 songs with Alexisonfire, the other is a DVD / CD combo disc of 5 songs. Album reviews will happen sooner or later.

Sparta came on and played 2 or three songs before talking to the crowd… when they did interact with the crowd I didn’t get the sense I do from some of the bigger shows I have seen, which is they are saying things because they feel they have to or are following some standard rock show crowd interaction formula. Throughout their set I could see that these guys were happy to be here and really love what they are doing.

I have to admit Wiretap Scars has received about 30x more play for me than Porcelain and about 50x more play than Threes, so there was a lot of the music that was familiar but not very well known. They played a good mix of all three albums and also mixed up the faster tempo with just enough slow songs to not kill the energy (but likely enough to rest his voice before the next assault began ).

Looking around at the crowd there was definitely a bit more energy whenever a wiretap song would get played, so perhaps I was not alone in being most familiar with that album. Speaking of Wiretap Scars, Cut your ribbon in the encore made everyone go nuts, and then they eased out on a quieter song that left me feeling quite content with what I had just witnessed.

In regards to the venue I am quite pleased to say the Warehouse is great for a concert. The sound was clear, nothing to speak of in regards to obstructions of sightlines and, well… it was the Warehouse and not the Whiskey or Cowboys. I don’t think I need to say anything more

what could be considered a set list (although not in order) may be attempted later as I am listening to their three discs today, seeing if the energy of the show can translate back to the CD’s.