AVAIL

JANUARY 21 @ THE HANDLEBAR AVAIL Ann Beretta Strike Anywhere Avail played the Handlebar in Pensacola last Sunday night and Topdogmagazine was there.  Mark and I got there a few hours before the show started and asked Beau Beau (Avail's "cheerleader") what time the doors opened.  The show wasn't scheduled to start until 6:30 so we left to get something to eat and came back at about 6:00.  The doors finally opened at about 7 and we got in just as Strike Anywhere was starting up.  They were a really heavy/screamy hardcore band, but their songs had good dynamics and some nice melodies here and there.  Pretty good stuff, but it would've started to wear a little thin if they'd played a longer set.  Next up was Ann Beretta.  They had a slightly different, lighter sound than the other two bands.  They played a decent set, but I was really hoping they would play "Forget Today, Forget Tomorrow" (great acoustic song) and their version of "Just What I Needed" by the Cars.  Oh, well.  Finally, the mighty Avail took the stage.  It took them a while to get started because of some problems with the P.A., but it was well worth the wait.  They seemed to play mainly older tunes and left out some newer stuff I wanted to hear like "Not a Happy Man" and "N30."  They played most of the songs I wanted to hear, though: "Nickel Bridge" was played pretty early in their set and they closed with "F.C.A.," "Taken," and (I think) "Scuffle Town."  Avail's entire set was intense and passionate and I would definitely recommend seeing them if you like aggressive punk; Strike Anywhere and Ann Beretta were good opening acts but I personally wouldn't want to go see them as headliners.  All in all, it was an amazing show.  I took tons of pictures and took them to Wal-Mart tonight to be developed; if they look good when I get them back I'll post some here with the review. (contributed by Matt Chapman, TDM's newest staff member) Okay, I know it's been more than a week since I posted the review, but I finally scanned those pictures like I promised.  I wasn't about to scan 2 rolls of pics, so here are some of the best ones.  Enjoy.  Matt Avail Ann Beretta Strike Anywhere