Chicago-based punk rock icons, Alkaline Trio, rid Boston of its Sunday Scaries at the House of Blues last weekend. The punk veterans are currently on tour celebrating their tenth studio album, Blood, Hair, and Eyeballs, which was released late January on Rise Records. The group is touring North America with co-veterans, Drug Church.
Alkaline Trio dates back to 1996, helmed at the forefront of Matt Skiba’s imagination and passion for punk rock. After releasing their debut single the following year, long-time (and basically original) bassist, Dan Andriano, joined the band and they released their debut EP, For Your Lungs Only, in 1998. Over the years, Alkaline Trio have cemented their status in the punk, emo and alt-rock world, growing up alongside names like Jawbreaker, Green Day and blink-182; it would be remiss not to mention that Skiba was an interim member of blink-182 for seven years during Tom Delonge’s departure from the band. Despite filling some big shoes, Skiba split his time accordingly and Alkaline Trio continued to release a full LP in 2018 and an EP in 2020 at the start of the pandemic.
As the house lights faded to black, several red lights illuminated the stage in the band’s signature color, panning up to the backdrop of their trademark “heart and skull” logo. Skiba, Andriano and drummer Atom Willard (The Offspring, Angels & Airwaves, Against Me!) walked out to a roaring crowd before ripping into “Hot For Preacher,” the lead track from their latest record. Skiba and Andriano constantly ping-pong vocals to each other and, despite the enormous lyrical lift, do not shy away from playing to the crowd; both members spent an equal amount of time at the microphone and at the edge of the stage, engaging with the crowd. Waves of bodies poured towards the stage as the band played on, cutting directly into their hit single “We’ve Had Enough,” from their 2003 smash, Good Mourning
Boasting an extensive discography, Alkaline Trio featured picks from their whole catalog, spanning songs over nearly twenty years. The band played their cards perfectly and the bulk of the setlist was made up of new songs and those from their 2001 Billboard charting From Here to the Infirmary, which helped rocket the band into the mainstream. The energy never grew dim throughout their set, with the band reciprocating the momentum from the crowd, especially as they came out to play their encore, “Radio,” that gave way to the end of the Sunday-night party.
The Blood, Hair, and Eyeballs tour continues through the end of March, ending at the Las Vegas Brooklyn Bowl.
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PHOTO GALLERY BY: Cam Cavagnaro
