The Valley Arena @ The Troub.
I love free shows. No expectations, no lingering doubts from your wallet - just a nice evening of music in its purest form. Unfortunately, free music usually comes at the cost of listening to a bunch of shitty bands.

The funny thing is that I would have paid to see The Valley Arena. I felt like I had just snuck in the backdoor, because there was no way this was just another free show. After giving my buddy Dave (on bass) a high five from the stage, I sat back and watched the four piece blow through a ton of songs, in little time, with technical perfection.

The Valley Arena played a loud set without the muddy sound that usually haunts loud bands. Each song held a tight dose of "call-and-response" guitars thrown against a manic bassline and suprisingly melodic vocals (for the style of music). Dave threw out so many backwards riffs and sweet dance moves that I thought Omar Rodriguez-Lopez had been teleported on stage and handed a bass. Mike Nielsen on drums kept the whole operation air tight and kept the pace going inbetween songs.

Be sure to check this band out online at The Valley Arena's myspace and or website