Marianas Trench Rocks NYC's Playstation Theater.
by Holly Turner
With vocal talent that is on par with that of Panic! At The Disco and Adam Lambert (and a persona that is a perfect combination of the two), lead singer Josh Ramsay commanded the audience’s attention from start to finish, with an amazing stage presence and frequent banter that could entertain for hours. His enthusiasm and the genuine love of performing clear on his face did not falter despite a smaller-than-usual crowd – if anything, it was even more prominent than it was on their previous tour.
The only negative quality one might find in a Marianas Trench tour is that since Ramsay is so talented and outgoing, the spotlight is – figuratively and sometimes literally – completely taken off the rest of the members of the band: lead guitarist Matt Webb, bass guitarist Mike Ayley, and drummer Ian Casselman. Wednesday night, however, this was far from the case. Each member was given multiple solos (Webb even sang one song in near entirety) and did their fair share of speaking between songs. It was perhaps the first time a novice fan could see that the rest of the band is equally as skilled as Ramsay himself, a fact that escalates the band from talented and fun to absolutely phenomenal.
With performances on the same scale of their bigger tours and an intimacy that will make it unforgettable, Marianas Trench’s SPF80 tour is something fans will surely not want to miss. It continues through much of August and will be the band’s last US tour for a while, so if you haven’t seen them yet, now is a better time than any.
