Abused Romance just finished the touring cycle for their 2010 debut album Shine but not before making a stop in Denver, CO.
As direct support for Alien Ant Farm I really did not know what type of audience to expect; especially since the chosen venue was a bar named Herman’s Hideaway on a Sunday night.
But to my surprise the night turned out really, really good. Total minus points for me for not checking out this venue earlier; nice bar with a capacity of around 450 plus, big stage and plenty of parking.
Abused Romance, with their radio friendly rock music is generally not my first choice of music, but I meet the guys earlier this year while on tour with Egypt Central and we stayed in touch.
And let me tell you this; those guys have it all figured out and live the “lets come to America and form a rock band” dream.
Originally hailing from Israel but calling Hollywood, CA their home for some time now, those 3 guys took the national radio waves by storm with their ever so popular song “Vaporize” and have not looked back ever since.
Unfortunately I never had the pleasure to see the band in their original 4 piece line-up. And yes it is different when one has to play songs that were intended for 2 guitars but Meir Yaniv, sole guitarist and vocalist totally pulls it off.
Even though he has to stand semi still at the microphone to mesmerize the fans with the lyrical beauty of their songs, he also takes every opportunity to flat out rock the socks of the audience with his guitar slinging.
Abused Romance opened the night with “Fly High” which truly set the tone for their set. “Sound of Violence” was up next and at this point there were prolly about 250 plus people at Herman’s Hideaway with about 60 or more cramped into the space right in front of the stage.
Sadly the headliner did not share their backline, so in other words the stage was cramped full of drum kits, amps and monitors.Poor Roy Chen (drums) was confined to one end of the stage while Meir and bassist Aetam Jakob made the best out of the situation and played in front of all the other gear.
But to be honest, the guys didn’t seam to mind all that much, because they put on a stellar performance that night.
And this was ever so apparent in the all instrumental, heavy riffing song “Room 2238” which they played right after the slower sing along “Hit and Run” anthem.
Abused Romance didn’t miss a beat and the sea head-bobbing and dancing around the floor fans got bigger and bigger with every song they played. Which also made the wood floor shake, hence the quality of the pic's is not all that good!
“Overcome” and “Naked Faces” (which is not on the album) rounded out the set before the band played their most noticeably and heard on radio station across the US song “Vaporize”.
This was a perfect ending to an awesome show and sadly the last time Abused Romance will tour for this album.
But no fear, after returning to Hollywood the guys will take some time off, record a new album and will be back on the road in no time!
Seriously, check them out if they tour in a city near you but until then, head over to their website and download their entire album for FREE. (no gimmick, no samples, the band decided to have their album available for free download to the masses)
For a couple more pictures check the slide show below: