Four bands made their stop in Albuquerque on Sept. 18, for “The Hive” tour. Arcade Rivals, Selfish Things, Punchline and The Spill Canvas played at Launchpad Tuesday night. The title of the tour is in reference to the new EP by The Spill Canvas called “Hivemind.”
“It’s good now that we have new music to talk with people about, instead of just old stuff,” said Bryce Job, the drummer and backing vocals for The Spill Canvas. “Especially since the newer members are recorded on our new stuff now.”
The Albuquerque show was stop number four on their second leg of their Western U.S. tour. The tour previously stopped in Texas for three shows, in Austin, Houston and Dallas as part of the tour, they have had great fan interaction on the road so far.
“We have some of the best fans, they’re just amazing, so anytime we get to meet and perform for them is great,” said Evan Pharmakis, lead guitar and harmony vocals for The Spill Canvas.
“VIP gives fans a little bit more of a one on one opportunity to chat with us,” Job said. “But we’re also hanging around the venue keen to talk to people.”
The bands on the tour have previously been to Albuquerque. Though it’s been a while since both The Spill Canvas and Punchline have visited.
“We have not been to Albuquerque in probably ten years,” said Steve Soboslai, the lead vocals and guitar for Punchline.
“We’ve been here a couple of times,” Job said, “It always treats us well for sure, we love coming here.”
When asked the opinions of the other bands on their tour the members of The Spill Canvas and Arcade Rivals had positive things to say.
“The Spill Canvas is amazing. My guitar player Jonny Hefferen is a huge Spill Canvas fan,” said David Jaffe, the lead vocals and rhythm guitar for Arcade Rivals. “I also listen to Punchline and Selfish Things, they’re great, so I’m excited to be here.”
All of the bands gave fantastic performances and had fans there to share the music they preformed. The Spill Canvas, Punchline and Selfish Things will be moving on in their tour with their next stop being in Los Angeles, CA.
Arcade Rivals, on the other hand, is a band based in Albuquerque. They’ve been together for two years, with all four of their members and have performed at the Launchpad multiple times as openers and just as themselves.
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“We’ve never played with someone this big before, so it’s exciting for us to be here tonight playing with them,” Jaffe said.
If you’re interested, their next event will be Oct. 19 at the “Night of the Living Cover Bands” happening at the Launchpad from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m.
Tiffani Watteyne is a freelance reporter for the Daily Lobo. She can be contacted by email at culture@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @tiffanirosew.
