As a first time reviewer and viewer of the punk rock band SWMRS, I had pretty high expectations of the concert.

However, when SWMRS took the stage, I expected them to be leagues ahead of the rest of the bands in talent, but instead they failed in comparison to The Frights.

There were four bands in total that performed on April 6, and each one rose in talent as the bands got the audience hyped up for SWMRS, the final band of the night. But when SWMRS took the stage at 9, the disappointment was high.

The highlight of their set was when they performed the song “Miley” written about teen pop star Miley Cyrus.

While I’m not a huge fan of punk rock myself, I did my research on them (like listening to their music ahead of time). I’ve heard several different punk rock bands, and I was not impressed. Here’s why:

The Frights got onstage and immediately I could tell that this was a band that knew how to entertain a crowd.

Confidence and energy oozed out of them.

When SWMRS got onstage, they were lost in their own little world, not even paying attention to the audience until the mic check happened.

Granted they had to set up, but the other bands were at least smiling at the audience and seeming friendly as they got ready.

I understand that they were busy, but they could have put in more effort. The background music was far louder than the vocals for SWMRS than it was for any other band during the night, it seemed almost as if they didn’t know how to use the microphone, despite the dancing onstage.

I’ll give them props for having a lot of energy once the music started.

Having had heard their music beforehand, I can say that I’m a fan of their vocals… once I can actually hear them.

Overall the venue was great, the bands before SWMRS were fantastic, but SWMRS themselves? I hate to say that I was bummed.

(Three Stars)