Everytime I Die/The Acacia Strain/Vanna/Hundredth/No Bragging Rights
When: Sat., March 2, 6 p.m. 2013
After 15 years and six albums it would be easy for a band to sit back and write what comes natural and sells for them. But the Buffalo-based fivesome Every Time I Die has kept fans guessing from the beginning. They spared no expense on their newest album, last year’s 2012’s Ex Lives. They’ve evolved so much over the years, it’s hard to categorize them anymore, but the majority of their fan base pulls them into the hardcore world, thanks to the band’s ability to turn angst into party jams (check out “We’rewolves”). It’s that reputation that made Ex Lives a maturation of the guys’ sound, adding unexpected banjos and flutes to singer Keith Buckley’s hardest vocals and most intimate writing to date. The band as a whole has stepped it up, and to give up on these guys now would mean missing out on the best years. (Nikki Hunt)