The Almost at the Gramercy Theatre

Aaron Gillespie

As a teenager, Aaron Gillespie practiced playing the drums at his church in his native Clearwater, Florida, but was told that he did not play well and that he played too loud. One day, a church leader prophesied that Gillespie would "travel the whole world playing drums." Gillespie then received an invitation to play drums in the metalcore band Underoath. Gillespie joined Underoath in 1997, left the band in 2010, and rejoined in 2015. Gillespie also recorded solo albums under his name and served as touring drummer for Paramore from 2013 to 2016. As vocalist/guitarist/songwriter, Gillespie also formed the alternative rock band the Almost in 2005. The Almost released its fourth studio album, Fear Caller, on October 18, 2019.

Touring for the first time since 2014, the Almost brought its If I Believed You 2020 concert to the Gramercy Theatre tonight. With a thunderous burst of pop punk, the Almost opened with the title track from the band's debut album, Southern Weather. Gillespie announced that the band would play the 2007 album, alternating with songs from the most recent album, Fear Caller. In total, the Almost interspersed seven of the 11 songs from the debut album with five songs from the newer album. The newer songs were performed much the same as the older compositions -- loud, fast, and in-your-face, with very few gentle or subtle reprieves. The musicians blasted with an intensity that on verses frequently reduced Gillespie's vocals to a melodic underlay. The relentless blast of the performance proved to be monochromatic, despite Gillespie's soulful vocals and Vilardi's high-octane guitar leads. For the encore, Gillespie softened the impact by performing solo acoustic versions of "Dirty and Left Out" and "Amazing Because It Is." Perhaps the band could have impressed more by pacing this segment in the middle of the bombastic set.