Tonight Clearwater-based group The Almost is bringing its Americana, Garage punk rock sound to Gainesville. The band will make the third stop of its 12-date headlining tour at the Venue on 233 W University Ave.
Tickets are $15 in advance, and doors open at 7 p.m. for those 18 and older. This Providence, The Dares, Anarbor and T13C! will open the show. The Almost are scheduled to play at about 10:30 p.m., according to their publicist, Jules Exum.
The band will arrive in Gainesville today after they perform at the Culture Room in Ft. Lauderdale on Sept. 24.
For this tour, The Almost will perform songs from their 2007 Tooth & Nail/Virgin EMI debut album, Southern Weather. The Almost will also perform new material from their upcoming album, Monster Monster, which will be released Nov. 3.
Led by Underoath drummer, Aaron Gillespie, The Almost is best known for its single "Say this Sooner." This song helped Southern Weather earn a spot in the Top 40 of the Billboard Top 200 and a Top 10 single on the radio.
Kate Howes, a public relations sophomore at UF, said she first learned about The Almost through Underoath but admits the bands' musical styles are not the same.
"They're not as hardcore as Underoath," Howes said. "They're not a cliché. All their music sends a positive message."
Gillespie started The Almost in 2007 because he felt like writing his own album, Exum said.
And that he did. The drummer, guitar-player and lead vocalist for the band single-handedly wrote all the songs and played all the instruments for The Almost's freshman album. Since then Gillespie and friend Jay Vilardi have assembled the current ensemble that is The Almost by recruiting guitar-player Dusty Redmon, bassist Alex Aponte and drummer Joe Musten, the group's newest member.
The group played live all of Gillespie's songs in its first two-yearlong tour and was inspired for Monster Monster, an album that was a collaboration of all five members.
"This now feels like a real band," Gillespie said in a press release early September. "Everyone gave up a piece of his own agenda for the good of the final result. And that's how you end up with something special. They supplied the bricks, and we built this house together."
After The Almost finish their headlining tour in San Diego, the band will allow fans to own a preview of its sophomore album, Monster Monster, by releasing Monster EP on Oct. 6. Starting on this day, fans will be able to purchase the Limited Edition, five-track EP at Hot Topic stores, on the band's Web site or on tour.
The EP package will consist of two disks: one with the five tracks, and a blank one decorated like the album Monster Monster.
Fans who like the EP will have the opportunity to download the full album from ShockHound.com by using a promotional code on Nov. 3, the band's publicist said.
After their headlining tour and EP release, the band will tour the country with punk rock band The Used. Starting Oct. 9, The Almost will perform at 26 different venues and will return to Florida on Oct. 31 when they perform at the House of Blues in Lake Buena Vista.
