Something Corporate 8/11/10

Something Corporate 8/11/10, 9:30 Club

Sooo I was pretty much more stoked for this show than almost anything ever. It's been five (?) years since Something Corporate called it quits and various members went solo. I never really got to see them before that happened, and I was never able to make it to any of their recent festival reunion shows, so I snatched up tickets for this tour as soon as it was announced.



This was the second of a two night run at the 9:30 Club in DC. A legendary venue for a legendary band. The other notable aspect of the night was that SoCo had NO opening bands. Just two solid hours of nostalgia. The club was at full capacity - people were leaning against the back wall of the venue it was so full.



The band came onstage to "Reunited and It Feels So Good," as well as huge screams from the crowd. I do have to say that there were more men there than I was expecting, though the front row was almost entirely female.

Apparently the band had technical issues during the first night's show, but that was all taken care of by the second night. Everything sounded great, no instrument or vocal was too loud or too quiet. There were a few moments where Andrew McMahon seemed to strain to recall lyrics - just pausing a beat too long and laughing before beginning a verse. He never really had to worry though, the audience was singing louder than him on some songs.



The set list was as follows (I think this is the right order, please correct me if I'm wrong):

I Woke Up In A Car
Space
Ruthless
21 and Invincible
Watch the Sky
Drunk Girl
Me and the Moon
Hurricane
Walking By
Cavanaugh Park
I Want To Save You
Only Ashes
The Astronaut
Straw Dog
She Paints Me Blue
Fall
If You C Jordan
----
Konstantine
Forget December
As You Sleep
Punk Rock Princess

This set is pretty much a SoCo fan's dream. The only favorite of mine that wasn't played was "Good News," but I wasn't really expecting to hear it. McMahon made a long speech about playing "Konstantine," and how its infrequency doesn't mean he dislikes playing it, but rather that it just takes up too much set time. Perhaps this was part of the impetus behind having no openers.



The set as a whole was energetic and filled with love. That sounds corny, but it's the only way I can describe the atmosphere of the place. Love, and respect between band and audience. Not to mention some nice guitar solos from Josh Partington, and plenty of piano gymnastics from McMahon. (On a band member side note - as we were waiting to be let into the venue, Bobby Anderson got out of the bus, milled around on the sidewalk for a moment, and then proceeded into the club...all with no one noticing him. Have people really forgotten that this band is a group effort?)



The crowd was enthused but not obnoxious. Even the younger fans weren't of the screeching, elbowing variety that I so often see these days. It was refreshing, actually. Overall, the show was pleasant, entertaining, energetic, and just plain happy. I sincerely hope they put out more records and continue to tour, at least for a little while longer.

Review: 3OH!3, Cobra Starship, Travie McCoy, & I Fight Dragons

3OH!3, Cobra Starship, Travie McCoy, & I Fight Dragons at the 9:30 Club, 5.11.10.

Well, if you can't tell by now, Cobra Starship is definitely my guilty pleasure. I went into this show expecting plenty of skinny jeans, neon clothes, and semi-ironic headbands, and I got exactly that, plus a fun show to boot. After getting my ID looked at extra hard by the doorman (apparently I still look under 21), I headed up to grab a place on the balcony in order to see the show better and to endure less pushing and shoving from the high schoolers in the crowd. Quite a few parents were in the crowd as well, all of whom looked suitably shocked at the bands' banter and the music playing between the sets ("I'm On A Boat" in particular got a good reaction).

I'd never heard of I Fight Dragons before, and it turns out they're a Nintendo-core band. I find that this "genre" is fun in theory; it's a neat nostalgia trip. However, watching people prance around the stage while clicking away on a Super Nintendo controller is pretty boring and anticlimactic. The songs themselves were pretty standard pop-punk and the lyrics weren't very clever. I will say I giggled a little to see one of them wailing away on a Guitar Hero guitar, but I found myself watching the flat screen TVs that were displaying video game graphics and clips of retro cartoons.

I've been a big Gym Class Heroes fan for a long time, but to be honest, I didn't know Travis was doing a solo album until I heard "Billionaire" on the radio the other day. So, I was excited to see what he was doing as Travie McCoy. Turns out, it's pretty awesome. As far as I'm aware, McCoy had a lot of artistic freedom in GCH, but he's really spun that out in different directions for his new work. Imagine the emotional weight of The Papercut Chronicles plus the musical breadth of The Quilt. McCoy was mixing reggae, rap, '50s pop, hardcore, etc., etc.


world's tallest mic stand.

McCoy came on stage holding a handful of balloons with lights in them - a whimsical way to start the show. He still runs around the entire stage during his performance, but he doesn't pull faces the way he did when playing with GCH. He easily engaged an audience that had never heard any of these songs before, he kept things rolling for the whole set. I will definitely be buying Lazarus when it is released.

Cobra Starship took the next time slot. It was a pretty standard Cobra show, but I was surprised that the crowd didn't really seem that into it. I guess the place had mostly 3OH!3 fans in it. However, that didn't stop Cobra from bursting out on stage and doing their best to whip up a dance party. The had big grids of lights hanging as a backdrop and covering 3OH!3's gear. I think that's the biggest setup I've ever seen them have on a tour.


they say that kid, he's got soul.

The set list was fun, but there were some big holes - mostly that the only song they played from their first album was "Snakes On A Plane." They played two songs that McCoy has a rap on, but he didn't come on stage for either of them. He was clearly waiting off stage to come up for "Snakes On A Plane," but the boy they pulled from the crowd took up too much time flubbing the rap that McCoy didn't get to make an appearance. Which is sad, because that's something I was really looking forward to. I'd also love to hear songs like "The Ballad of Big Poppa and Diamond Girl" or "The Church of Hot Addiction" again. Mark DeJesus did have a cameo playing maracas on "Smile For The Paparazzi." It makes me smile to see bands continue to bring along the people who have been there with them from the start. Also, I don't think I mentioned it above, but Matt McGinley was playing drums for McCoy.

The City Is At War
Pete Wentz Is The Only Reason We're Famous
Kiss My Sass
My Moves Are White (White Hot, That Is)
Wet Hot American Summer
Smile For The Paparazzi
Snakes on a Plane
Living In The Sky With Diamonds
Hot Mess
Guilty Pleasure
Good Girls Go Bad


the beat is pumping, now she's blowing up.

I didn't stick around for 3OH!3 because I only know the song "Don't Trust Me," and I didn't want to have to stay through the encore to hear it. Also, I'm turning into an old lady and I was tired. Overall, it wasn't the best Cobra Starship show I've seen, but it was still decent and I got some good dance time in.

3oh3music.com | cobrastarship.com | traviemccoy.com | ifightdragons.com

Brand New, Thrice, & Crime In Stereo 11/14/09

Brand New, Thrice, and Crime In Stereo at the Electric Factory, 11/14/09.



This was night one of two sold out shows at the Electric Factory in Philadelphia. It was also Thrice's last night on the tour (Glassjaw joined the following night). I knew it was going to be a great show at a great venue, and I was not disappointed.

Crime In Stereo was the opening band. I'd heard good things about them, so I was interested to see them. While they had a lot of energy, none of it translated to the crowd - everyone stood stock still while they played. Their singer had a great raw voice, but he just couldn't get the crowd into it. Maybe the crowd was just saving themselves for the headliners. They did note that they were from Long Island, which is probably why they were on the tour. Unfortunately, it's not the first time I've been less than impressed with Brand New's opening act - I actually fell asleep during Colour Revolt's set a few years ago. CIS' set list was:

*new song*
Small Skeletal
XXXX (The First Thousand Years Of Solitude)
Third Atlantic
But You Are Vast
*new instrumental*
Almost Ghostless/Above The Gathering Oceans
Orbiter

I was very excited for Thrice since I've never seen them before (gasp!) and I have been listening to them for a long time. They came barreling out of the gate and hardly stopped at all. Dustin Kensrue sounded great, and their set was efficient, for lack of a better term. This band clearly knows what they're doing. I was a little disappointed that they didn't play "The Artist In The Ambulance," but I wouldn't want to play one song every night of my life either.

Of Dust and Nations
Silhouette
All The World Is Mad
The Weight
Helter Skelter (Beatles cover)
In Exile
Doublespeak
A Song For Milly Michaelson
The Arsonist
Beggars

After pushing the break between sets as far as they could, Brand New finally came on stage. It was every bit as good as it always is. Jesse Lacey's voice sounds more raw every time I see them - I'm not sure if it's for effect, or if his voice is just that torn up. They used almost exclusively their own lighting setup - white spotlights from the ceiling, the tops of their amps, and on the floor behind them, plus warmer yellow lights behind them on the side. It created a welcoming but eerie feel. About halfway through the set during "Vices," a projection screen kicked in and began showing disjointed black and white images. I'm not sure if they meant it to begin during that song, or whether that was a technical malfunction. Can anyone comment on that? However, I did this it funny that they used Lyndon Johnson's 1964 "Daisy" campaign ad during the song of the same name. They also appeared to be filming for a live DVD or something - there was one guy running around with a video camera and another with a handcranked camera.

Welcome To Bangkok
Sink
Degausser
You Won't Know
Okay I Believe You, But My Tommy Gun Don't
Sic Transit Gloria
Jude Law And A Semester Abroad
Seventy Times 7
Limousine
Vices
Gasoline
Daisy
Sowing Season
Archers
You Stole
Jesus Christ
Bought A Bride
At The Bottom
Play Crack The Sky

I think they did a great job of pulling from all their albums, especially Your Favorite Weapon. The crowd of course FREAKED OUT when we were presented with "Jude Law And A Semester Abroad" and "Seventy Times 7" back to back. I thought it interesting that they opened with "Welcome to Bangkok" since they had taken to closing with it. And while they did have a second drummer on stage with them, notably missing was the group jams with a dozen or more people. That is not to say that the show suffered because of it, but it was just different. There was still force and passion behind the songs - very much so. I felt that all the songs across all their albums flowed well with each other, despite the older songs being so different from the new songs. Brand New has learned not only to work a crowd, but how to have them eating out of the palm of their hand. As for me, Brand New shows are always a bit of an emotional experience - sometimes for just remembering what a song used to mean to me, and sometimes just for the sheer force of the music. Because of that, I will never miss a tour, even if I have to go to Philadelphia to catch it.

Say Anything, Eisley, Moneen, & Miniature Tigers 11/8/09

Say Anything, Eisley, Moneen, & Miniature Tigers at the Recher Theatre 11/8/09.

It's been years since I've been out the Recher, mostly because it takes so long to get out to Towson. Granted, I was driving there in Friday rush hour traffic, but it was worth it for this show. Say Anything and Moneen are two of my favorite bands, and I'd never seen Eisley, so I was pretty excited.

I had not ever heard of Miniature Tigers before they were announced on this tour. I got to the Recher just as their set began, and it was good. They reminded me a lot of Vampire Weekend, and they had a good time using some odd instruments (I don't think I've ever seen anyone use a rain stick before). I missed the end of their set to go get some food, so I can't tell you much about their set list.

I dashed back in time for Moneen's set. They are one of my favorite bands to see live, since they just have SO much energy. To be fair, this wasn't their best performance - a little rougher around the edges than I've seen in the past. They were still having a good time with it and it was fun to hear their new songs. I don't remember their full set list, but what I can remember is:

Don't Ever Tell Locke What He Can't Do
The World I Want To Leave Behind
Are We Really Happy With Who We Are Right Now
There Are A Million Reasons For Why This May Not Work... And Just One Good One For Why It Will
The Passing Of America

The mood in the room got much more focused and excited when Eisley came on. Their live show was every bit as good as people say it is. The womens' voices blended beautifully together, and they recreated the ethereal feel of their recorded songs. Their set list was something like:

I Could Be There For You
Mr. Pine
The Valley
Golly Sandra
Ambulance
Smarter
Memories
Invasion
Marvelous Things
Many Funerals

I was happy to hear quite a few songs off Room Noises, and of course Max Bemis came out to sing a song he wrote with Sherri Dupree. Despite all the drama their marriage has caused, they really are a cute couple.

The room exploded when Say Anything came on. They had set pieces that looked like the buildings on the new album cover, and the tiny windows even lit up. Max was his usual flamboyant self, and he was genuinely pleased that people were already singing along with the new songs.

Fed To Death
Wow, I Can Get Sexual Too
Alive With The Glory Of Love
It's A Metaphor, Fool
Shiksa (Girlfriend)
Hate Everyone
Yellow Cat (Slash) Red Cat
Have At Thee!
Cemetery
This Is Fucking Ecstasy
Eloise
Woe
Baby Girl, I'm A Blur
Mara and Me
Every Man Has A Molly
Ahhh...Men
*****
Crush'd
Spores
Admit It!!!

I think they did a great job of mixing up the albums, and even if I'm not stoked on the new album, it works well live with the older stuff. The set lasted about two hours with the encore, which was quite a treat, even if I was exhausted by the end of it. I thought about skipping out during the encore, but I'm am glad I stuck around and heard "Admit It!!!" Just hearing Max's voice fall back and hearing the crowd take over was worth it. I'm glad to know they haven't lost it.

As Tall As Lions at Jammin' Java 9.10.09

I'm pretty sure I've already said as much as I can say about the perfection of As Tall As Lions' live show, so I will just leave you with a few photographs.

Cobra Starship 8/26/09

Cobra Starship, The Audition, The Friday Night Boys, & DJ Skeet Skeet at The Rock & Roll Hotel, 8/26/09.

This is far and away the smallest venue I have ever seen Cobra Starship at, and it was every bit as exciting as past shows. Cobra’s music is built for packed rooms where everyone is wedged in, sweaty and dancing like crazy.

DJ Skeet Skeet was the first opener, playing a bunch of dance remixes along the lines of Fall Out Boy, Katy Perry, and 3OH!3. The crowd was kind of into it, but clearly saving their energy for the real show.

As for The Friday Night Boys, this was a hometown show for them. It’s the first time I’ve seen them since they signed with Fueled By Ramen, and they haven’t changed a bit. They’re still dance rock, still having fun, and still not taking it too seriously. The new songs sounded good – as a whole their music has become more rock and less electronic over time. It was a bit sad that there was no "Sorry I Stole Yo Gurl," but I probably would be sick of playing that one too. The funniest part was when someone in the crowd catcalled, "My Favorite Highway is better!" which launched a discussion among the band about Andrew Goldstein’s tenure in My Favorite Highway. Their setlist was something like:

Suicide Sunday
High School
Permanent Heartbreak
That's What She Said
Molly Makeout
Stuttering

The Audition was next. Their shows are always solid, and last night was no different. I’ll be honest – I haven’t listened to them in a long time, and I was surprised at how dance-oriented their new songs were. Not a bad thing – a very good thing, in fact. They were fun, and working hard to get the crowd motivated for the rest of the night.

My Temperature's Rising
You've Made Us Conscious
Love With a Motive
Hell to Sell
Los Angeles
The Way You Move
Warm Me Up
Don't Be So Hard

After a seemingly interminable interlude from DJ Skeet Skeet, Cobra Starship took the stage to dozens of screaming and grabbing girls. Gabe Saporta was loving it, and loving playing to a small venue. I have never seen a lack of enthusiasm from these guys. Gabe dances and slides all over, spending plenty of time right at the edge of the stage. Due to R&R’s lack of air conditioning, he was quickly dripping everywhere, and so was the rest of the band. Vicky T. wore a purple tube dress that was shorter than short, and everyone was just having the time of their life.

Pete Wentz is the Only Reason We're Famous
Send My Love to the Dance Floor, I'll See You in Hell (Hey Mister DJ)
The Church of Hot Addiction
Kiss My Sass
Damn You Look Good and I'm Drunk (Scandalous)
The Ballad of Big Poppa and Diamond Girl
My Moves are White (White Hot, That Is)
Hollaback Boy
The World Has Its Shine (But I Would Drop It On A Dime)
Smile for the Paparazzi
The City is at War
Bring It (Snakes On A Plane)
***
Good Girls Go Bad
Guilty Pleasure


"Damn You Look Good…" through "Hollaback Boy" were performed as a sort of medley. It was odd that for the "Hot Mess Across the US" tour, there were only three songs from Hot Mess on the setlist. Gabe did make a comment along the lines of "this is the last time we’ll be playing some of these old songs," and kept saying the old songs were for the old fans. This tour is clearly a sort of send off for them – a gift to the fans before they head out on a couple of big name, big venue tours. Sad, but I am glad I caught this round. A few people came up on stage throughout the set, including Friday Night Boys’ Chris Barrett covering one of Travis McCoy’s raps, and a young boy named Connor who got brought up to do the "Guilty Pleasure" dance and generally just hang out on stage for being so young and in the front row.

One of the best things about seeing Cobra Starship is watching how much Gabe interacts with and thanks the crowd. He took a number of small gifts from people in the audience, and he always spends much of the banter between songs talking about how dedicated the fans are and how grateful he is that they have put the band where they are today. It’s nice to see someone give back a little like that.

Overall, Cobra was just as explosive and entertaining as always, and I can’t wait to see where they go next.

No Doubt, Paramore, & The Sounds 6/14/09

No Doubt, Paramore, & The Sounds at Nissan Pavilion 6/14/09

I was SO excited for this show. It’s been years since I’ve seen Paramore, and I had never seen No Doubt before. Sad, considering how much I love both these bands.

I got to the venue a little after 7 PM and got the nice surprise of seeing the end of The Sounds’ set – I had no idea they were playing this date. Unfortunately I only saw about a song and a half. Maja Ivarsson sounded a little screechy, but I have to commend her for being able to sprint around the stage in heels.

Paramore were their usual energetic selves, with Hayley Williams dashing around and the rest of the guys jumping and flipping all over the place. I felt that they left a few key songs out of their setlist, "Emergency" being the most notable one. They did play a couple of new songs off their upcoming record, and both were pretty fast, hard songs. Their setlist was:

Misery Business
For A Pessimist, I’m Pretty Optimistic
Pressure
Ignorance [new]
CrushCrushCrush
Decoy [new]
When It Rains
Where The Lines Overlap
That’s What You Get
Let The Flames Begin
Decode

I thought "Decode" was kind of a weak way to end the set, but probably a strategic choice due to the Twilight soundtrack. I was pleased with how long their set was – I was expecting much less.

No Doubt got on stage around 9:30 PM, and there was just so much excitement in the air. They began with their shadows projected on a white sheet, waving at the audience. It looked like absolutely everyone in the audience was taking photos of it. When the sheet dropped, they had an all white, futuristic looking setup with the band members on ramps and stands – it kind of looked like a spaceship. Even the stage floor had been covered in white material, and all of the band was dressed in black and white. There was also a big screen behind the band, showing shapes, colors, and videos in sync with the songs. Gwen Stefani sounded a little rocky for the first minute or so, but then she warmed up and sounded fantastic. She has such a powerful voice and knows how to project it.

As for their outfits, No Doubt was definitely harkening back to their early days. Stefani’s hair was tied up in knots, and she was wearing a cut off tank top and cargo-like pants. The rest of the band looked the ska/punk part too.

The set list went something like this:

Spiderwebs
Hella Good
Underneath It All
Excuse Me Mr.
Ex-Girlfriend
End It On This
Simple Life
Happy Now?
[new song]
Guns of Navarone
Hey Baby
Running
Different People
Don’t Speak
It’s My Life
Just A Girl

Rock Steady
Stand And Deliver
Sunday Morning

No Doubt is one of those bands where you think it just can’t get any better, but they keep pulling out one huge song after another. They played all their big hits, plus some older stuff – fan favorites and such. Their setup was so slick and well-produced, and the whole band seemed to be having a great time. Stefani was swaggering all over the stage, and everyone kept running up and down the ramps and jumping around.

What really struck me was how Stefani kept talking to the audience in the pit. Most bands will address the crowd generally, but Stefani kept expressing gratitude and talking to individuals who were near her. She took a few presents from the crowd, and asked people about their signs they were holding. One man had a sign asking for a hug, so she told him, "Well, come and get it." She hugged him up on stage, talked to him for a minute, and let him take a picture with her. It’s really great to see such a huge band be that kind and welcoming to their fans.

I was also blown away by the sheer number of people there. Nissan Pavilion holds up to 19,000 people. I don’t know if the show sold out, but it looked pretty close. It was just people dancing for as far as you could see.

Stefani had two costume changes – once into a sparkly silver and black minidress with black tights and boots, and the second time into a sparkly black polo shirt with bleached out jeans. The only other band member to change clothes with drummer Adrian Young, who put on a rainbow colored tutu near the end.

For "Stand And Deliver," a bunch of freestanding drums were brought on stage, and all the members of Paramore and The Sounds came out to play, with all three women singing the song. Stefani also dropped and did ten or fifteen pushups during the intro to "Just A Girl." There was a lot of call and response singing as well. If any of the band members are tired of playing these songs, you would never know it.

Overall, I was very happy with this show. It was so great to hear all those songs I love, and to see the band having a good time. It was also nice that I got to see the leg of the tour where all three bands were female-fronted – that is something that very rarely happens, especially at this level. I envy one girl in the crowd that Stefani talked to – the girl had seen 11 stops on this tour and was planning on seeing 10 more. I’d definitely love to be able to do that!

Straylight Run, Lovedrug, & Good Old War 5/14/09

Straylight Run, Lovedrug, & Good Old War at the Rock & Roll Hotel, 5/14/09.

It's been a long time since I've been to R&R, but it's still a great small venue. I was very excited to see this lineup in such a small space - they are all perfectly suited for it.

I had never listened to Good Old War before this show, and I was very pleasantly surprised. Their songs were folksy and upbeat, and their singer pranced around the entire set, obviously enjoying his job. Usually if a band I've never heard is opening a show, I can't wait for them to finish. With Good Old War, I wouldn't have minded if they kept playing. I'll definitely be keeping my eye on them.

Lovedrug was up second. They are one of my favorite bands, and this was my first time seeing them. They sounded off, mostly due to the fact that the bass was extremely loud to the point of drowning out the vocals. Apart from that, the band was on point. I was pleased to see that Shepard's voice sounds the same live as it does recorded, even the impossible falsetto notes he hits. They played a fairly even mix of songs from Everything Starts Where It Ends and The Sucker Punch Show, with the nice surprise of "Spiders" also thrown in.

The venue was still half to three-quarters empty when Straylight Run went on, something that was surprising to me. Maybe I overestimate their popularity, but I expected a bigger crowd. This is the second time I've seen the band since Michelle Nolan left, and they are managing it better than the last time. They did have issues with their recorded loops, but the rest of the music sounded great. I always like them better live than I do recorded. I think their songs sound fuller and more intense live. John Nolan's vocals sounded perfect, and they all appeared to be having a good time, as did the audience, who clearly love this band a lot. Unfortunately, I had to leave early in time to catch the Metro home, but Straylight Run are always wonderful to see.

Fletcher's Bar 10.24.08

I went to go see Just Surrender, The Higher, The Morning Of, Some Like It Hot, and TV/TV at Fletcher's Bar in Baltimore this weekend. I conducted an interview with The Morning Of, but my computer choked on me and I lost most of the audio I'd recorded. I'm hoping to get my questions answered again via email, so keep your eyes peeled for that. Until then, here are some photos and a review of the show.

TV/TV was the first band on. They came out to Coolio's "Gangster's Paradise" blasting through the speakers, which definitely caught the attention of the crowd. I'd heard a few of their songs before and I thought they were pretty good, so I was interested to see them play. Turned out their live show was also pretty good. They had a lot of energy and did a lot to try and get the crowd involved. The singer was doing his best vocal impression of Pelle from The Hives. Their live act was was much less polished than their recorded music, but it was still clear that they are a band who knows what they are doing.





Next up was Some Like It Hot. They began with a spoken rap-like song over some basic instrumentals, and I thought we were in for something different and fun. However, after that song they launched into a bunch of very generic pop-punk songs. I could hardly tell the difference between any of them. The singer in particular was much too cocky for the quality of his voice or music. It didn't help that I had a gaggle of screaming girls in homemade Some Like It Hot shirts standing right next to me either. They also did a cover song, but I can't for the life of me remember what it was. If someone out there knows, help me out!









For one song, a couple of the band members got into the crowd and danced with the homemade t-shirt girls. At least they were all having a good time.

After that was The Morning Of. Their set was bursting with energy - being onstage is clearly a joy for this band. There was never a moment where anyone was standing still. Their dual vocalists blew through their songs and pumped the crowd up while jumping on and off some wooden blocks they set up at the front of the stage. The Morning Of is definitely a band that is only just beginning to hit their stride.













Then came The Higher. I'd seen them a few times before, and their live show was pretty much the same. They have a kind of mid-level energy that gets you going if you know the songs, but if you don't it might take you awhile to catch on. Their singer danced all over the stage, but the rest of the band stayed pretty still - their guitarist was even leaning against the wall for most of the set. They played most of their latest album, plus a new song from an unnamed upcoming album that they recorded after Warped Tour. The new song was a lot more rock than pop, with a drum beat that was very reminiscent of Cartel. It sounded really good - I'm looking forward to hearing the rest of the album. They also brought back their cover of *NSYNC's "Bye Bye Bye," with Seth prefacing the song by saying, "If you don't know this song, I don't think we can be friends." It was good fun all around.













I didn't stick around for Just Surrender, since I felt like I was going to pass out from exhaustion and still had an hour's drive back home. So, sorry about the lack of JS photos. I do recommend their live show if you get the chance to see it though.

Overall, it was a pretty good show, especially for the low price of the ticket. In my opinion, The Morning Of had the best set, but most of the bands there have real talent and I will continue to watch them as they grow.

Girl Talk 5.3.08

Girl Talk played at Hollins University last night. The opening acts were Ced Hughes and Kid A.

Since the crowd was rather small (about 200 people), Gregg Gillis took his table and laptops off the stage and set them on the floor and played in the middle of the crowd, while people danced on the stage. The show was one huge dance party. Gillis' show was impeccable - he kept the crowd moving and excited about every song. He played a good deal of new material from his upcoming album, and it's looking like he'll have another Night Ripper on his hands.