"Is someone smoking pot? That's so cute! It's like a '70s show!"

Tonight I went to see Butch Walker! I have not been into Butch for all that long. He is one of those people I kept seeing mentioned all over the place so I gave him a try probably about six months ago or so. At first, I didn't think I liked him all that much aside from a few songs but I kept finding myself listening to him anyway and slowly realized that I liked him a lot. So when I saw he was playing Webster Hall, and Locksley was opening, I figured why not!

Locksley was a lot of fun, as I expected from having seen them open for Tinted Windows last year. I only have the album before their most recent so I didn't know a whole lot of songs they played but they are so full of energy. They also have so many bro moments. They're always sharing microphones really close to each others faces, putting their arms around each to play each other's guitars, kissing each other when amplifiers don't work, the like. I like them a lot. And they closed the show with my two favorites songs from the album I do have, "She Does" and "Don't Make Me Wait". Yay!

Butch started his set alone at the keyboards and the first song he sang was "Cigarette Lighter Love Song", which made me super happy because I adore that song. I think it goes back to his pre-solo days but I have the version from his live album and it was pretty much exactly the same. I didn't realize just how incredible his voice was until I heard this song live. He has so much range and his falsetto is amazing! After that, he sang "I Passed Your Place, I Saw Your Car, I Thought of You" on the Wurlitzer, also very cool. I'm not going to lie, I was a little intimidated of him at first, in his leather jacket with his arm sleeves peeking out and his mustache. He just seemed kind of serious and closed off. But that soon changed once the band came out!

Butch's band, The Black Widows, were kind of a show onto themselves. They were such a hodge podge of individuals! His lead guitarist looked like he woke up in 1973. His name was even Fran. His bassist looked like he woke up as Tom Petty. His keyboardist looked like he woke up as a pot-smoking 15-year-old. His rhythm guitarist looked like he woke up as a punk-rock Rastifarian. And his drummer looked like he literally just woke up after passing out in his Lazy-Boy recliner after drinking too many 7and7s while watching Magnum P.I. reruns. They were all incredible musicians though!

Once the band was on stage, the show was pretty much hopping for the rest of the night. I don't know everything he sang since I don't have all of his albums but it didn't matter because it was all that good. He has an incredible stage presence and is so funny between songs! He kept telling stories and writing songs on the fly and playing various instruments like a banjolin and swigging from a bottle of Jameson. Among the song he definitely did play were "Pretty Melody", which I was impressed that got the super pretty instrumental intro perfectly recreated, "Trash Day", "She Likes Hair Bands" introed with a song he wrote while he was singing it as a disco ball turned overhead, "Ponce de Leon Ave." and "The 3 Kids in Brooklyn" which was so super fun and felt like a pub song as he seriously rocked out on mandolin. He also did a cover of "Laid", like Matt Nathanson does, AND a cover of "Rich Girl" and y'all know how I feel about Hall and Oates covers! The last song they played before the encore, I'm not sure exactly what it was, but every single band member sang lead for a verse and then Butch kind of lost his shit for a good five minutes. By the end of it, the jacket was off and he was all tattooed and wifebeatered, he was covered in sweat, his acoustic guitar was down to three strings as he flung it and himself around and then he perched himself at the edge of the stage with the microphone cord around his neck. It felt so intense and raw and intimate, my mouth was hanging open!

Webster Hall is also a dance club and the entire show, Butch was convinced they didn't have much time until they had to stop because the dance music would penetrate the floor below us and take over. For the last song, he was like "they would come up here, cross their arms and be like 'lame'! So, we're gonna be as lame as can be!" And he came off the stage literally right to two people from where I was standing and proceeded to start a rock out dance party. Everyone around me kept trying to get closer to him and touch him and stuff and he was just rocking the hell out, arms in the air and then he got all of us down on the ground and it was very much like that part of Fuerzabruta and we were yelling shit and flung back to our feet and jumped around some more and then he found his way back to the stage and the show as done!

So. Yeah. Butch Walker is kind of awesome. I'd go see him again in second. I love rock music. I love live music. I love rocking out to live music.

Top 100 v2.0

I am admittedly ridic about these things but it's been six months since I reset my play counts, I'm bored and it's hot out, so Top 100 on my iPod! Not only that, but songs that were on the LAST Top 100 are bolded! Yay play count obsessions!

100. "Who Says", John Mayer, Battle Studies
99. "Outside", Green River Ordinance, Out Of My Hands
98. "Never Going Back Again", Fleetwood Mac, Rumours (#63)
97. "Hope For Me Yet", Marc Broussard, Carencro
96. "Wagon Wheel", Stephen Kellogg & The Sixers, The Bear
95. "Touch Me Bad", Steel Train, Live From Bonnaroo
94. "Mandolin Moon", Sister Hazel, Absolutely (#95)
93. "The Wanderer", Marc Broussard, Carencro (#39)
92. "Charmer", Kings of Leon, Because of the Times (#65)
91. "Call and Return (Say That You're Into Me)", hellogoodbye, hellogoodbye
90. "Something Coming Over", O.A.R., Live From Madison Square Garden (#85)
89. "Carry You There", Hanson, Stand Up Stand Up
88. "The First Single (You Know Me)", The Format, Interventions and Lullabies
87. "Rainbows", Dennis Wilson, Pacific Ocean Blue
86. "Alone", The Bee Gees, Still Waters
85. "Chelsea", The Summer Set, Love Like This
84. "Wake Your Eyes", Steel Train, Twilight Tales from the Prairie of the Sun
83. "Make It Through", Sherwood, QU
82. "Garden", Needtobreathe, The Outsiders
81. "Song to Me", MWK, Incoherent With Desire to Move On
80. "Use Somebody", Kings of Leon, Only By the Night (#3)
79. "Rich Girls, Poor Girls", Everybody Else, Everybody Else (#27)
78. "Sure Fire Winners", Adam Lambert, For Your Entertainment
77. "I've Let You Go", Steel Train, Trampoline
76. "More Time", Needtobreathe, The Heat
75. "All Part of the Show", Stephen Kellogg & The Sixers, The Bear
74. "Better Love", Steel Train, Twilight Tales from the Prairie of the Sun
73. "We Could Run Away", Needtobreathe, The Heat
72. "The Story of Your Life", To Have Heroes, To Have Heroes
71. "Must Be the Water", Marc Broussard, Must Be the Water (#99)
70. "Happy Alone", Kings of Leon, Youth and Young Manhood
69. "Milk", Kings of Leon, Aha Shake Heartbreak (#38)
68. "I Saw It On Your Keyboard", hellogoodbye, Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs!
67. "Where's the Love", Hanson, Middle of Nowhere (#78)
66. "Snails", The Format, Dog Problems
65. "The Weight of Her", Butch Walker, Sycamore Meadows
64. "More Like Me", Trevor Jackson, Kyle Riabko and Boots Factor Are...
63. "The Boys You Do (Get Back At You)", The Summer Set, Love Like This
62. "Black Eye", Steel Train, Live From Bonnaroo
61. "Gimme Some Lovin'", The Spencer Davis Group, Gimme Some Lovin'
60. "The Day I Quit My Job", Sleeperstar, To Speak, To Love, To Listen
59. "Whose Chariot", O.A.R., Rain or Shine
58. "One True Thing", MWK,Incoherent With Desire to Move On
57. "Camaro", Kings of Leon, Because of the Times (#33)
56. "Fire on the Mountain", Hanson, The Walk (#1)
55. "Makeup", Everybody Else, Everybody Else (#10)
54. "Better Day", To Have Heroes, To Have Heroes
53. "Tickle Your Toes", Steel Train, Twilight Tales from the Prairie of the Sun
52. "Firecracker", Steel Train, Trampoline
51. "What You've Done to Me", Needtobreathe, The Outsiders
50. "Alright With Me", Kris Allen, Kris Allen
49. "Manhattan", Kings of Leon, Only By the Night (#6)
48. "Touchdown Turnaround (Don't Give Up On Me), hellogoodbye, Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs!
47. "World's On Fire", Hanson, Stand Up Stand Up
46. "Oceans", The Format, Dog Problems
45. "Moving On", Needtobreathe, The Heat
44. "Killing More Than Time", MWK, Incoherent With Desire to Move On
43. "Lost Myself in Search of You", Matt Nathanson, At the Point
42. "Come Around", Marc Broussard, Carencro
41. "At Least I'm Not As Sad (As I Used To Be)", fun. Aim and Ignite
40. "Bleed to Love Her", Fleetwood Mac, The Dance (#7)
39. "It's About Time", The Beach Boys, Sunflower (#69)
38. "School is For Losers", Steel Train, Trampoline
37. "Stronger (Back on the Ground)", Nick Jonas and the Administration, Who I Am
36. "Get Up and Go", Hanson, Underneath (#18)
35. "Be Calm", fun. Aim and Ignite
34. "Ragoo", Kings of Leon, Because of the Times (#24)
33. "The Stuff You Gotta Watch", The Band, Jericho (#89)
32. "Strut", Adam Lambert, For Your Entertainment
31. "Swan Dive", Sister Hazel, Chasing Daylight (#22)
30. "Restless", Needtobreathe, The Heat
29. "Notion", Kings of Leon, Only by the Night (#5)
28. "Georgia", Hanson, The Walk (#67)
27. "I Want You Back", Steel Train, 1969
26. "Heartbreaker", Matt Wertz, If It Ain't Broke...
25. "Barlights", fun., Aim and Ignite
24. "Fever", Adam Lambert, For Your Entertainment
23. "Shady Esperanto & the Young Hearts", Stephen Kellogg & the Sixers, The Bear
22. "Hard Knocks", Marc Broussard, Keep Coming Back
21. "Live Like We're Dying", Kris Allen, Kris Allen
20. "These Walls", Hanson, Stand Up, Stand Up
19. "Walking the Dog", fun. Aim and Ignite
18. "Imperial Lover", Carney, Nothing Without You
17. "Save Me", Marc Broussard, Carencro (#96)
16. "Be Somebody", Kings of Leon, Only By the Night (#34)
15. "When We First Met", hellogoodbye, When We First Met
14. "Let Us Love", Needtobreathe, The Outsiders
13. "Home", Marc Broussard, Carencro
12. "Girl Named Tennessee", Needtobreathe, The Outsiders
11. "Perfectly Lonely", John Mayer, Battle Studies
10. "All the Pretty Girls", fun. Aim and Ignite
9. "Something Beautiful", Needtobreathe, The Outsiders
8. "Washed by the Water", Needtobreathe, The Heat
7. "Fans", Kings of Leon, Because of the Times (#2)
6. "Take Your Time (Coming Home)", fun. Aim and Ignite
5. "You and I Undercover", Steel Train, Steel Train Is Here
4. "Here (In Your Arms)", hellogoodbye, Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs!
3. "Been There Before", Hanson, The Walk (#23)
2. "Benson Hedges", fun. Aim and Ignite
1. "Waiting For This", Hanson, Stand Up, Stand Up

"I'd have left that shit in Jersey and played for y'all acoustic"

Saw Needtobreathe again last night, this time here in NYC! It was at Bowery Ballroom, which I somehow had never been to before. I liked it! The acoustics weren't the best but that might have been a little to do with where I was standing. It's really not big at all, which made the fact that it was Needtobreathe's "biggest" NYC show to date a little weird seeing as they had just sold out the Chicago House of Blues and that was at least double the size and possibly closer to triple. But it's good they are getting a bigger following around these parts!

First up was Matt Hires, someone I had heard of but not really listened to. I did not really like him much. He kept singing about being rock 'n' roll and he really wasn't, he just played slow songs on an acoustic guitar. But he was cute at least!

Next up was Will Hoge, another person I have heard of and who is friends with lots of other people I am a fan of (SK6ers, Sister Hazel, Broussard, etc.). I've tried to get into his music and realized it just wasn't my thing aside from a few songs, but damn, was he good live! He had a band of three, including a guy on steel guitar and he just rocked it. Even his slower songs had more fire than the studio versions I've heard. I really enjoyed his set a lot. He had a great stage presence and just looked like kinda rugged Southern rock. He was funny when he was telling us how Needtobreathe brings out all the bells and whistles for their tour, even though it would be way easier not to. He's like "I'd have just left that shit in Jersey and played for y'all acoustic! Nah, I'm kidding, I'd have rented shit when I got here." Another awesome thing about Will is that he almost died in a motorcycle accident a little over a year ago and basically everything that could break, broke, yet he's back on a stage, hopping around in a military jacket and playing mean guitar. How can you not be on board with that?

Needtobreathe was essentially as kickass as I've come to expect. I had a nice spot right in front of Bo, which was a happy place to be because he's so smiley and always doing a little dance. The set was pretty much the same as Chicago, minus a song or two. The crowd was pretty into it, though not quite as much as there. During "Lay 'Em Down", Bear waited for the crowd to sing the last verse and it kind of didn't work and instead of coming in and singing it himself, he just let everyone flounder while he laughed. It really does feel like their set starts out rock, gets a little calmer in the middle and then goes kind of tent revival at the end. All the big singalongs are later in the set and I kind of like that progression, it builds up the energy in a good way. "Let Us Love" is definitely still my favorite live song of theirs, it's so much fun! "Washed by the Water" was a little different this time around. Since the venue was smaller than in Chicago, the band left the stage and went up to the balcony to perform it. Still unplugged and I could hear Bear's voice as clear as when he sang it right in front of me, which is pretty amazing. He had warned everyone not to sing along before he started, telling us his Mom had called him and heard he was "scolding" people for singing over him too early in the song, so everyone was pretty quiet and then when he did say to sing, no one actually did, so he stopped the song anyway and got everybody going. Something tells me Bear has a very specific idea of how he wants this song to go! It's very awesome though, even though the Chicago version is the one that's going to stick in my mind when I hear the song. This show was great and energetic and awesome, but something about that show made me like it just a little bit more. Love seeing them though and hope to again soon!

SK6ers and Needtobreathe in Chi-town

It just so happened that my friend and I wanted to see SK6ers soon and also see Chicago. It also so happened that SK6ers were opening for Needtobreathe in Chicago. Thus, we went!

When it comes to the SK6ers, I really can't imagine anyone seeing their live show and not liking them. They have one of the most fun live shows I have ever seen and that is one of the main reasons why I became a fan of theirs to begin with. They are everything an opening band should be. Energetic, entertaining, playing a mix of their own music, getting the crowd involved and tossing in some familiar tunes. Love them SO much. There was a lot of Glassjaw Boxer love, with "Fourth of July", "Milwaukee" and "Big Easy", which of course was the crowd participation number with the hand motions. They played "The Bear", which entertained me extra because I had been singing it all day and there was TUBA on it! "Shady Esperanto and the Young Hearts" had a choreographed dance, which was various levels of entertaining depending which member of the band you happened to be looking at. They all had ties on and some had vests, some had hats, they're so adorable and that song is just so catchy that to see them in those outfits, singing that song while bouncing on one foot, it's just too much. They closed the show with a Stephen song mixed with a medley of covers and when I say medley, I mean medley. There were at least 20 songs in there, chronologically by decade. It was awesome. Shana and I were dorks and cheered extra loud for "Aquarius" in memory of Kyle Riabko, who is currently starring in Hair former SK6er status. So much fun, those guys are. I wish they made it easier to see them in my own town!

Needtobreathe was incredible. It kind of amazes me that I had no idea who they were at this time last year but they're that kind of band that sometimes, it just clicks and it has totally clicked for me. Something about them just resonates with me, I love their music so much and seeing them live is an awesome experience. It was especially fun seeing them in the Midwest, where they have a considerably larger following. I saw them at Highline Ballroom here in the city in September and it wasn't even sold out. That's about a third of the size of the Chicago House of Blues and that was sold out. They were able to play quite a longer set, with obviously, a lot of love for The Outsiders, I think they played all but three songs from that album, plus a mix of songs from The Heat and even "Don't Wait for Daylight". They even let Bo sing lead on "Won't Turn Back", aww! He sings so pretty and so different from Bear. All of the rockier songs seemed to be in a row and it kind of felt like all the more rootsy stuff was toward the end. "More Time" and "Something Beautiful" and "Stones Under Rushing Water", it's almost like a different band when those songs come out after "Prisoner" and "Girl Named Tennessee" (I could not stand still for that song, oops). They closed with "Through Smoke", which I thought was a bit of an odd choice for a closer and also, they still hadn't played a few songs that I was surprised they'd go without, but really didn't think they'd encore for long. But, they did! First song of the encore was "Hurricane", then into "Let Us Love" which is one of the most fun of their live songs, with the built in singalong and ridiculous energy. When I saw them in New York, they had ended the show with an unplugged version of "Something Beautiful". When they played that earlier in the set here, I figured that they wouldn't be doing anything like that for this show because the venue was so much bigger and it just probably wouldn't work. So when Bear walked to the absolute tip of the stage and said they were going to sing something totally unplugged, I was pretty intrigued on how that was going to work. He asked everyone to be as quiet as possible, because his unamplified voice wouldn't be able to sing over people talking or singing along, and you could seriously hear a pin drop. He started singing "Washed by the Water" and it completely filled the room up. He has an absolutely incredible voice and hearing it just as it is, in this big room, full of silent people, singing that song about his dad and his faith, was insanely amazing. After the bridge, he asked to crowd to join in and I think he was a little blown away by the immediate response that came. He had said earlier that it was their biggest headlining show to date and I love that I got to be there for such a huge show for them. It was so, so awesome.

I think I'll be thinking of this performance every time I hear the song from now on. Even in the video, when the crowd comes in, it's a little chilling and being there was even more awesome. And when Bear starts singing "Can't Always Get What You Want" at the end, you can sort of hear the crowd trying to be patient and let him sing, but everyone loses their resolve at the exact same moment and screams "you get what you need!" Really, one of the best live concert moments I've ever been a part of! I love them so much. Can't wait to see them again here in a few weeks.

lots of stuff I love right now

There's always so many songs and stuff that I love at any given time so I decided to compile a bunch of it into a post. So, here are some songs and videos of songs and a few other things I love right now!

"The Story of Your Life", To Have Heroes - To Have Heroes is Andy Skib's "solo" project, away from MWK and playing in David Cook's band. I love Andy's voice and I love the way it's complimented by the acoustic nature of his EP. This song is just gorgeous, lyrically and instrumentally and as a writer, I find myself really relating to the idea of it. I love the way the words in the verses are quick and then the choruses and bridge slow back down. Extra perk of this song, and what kind of explains that varying structure for me, is that it was written by Jason Mraz and Isaac Hanson at Fool's Banquet!



"The Weight of Her", Butch Walker - I love this song so much! It reminds me of Tom Petty. Also, the awesome spoken bridge: "What am I supposed to talk about with you anyway? I graduated the year you were born. I don't wanna have to drive around listening to your burned CDs through your shitty car speakers of every band you think you discovered. It's just gonna make me feel insecure!"



"Shady Esperanto and the Young Hearts", Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers - I can't stop listening to this song! It's so freaking catchy and this video is hilarious, if just because it's like, the SK6ers in a legit video and they're so awkward and goofy as usual plus a marching band.



"Perfectly Lonely", John Mayer - God, I love this song. The guitar on it is so addicting and his voice and the lyrics and I love John Mayer. Watch him bounce! Also, I love that in this video, he basically admits that it is not a very long-lasting feeling! That's all I wanted, JM.



"Texas Rain", Sleeperstar - These guys are so wonderful. This video is from the show I saw them and I was standing basically right where this view point is. I love Chris' voice and he is also rather cute. I also love that this video does a good job of showing Shaun, because I loved watching him drum.



"Song Burning in Hell", Steel Train - So much of why I love Steel Train is present in this video. From Jack being adorable and his big red guitar to the pounding drums to the random high-pitched harmonies to the percussion jam in the middle to the crowd participation moments to Evan and his fro to everything about them. I saw them play this song twice and it's so much fun live and makes me want their new album right now!



"River", Isaac Hanson - This video kind of sums up why I love Isaac. Taylor had the flu for almost a whole week of this fall's tour, the first show being in Boston, so Ike and Zac stepped up a little extra. Isaac busted out "River" from 3 Car Garage for his solo there. I just love how surprised he is when the crowd sings back to him, his goofy face when he wants it later, how much he can still sell a song he wrote when he was 15, how kickass his voice is sometimes and just how awesome he is in general.



I could probably do this weekly and I just might!

it's the way, it's the way, it's the way that i want it

I still remember the first time I heard "No Such Thing" on the radio. It was 2001 and I was sitting at my desk in my dorm room and my roommate was sitting at hers and it came on the little Woodstock station we liked to listen to. We turned to each other and wondered who it was and from then on, any time it came on, we would sing along to it, especially loving the falsetto part. A few weeks later, I received a mixed CD from my friend of John Mayer's first EP and quickly got myself his new album, Room for Squares. I fell for it. Hard. He was a huge part of my soundtrack for my sophomore year of college. I still remember listening to him the whole way down to the city, "City Love" and "3x5" and "Why Georgia" and "Comfortable" still bring to mind those all too frequent rides. I saw him in 2002. A new band called Maroon 5 opened for him and he came out and played guitar on their single, "This Love" prior to his own set. I saw him again in 2003 when I was working for the radio station, at the Meadows in Hartford. Tonight was my first time seeing him live since then. While I've continued keeping up with him and getting his new albums, for some reason I just hadn't seen him live again. And seeing him just confirmed what I already knew. I love this guy. I love John Mayer.

Highlights:
- I was taken by how amazing his voice sounded from the first song and it continued to be amazing the entire show. He was so present the whole time, so into it and really on and giving it.
- "Vultures"! That's one of the first songs I learned how to play drums to!
- "Perfectly Lonely"! This is my favorite song off of Battle Studies and do I love it! Even if I do kid about it not being entirely true.
- Cover of "Free Fallin'"!
- "Comfortable". I flipped when he started this song. I hadn't even thought to hope it would make an appearance and it was such a treat. "I loved you, gray sweatpants, no makeup, so perfect." This song is perfect.
- Ok, John Mayer has a Rick Turner Model 1 and this means nothing to the majority of people in the world, but to me, it is awesome because that is the guitar Lindsey Buckingham plays and basically no one else plays one. It has such a distinct sound and I love how it compliments "Half of My Heart", the tune Mayer plays it on. I also love that while he has it out, he plays a little bit of Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams" because how could I not?
- Steve Jordan on drums, holy crap. Ridiculous, man.
- "Why Georgia" into "No Such Thing". God, it's been NINE years and I still love those two songs like I just heard them for the first time yesterday. I never tired of "No Such Thing" when it was on the radio all over the place and I don't think I will tire of it ever. And I love the live lyrics of "I am invincible, you are invincible, we are invincible, as long as we're alive"! The crowd was awesome the whole show, but for those two songs, it was something else.
- He had a bit of a Preacher John moment, where he was being all deep and inspirational about love and lovelessness. I loved it. It also made me think of Nick Jonas and "Did I LET it GET me DOWN?!" <3
- Acoustic "Who Says" that basically was a crowd sing-along. I don't care how douchey that song may be, I freaking love it.
- Epic "Gravity". He was literally on the floor with the guitar. I didn't want it to end because I knew when it did, the concert was over and I never wanted the concert to be over.

Such a great show and I'm so glad I finally saw him live again. It will not be so long till I see him again. I love the dude and I will shout it loud and clear. He makes it a little hard sometimes, with the stuff he says and does but you know what? He knows that shit went down. He knows his place in all this drama that has swirled around and because of him. To me, he's a musician. He's a guy from Connecticut who got very famous, very fast and is still trying to figure out how to handle that. Does he say shit he shouldn't say? Yeah, sometimes. Does he cross lines and push buttons where he doesn't need to? Yeah, sometimes. But way more than that, he is a ridiculously talented guy who writes amazing songs and can wail on guitar. I think he's finally starting to truly realize how that can be enough. That it doesn't have to be more than that and that people will love him just for that. That people love him despite all of that other shit. There was a moment tonight where he thanked everyone for their support and it really felt like a moment of "all these people are here, even though I can be a real dumbass" and it felt GOOD. It felt good to be a part of this mass of people who don't care because we love the music. We love the part of that guy who makes the music we love and we can separate him from that other part that can be a real douchebag, and just take him for what it's really worth. His music has been a huge part of my life for a very long time. That is what means the most to me and that is what I love him for.

"We know we look 18. Don't hold it against us."

Tonight I saw Sleeperstar and Green River Ordinance at Mercury Lounge!

I had never heard any of Sleeperstar's music prior tonight, nor had I ever seen them. When they first came out, I was amused by a number of things, ranging from how young they looked (I really thought the lead singer might still be in his mid-teens), how varied they looked (the drummer and bass player looked like they were in a different band than the other three) and how the lead singer was wearing a leather jacket with a sweatshirt hood sticking out despite the fact that it was already really hot in the room. They proceeded to sell me. Hardcore. They were so tight and energetic and their music was really easy to get into, so much so that I didn't want it to end. Chris, the lead singer, was ridiculously cute and charming, played guitar and keyboard and had a great voice and stage presence. He even confirmed during his charismatic banter that they were not as young as they looked (see subject line). Shaun the drummer almost looked like he was dancing on the kit, his movements were so fluid and entertaining to watch, even though he was also managing to bang the shit out of the things. At the end of the last song, Brandon the bassist ended up on the ground, lying the bass down and just plucking at it while falling over it. I was actually concerned for him a bit because he was just like, passing out onto it! But he got up when it was over and starting putting his stuff away, so I figured it was all just for the sake of a dramatic ending. They seemed super excited to have such a great reception and I was happy for them and eager to get their CD after the show.

GRO came out next! I've been listening to GRO for over a year and I still get confused by their names because everyone but Denton the drummer has a name with a "juh" sound. There's Josh the lead singer, Josh the guitar/mandolin player, Geoff the bassist and his brother Jamey the other guitarist. It may be weird, but I like knowing the individual's names, it just feels weird to refer to them by instrument! I think I am good now, though. We were almost in the front, right in front of Geoff, which was a good place to be! Josh looked a little nervous when he first came out but quickly warmed up and they were clearly excited to have such a full house and participating crowd. In just the second song, "Sleep It Off", Josh's mike fell apart and didn't work for almost an entire verse, which the audience carried as he fixed it. They played a bunch of faves, including that song, "Goodbye LA", "Getting Older", "Outside", "Come On" and their new song "Rise Up" which was written specifically for the Olympics and is being used in the coverage. It's so perfectly Olympian too! They're such a fun band, I love their sound so much. At the end of their set, they brought Sleeperstar back on stage to sing "With a Little Help From My Friends" and I love those chaotic all-band enders. There were ten guys on stage, everyone sharing mikes and playing random instruments and it's just super fun! GRO ended their set with an acoustic unplugged version of "On Your Own", one of my favorites of their songs. I love intimate shows like this because these kinds of songs always end up being a band/crowd sing-along and this was no exception. All five guys stood in a row at the edge of the stage and sang with just Josh's acoustic guitar, other Josh's mandolin ("what's Josh playing!" "That's a mandolin!" "It's cute!" "It's cute or I'm cute?") and some shakers. The crowd was a little timid to join in at first but when the chorus came around, everyone was full on singing with the band and it was so obvious that they were so psyched by it. They're doing fairly well these days but it still must be pretty awesome having a full room sing one of your songs with you, especially in New York! It's one of the reasons I love going to shows here!