Location: Philadelphia, PA

Venue: World Cafe Live

Date: January 11, 2009

Line Up: SafetySuit, Parachute, Cheap Seats

SafetySuit

Parachute and SafetySuit are two bands that have been getting a lot of attention over the last 2 years. You probably have heard a couple of their songs on MTV and VH1, or even on your local rock station. Although I don’t often listen to mainstream music, I do enjoy Parachute and SafetySuit’s music. I grabbed their albums just a few months ago. Losing Sleep by Parachute, and Life Left To Go by SafetySuit have been constantly playing in my car’s stereo since then.

This past week I had the opportunity to see both Parachute and SafetySuit in Philadelphia at the World Cafe Live. I was surprised when I found out that both bands are co-headlining a small tour around the country. The World Cafe Live is a unique venue in Philly. The place is divided in two rooms, “UpStairs” (a bar and restaurant with a small stage) and “DownStairs” a much bigger room with a nice stage, bar and a mezzanine. Cheap Seats, a local band, opened the show “DownStairs”. They aren’t so bad, the frontman Vincent John has a great stage presence but unfortunately they dressed cheesy (like they were lost somewhere in the 50’s) and the vocals weren’t all that great. However, they are a new band and they still have a way to go. I hope I catch them around town sometime as they continue crafting their music.

SafetySuit was the next band on stage. After some 10 to 15 minutes of setting up their equipment the band came in and started to play. Vocalist, Douglas, started pumping up the crowd even before he could be seen on stage. He came running in, just in time to sing the first verse. SafetySuit played a total of 8 songs including hit singles Stay, Annie, and Someone Like You. As I recall only the opening song wasn’t from their debut album Life Left To Go. SafetySuit is simply amazing on stage. They moved quite a bit from side to side and they also spent time interacting with the crowd in between songs. Dave (guitarist) was all over the stage, jumping, dancing, air-kicking and whatnot. Sometimes it seemed he was in some sort of aerobics class. He had the whole crowd jumping with him from the moment he entered the stage. SafetySuit’s live music sounds just as good as in studio, plus an extra dosage of energy. Their performance met my expectations.

Parachute

Parachute has a huge female fan base, that were gathering up in front of the stage all night. None of them dared to move or take a break just so they could keep their spots. Led by, multi-talented frontman Will, Parachute came on stage slowly, playing a couple of slow-paced, piano filled, songs. The audience, that had been screaming with their hands up in the air during SafetySuit’s performance, was a little quieter now. It almost led me to believe that most people came to see SafetySuit perform. However, the atmosphere soon began to change as Parachute played hit after hit. She, Ghost, Back Again, Blame It On Me, and The Mess I Made were all on the playlist for that night. Under Control was the song that reached the climax of the night. Even the tougher guys in the back that came only to escort their girlfriends were tapping their feet, rocking their bodies back and forth.

Will makes an honest and sometimes peculiar face when he sings. It really seems as if he is pouring out his best. At moments when playing the piano he could barely stay seated, he urged to stand up and sing along with the crowd that were singing every word with him. The saxophone played by Kit French filled the air above and complimented each piano stroke. After the seventh or eighth song, the band thanked everyone and left the stage quickly. Their early exit was clearly done on purpose as they still had songs that everyone wanted them to play. After a few moments of much request the band rushed back on the stage to play In The Air Tonight, a classic Phil Collins song. Collins’ song had everyone singing along. It was the perfect song to set the mood for She Is Love, which is arguably one of the best songs on Losing Sleep. After the final song was finished, Will picked up a camera from one of his fans and took a couple of shots of the crowd.

The night ended. Everyone seemed pleased, as if they had learned something good that night. All three bands met in the lobby afterwards to take pictures, sell some merchandise, and talk to fans.

*Unfortunately I didn’t have a camera with me to get pictures this time!

Location: Jacksonville, FL
Venue: Jack Rabbits
Date: 05/26/2009
Line Up: The Morning Of, The Secret Handshake

When I first heard that The Secret Handshake and The Morning Of were going on tour together I thought it sounded like an odd mix. I enjoy the music of both of these bands, but I was not sure how they would go together in a live setting. I met up with the “No Parents No Rules” tour in Jacksonville, Florida at Jack Rabbits May 26, 2009. Needless to say, I was blown away by both bands’ performances.

The Morning Of is a bit different than other bands in that they have two lead singers. That’s right, Jessica Leplon and Justin Wiley sing together in a duet sort of way. Their voices, along with the music, blend together beautifully, and the band’s piano driven pop is definitely fun for everyone. Songs that The Morning Of played, such as “Reverie” got the crowd excited. Everyone was moving around dancing onstage during the performance and each band member had a smile on his face throughout the show.

A few of my friends over the past few years have told me about the live show of The Secret Handshake. Even with the hype I had heard surrounding this band, I did not expect the band to be so great live. I was blown away by front man Luis Duboc’ performance. His catchy songs and tremendous energy kept the crowd going throughout his set. Fans were screaming the lyrics to every single song throughout the performance. There were a few instances of crowd surfing, and at one point in the evening Luis even went right down into the middle of the audience, jumping up and down the crowd. Songs were played from albums ranging from Punk Goes Crunk to TSH’s latest release, “My Name Up In Lights”. There was even an encore at the end of the show, which Luis said was only his fourth encore he had ever played.

The overwhelming energy from the bands performing and the audience combined led to a great night of fun for everyone in attendance. I can’t wait till the next opportunities to see these bands live again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Location: Jacksonville, FL
Venue: Murray Hill Theatre
Date: 05/23/2009
Line Up: Bradley Hathaway

After a few years of touring Bradley Hathaway seemed to disappear off the face of the earth. Now Bradley is back touring again with a new album released independently earlier this year entitled “A Mouth Full of Dust”.

I recently got to see Bradley Hathaway May 23, 2009 at the Murray Hill Theatre in Jacksonville, Florida. It is a venue that Hathaway has played many times over the past five years, but for me it was my first time seeing him live.

Some fans of Bradley’s older work were a bit disappointed when he did not recite any of his poetry. Bradley brought along with him a full band complete with banjo, guitars, cello, bass, and drums. Bradley and his band played an assortment of songs ranging from his album “The Things That Poets Write About, The Things That Singers Sing About” with selections like “Like Socrates Loved The Truth (So Do I Love You)” to songs like “Look Up” from his newest album. One notable song Bradley Hathaway played was “Samuel”, which clocks in at over 8 minutes long.

Bradley’s new music is very captivating and will get you thinking. He sings about things such as falling in love, break ups, and God. Even if you are not familiar with any of his new material you will be glad if you make it out to one of his shows. Though he isn’t necessarily reciting the same poetry anymore while on tour, Bradley Hathaway’s live show is still filled with the same rawness and emotion he had previously, if not even more now.

Listen to Bradley Hathaway on MySpace.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Location: Tampa, FL
Venue: Bush Gardens
Date: 05/09/2009
Line Up: Relient K, Sanctus Real, NEEDTOBREATHE, This Beautiful Republic, and Worth Dying For.

Thousands of people came out to the music festival Glory at the Gardens May 9, 2009 at Busch Gardens in Tampa Bay, Florida. Bands that played at the event included the following: Relient K, Sanctus Real, NEEDTOBREATHE, This Beautiful Republic, and Worth Dying For.

Worth Dying For started off the event with lots of energy. Hailing from Modesto, California, Worth Dying For is a rock worship band directed towards teenagers. With songs like “Revolution”, Worth Dying For is a band that rocks for Jesus.

Next up was the band This Beautiful Republic. Even in the 90-something degree Florida sunshine This Beautiful Republic, as always, gave everything they had during their performance. Towards the end of TBR’s set frontman Ben Olin even jumped off stage, climbed over the barrier, and sang right in the midst of the crowd. Songs such as No Turning Back were the highlights of TBR’s set.

Changing the pace a little bit, came NEEDTOBREATHE, a “rock’n’dance-a-billy” band from Charleston, South Carolina. Known especially for their song “Washed By The Water”, NEEDTOBREATHE played a fun show that the crowd enjoyed.

The crowd started growing and by the time the Dove award-winning band Sanctus Real started playing there were a large amount of people in the Gwazi field. Haling from Toledo, Ohio, Sanctus Real, captivated the audience. As somewhat “old-timers” in the Christian music industry, Sanctus Real showed that even after thirteen years of being a band, they still know how to rock. One of the highlights of Sanctus Real’s set was when they played the title track off of their newest record “We Need Each Other”. The crowd sang along and everyone couldn’t help but have a great time along with Sanctus Real’s lead singer Matt Hammit.

The last band to play for the afternoon was the definite crowd-favorite, Relient K. The band started off with the song “Chapstick, Chapped Lips, and Things Like Chemistry”, which fit with the setting of a theme park well. They continued with songs that typically fall on their list such as “Which to Bury, Us or the Hatchet” and “Sadie Hawkins Dance”. After Relient K was done playing they left stage, only to have the audience yell for an encore. Relient K came back on and played “Deathbed”, a song that clocks in just over 11 minutes long, complete with trumpets, an accordion, and other fun instruments, which is quite incredible to view live.

The first annual Glory at the Gardens was definitely a success. Many people drove in from all over central Florida and some even flew in from places as far as New Mexico, Wisconsin, and Oklahoma. Even though the sun was scorching I am sure everyone had to agree it was worth the nasty sunburn and dehydration to see the awesome shows throughout the day.