Over It

I cannot pinpoint a reason for liking this band as much as I do, but I definitely do like them. Their live set is energetic, to say the least. If the super catchy "Siren On The 101" doesn't get stuck in your head, "Shine" and/or "Waiting" will. During "Shine", Joe Reo of Hidden In Plain View came out and started singing along. The band had a great attitude on stage; they looked like they were having tons of fun, and they thanked everyone for being awesome multiple times. They also played "We Are The Ordinary" and ended with the impressive "Partner In Crime."

Spitalfield

Not entirely familiar with their music, I still found myself moving to the music. I was not highly impressed, but I did enjoy their antics and crowd interaction. The crowd seemed to enjoy the tunes. Some not-too-violent moshing mixed in with crowd pushing causing a whole bunch of people to fall over. Nice to see people were kinda and helped each other.

Hidden In Plain View

Such a kinetic way to start their set, Hidden In Plain View hit the stage and immediately went into "A Minor Detail." Overall, the crowd had a loud, positive response to the band. I did notice, however, that no one directly around me seemed interested. Despite feeling awkward completely rocking out amongst a bunch of stick-in-the-mud's, I had an all-around fantastic time. Every song from beginning to end was spot on.

As an intro to "American Classic", lead singer Joe Reo addressed the crowd: "Who all saw us at Warped Tour?" [people in crowd yell] "Well this song is for you guys!"

Between two songs, Rob got on drums with Spencer, Joe put on a guitar, and the whole band had a little jam session. I'm thinking it was between "Top 5 Addictions" and "Ashes, Ashes", though I'm not entirely sure.

Andrew McMahon helped out on the recording of "Halycon Daze", and apparently there was quite a bit of effort put into the song, to the point that it can't be properly reproduced live. It was decided to be performed acoustic, just Rob and Joe. Nice mellow point in the night.

Other songs played included "Twenty Below", "The Point", "Garden Statement", and "Bleed For You" (all performed with undeniable energy). "Garden Statement" was, of course, introduced with mention that the band is from New Jersey. The crowd seemed to react the most to "Twenty Below" and "Bleed For You."

The Academy is...

Their set started out with a song from The Lion King, so that was pretty cool. I had totally underestimated this band. No idea that they were capable of having such an incredible fan force. Very interesting live; the band members just bounce all over that stage. Lead singer, William Beckett, was grooving all over the place. The crowd loved them; they seemingly played really well, and it was quite the listening experience.

Review by: Candice