Hit the Lights at Knitting Factory NYC (5.13.08)

I need to admit one thing before I review Hit the Lights and Co. on Tuesday night at the Knitting Factory. I messaged the band about their lack of an "add" button on their page. I accused them of pretty much selling out and letting the label control their site. So Nick and the rest of Hit the Lights responded by telling me not to hate and a kid had done their myspace. They couldn't find the kid again to place the "Add song button" into the html. I apologized many times, and HTL replied with a "no hard feelings" attitude. Honestly, they are total sweethearts even after my myspace angst message.

OK so the show. The show opened with Red Light Green Light hailing from Rockaway-ish, NJ. They were actually quite good. I've only seen them once before when they opened for the Sleeping. The singer wasn't bad, but sometimes he'd sing with an annoying high pitch in which I oddly felt uncontrollably drawn to.

Sing It Loud came on. The only thing worth noting was the incredible bubblegum punk pop coating surrounding these guys and their incredibly long hair. Their fans must have been no older than 15 and that's pushing it. They sounded good, but sported way too much Glamour Kills clothing for their own sake.

Farewell was the only band aside from Hit the Lights in which I knew at least one song. Some (note...only some) of their songs are catchy, but they didn't really seem to hold up live.

Next, Every Avenue took the stage and were actually the best opening band of the night (although I'm not sure if that's saying much). They sounded good and were incredibly catchy. They seemed to captivate the audience and kids knew their lyrics.

Finally, Hit The Lights took the stage. Now, I'm not one to normally go to an HTL show on a whim, but after our little umm.."spat" I felt as if I should go down to show my support and respect for those guys. Plus, their music is quite catchy. And, if I didn't say it already, these guys are incredibly genuine and down to earth. They sound JUST as amazing live as on their CD. Unfortunately, I had to leave early. However, a downtown $12 HTL show was absolutely worth it.

Note to Self: Start bringing camera with you to shows....no one ever checks esp under the Tampons.

Four Year Strong Review

I've seen Four Year Strong play twice now. Actually, 1.2 times. I walked in on the last song of a set with Bayside.

Let's start with the band's pros: Their album, Rise or Die Trying, mixes hardcore and pop punk perfectly. In fact, it's so perfect that you can find your girlfriend headbanging with hardcore punk fans. Four Year Strong will be playing alongside some amazing bands at the Give It a Name tour this year. They've also been endorsed by Alternative Press magazine as one of the 100 bands you need to know in 2008.

In order for Four Year Strong to reach "great band status," they need to work on sounding great live. Unfortunately (in my 1.2 times of seeing them), they seem to have a hard time balancing melody with hardcore in concert. If Four Year Strong wants to gain more fans while touring, they need to find a balance between sounding catchy and sounding hard.