I remember like yesterday, the time of my life.

(December 29, 2009 Philadelphia, PA - Theatre of the Living Arts)

So, I've been to a lot of shows in 2009. This blog will vouch for sixteen of those, but I would bet money that number is more along the lines of thirty two. While some have come close, none of them are as notable as The Starting Line's holiday reunion show. It was the first time they have played together in more than a year and a half. Naturally, I jumped at the opportunity to see such a prolific band play together again. A small caravan of us made the trip from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia early on a Tuesday morning, and prayed for a better experience than our trip to Cleveland back in October. We were not even slightly disappointed. Philadelphia is my kind of city, and I hope to get back to it again within the next few months. We spent a few hours wandering South Street, checking out local record stores before we made our way to the oddly placed line for the TLA, and found our way into one of the nicest venues I've ever had the pleasure of being inside.

The first time I saw the Dangerous Summer, I made it a point to emphasize how obvious the Starting Line's influence on the band is, and it still isn't a bad thing. In fact, I think it's really cool that they've reached the point where they're playing a show of this caliber with a band that means that much to them. I could tell that they wanted to be there just as bad as anyone in the crowd. That said, I think their nerves may have gotten the best of them. They definitely didn't sound as good as when I saw them in Pittsburgh, which was kind of surprising because their following was reasonable at this show, they had a lot of people singing along. They even botched the beginning of "Surfaced," though I don't think a lot of people noticed. However, they did recover quite well, finishing off the first verse of said song with more energy than any other point throughout their set. And I believe "Never Feel Alone" is definitely one of the best set-closing songs I've heard.

set list:
Settle Down
The Permanent Rain
Surfaced
Symmetry
Northern Lights
Where I Want to Be
Never Feel Alone

Valencia took the stage, after sorting out some technical issues, right on schedule, and made their presence immediately known. A local act with a huge following in Philadelphia, the crowd also made it pretty clear that they knew what to expect. Immediately an overwhelming amount of movement happened, and a lot of singing along, but it was fun and appropriate at a pop punk show. They even had a bunch of red balloons flying around the venue, making for a great atmosphere. That is, until "Away We Go" kicked off, a pit opened up, and all the tough guys came out to play. And the drunk girls. It was just bad news. Don't get me wrong, the band sounded great, but I don't know what got into the crowd. I don't know if it's always like that for Valencia, or pop punk shows in Philly, but I had a really hard time enjoying the band. Some guys thought it would be funny to pop all the balloons that a lot of us were having fun with, and other guys thought it would be fun to do a bunch of crowd kills, even though half the crowd was girls a scrawny guys who wanted nothing to do with the physicality of a hardcore show. It was completely disrespectful, and if I was in Valencia, I'd be ashamed of the fans. I've never seen anyone cry at a show out of displeasure. Still, the band did sound really good, and since the show I've found that I really enjoy Valencia's recorded output, and I would definitely go see them again, but in Pittsburgh. Oh, and the part of "Listen Up" that Kenny Vasoli sang on was definitely the highlight of the set.

set list:
Free
Away We Go
Holiday
Where Did You Go?
Listen Up (featuring Kenny Vasoli from the Starting Line)
Safe To Say
Wake Up (new song)
Better Be Prepared
The Space Between

Still, I was definitely not in the best of moods when Valencia's set ended. Two of the three people I was with went to the back of the venue because they were so frustrated with the crowd. However, after enduring a six hour drive and a very cold day wandering Philadelphia, I was determined to enjoy myself. Fortunately, Kenny and The Starting Line made it very easy to do that. My spirits were raised along with the band's original banner, a huge backdrop to the equally large stage. I felt as if for the next hour and a half, I would be taking a trip back to the early millennium with one of the best pop punk acts from that time period, and when the band took the stage by the storm with the opening tracks from their first three records, back-to-back-to-back, in chronological order, I knew the night would go all too fast. This being my first time seeing the Starting Line, I was not in the position say anything like "they sounded just as good as they did before their hiatus." However, I can't imagine they could have sounded any better. Every single song was spot on; full of energy and emotion. What made the set even more enjoyable was the connection that everyone in the room had to the songs being played. The Starting Line has certainly touched their fair share of lives (165,000 Myspace friends can't be wrong), and almost everyone in attendance had some kind of history with the band's music, or at least sang along like they did. For a majority of the set, Kenny's vocals were mostly inaudible, but not due to poor mixing, rather the crowd's collective singing. I couldn't even tell you what my favorite moment was, I don't think I stopped smiling all night. What it boils down to is, the Starting Line is still a force to be reckoned with in pop punk, if they do decide to stick around. I feel very fortunate to have attended this show, I genuinely think this will be one that my grandchildren hear about.

set list:
Up & Go
Making Love to the Camera
Direction
Surprise, Surprise
Inspired By the $
Are You Alone
A Goodnight's Sleep
21
Need to Love
Photography
Artistic License
Birds
Way With Words
Given the Chance
Island
Somebody's Gonna Miss Us
Best Of Me

encore:
Something Left to Give
Leaving

If you leave this town, I would follow you right out.

(June 20th, 2009 Millvale, PA - Mr. Small's)

Some shows I go to, I anticipate for months ahead of time (see: Kevin Devine and the Get Up Kids). Others, well, even going is a last second decision. Such was the case with the Ace Enders & a Million Different People show at Mr. Small's. I almost didn't go. I'll come out and say it, it wasn't my favorite show or anything, but I am glad I went.

The Dangerous Summer was the first band to play, to my dismay (you'll know why soon), and quite possibly the deciding factor in my attendance. Hailing from Maryland, The Dangerous Summer play what initially sounds like generic pop-'punk,' but upon further inspection, they prove to be much more genuine and introspective than most of their peers. The first time I heard them I was reminded of Kenny Vasoli (of The Starting Line, and yeah, Person L) vocally. I didn't even realize their primary vocalist is also the bass player. The parallels continue. The Starting Line's influence is also pretty noticeable, which is, by no means, a bad thing. But I digress. The entire setlist was, as expected, cuts from their debut full length, Reach For the Sun, and I was certainly pleased. They sounded great, and seemed quite pleased, even though turnout seemed a bit disappointing to me at least. Expect to see them coming to a city near you with bigger and bigger acts. They're climbing the ladder, and earning every rung.

set list:
Surfaced
Symmetry
The Permanent Rain
Weathered
Where I Want to Be
Never Feel Alone

Following TDS was My Favorite Highway, the only band on the bill I wasn't even a little bit familiar with, and apparently with reason. I was not even a bit impressed by their live set. The vocalist/pianist seemed almost pretentious with his stage presence. They sounded alright, his vocals were spot on, but if I wanted that, I'd listen to the recordings. Not much else to say, they don't exactly stick in my mind.

Probably the only reason I even considered going to this show in the first place, Person L was Ace's direct support, contrary to the other time I've seen them, second of four opening for Chiodos (needless to say, the crowd was a little better tonight, and by now a crowd had actually developed). Person L is Kenny Vasoli (formerly of the aforementioned Starting Line)'s new project, in which he explores pretty much every sonic possibility imaginable in 2009. It's quite impressive, there's a lot of different things going on in every song. One minute you're watching Drive Like Jehu Jr., the next Radiohead and blink-182's (somewhat deformed) lovechild. But tonight things were a bit different. Person L was short two of it's five members, one a victim of the economy, another of a back injury. Upon finding this out, I was a little hesitant to get excited for anything particularly stunning, and thus, was quite impressed. At first the setlist was a little disappointing, it consisted of mostly new songs I wasn't familiar with, but in retrospect, I feel a little priveleged to have heard that number of songs from The Positives (the band's debut full length) long before studio versions have been heard by, as far as I know, anyone. Also, "Seven Nation Army" was a nice treat. The songs from the new album sounded fantastic, even as a trio as opposed to a quintet.

set list:
I Sing the Body Electric
Sit Tight
Stay Calm
Help Yourself
Storms (Kenny solo)
New Sensation
Seven Nation Army (White Stripes cover)
Goodness Gracious

If I was the kind of person to do such a thing, I would've probably left at this point. Even though it was a Saturday night, I was tired, and not all that excited for Ace's set. Still, I like to get my money's worth, and ever since I left a Thrice show early in 2007, I like to see every band that I can. So, I stuck it out. I was glad I did, for sure. Ace sounds fantastic, and the backing band he's been playing with (including Serge, who used to play bass in The Early November alongside Ace) sounded great as well. I'm not a super fan or anything, and I managed to enjoy it, so if you are a fan of Ace's, I'd definitely recommend seeing him at least once. My only (fairly cliche) complaint would be the lack of Early November material, and there was no encore. The no encore thing was likely due to the somewhat poor turnout, a surprise for a Saturday night. Also, I have to say, Ace is a great guy, if you go see him, take a minute and shake his hand.

set list:
Rain
Body Like Mind
I Want to Hear You Sad (The Early November)
Reintroduction
Take the Money & Run
The Only Thing I Have (The Sign)
Gods (new song)
Sweeter Light
Emergency
When I Hit the Ground
Decoration (The Early November)
Reaction
The Best Happiness Money Can Buy (I Can Make A Mess)
Where Do We Go From Here
Bring Back Love