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by Tony Pascarella Published: April 20, 2005
Leading off the concert was a band that was a bit unexpected. Hailing from Franklin, Tennessee, the group Paramore was actually signed to FBR and is anticipating a release sometime this summer, titled All We Know Is Falling. They played a three-song acoustic set. Charismatic and stunningly beautiful lead singer Hayley Williams drew some comparisons to a redheaded Avril Lavigne. Along with her guitar and bass player Jason Bynum and Josh Farro (drummer Zac Farro was absent from the acoustic set), she helped Paramore make quite an impression on those audience members who managed to get in early. They only played the Florida dates on this tour, and are scheduled to play at Bamboozle as well as a show at The Norva (Virginia); according to their management, Paramore will also be touring with Copeland and Anberlin this summer. I'm looking forward to hearing their debut album; they have quite a lot of potential.  Paramore Setlist (Acoustic) All We Know Here We Go Again Hallelujah Oh Star One of the most unusual artists to sign with Fueled By Ramen is Gym Class Heroes. A five-piece group consisting of vocalist/lyricist extraordinaire Travis McCoy, guitarists Disashi Lumumba-Kasongo and Milo Bonacci, bassist Ryan Geise, and drummer Matt McGinley, they're not your typical "indie" band. A full instrument band, Gym Class Heroes actually is rooted in hip-hop, with McCoy rapping over the rest of the band. What forms is something truly magical. While putting on a stellar musical performance, Travis managed to keep the audience in stitches. He declared his love for Kelly Clarkson and dedicated "Cupid's Chokehold" to her. He also promised the audience a surprise, which happened during that song, when Fall Out Boy's Patrick Stumph came out to lend guest vocals to the song's chorus. McCoy's crazy faces that he makes during the band's performance are well worth the price of admission. He's got a laid-back demeanor that makes just about anyone become a fan.  Gym Class Heroes Setlist Make Out Club Cupid's Chokehold Simple Living Papercuts Taxi Driver Kid Nothing Vs. The Echo Factor Read my review of Gym Class Heroes' The Papercut Chronicles Read my interview with Travis McCoy of Gym Class Heroes Kicking off with the energetic first track from Almost Here, "Attention," The Academy Is commanded respect. William Beckett (Vocals) has a certain stage presence that is indicative of the entire band's attitude. Whether it's jumping off the drum set, swinging microphones or getting the crowd pumped up, Beckett has his performance down cold. While I admit his microphone volume could have been a little higher, the Chicago band put on one hell of a show. The audience really got into it, with everyone singing along. As I talked to him after the show, he explained that his favorite tour moment is every night when he goes out on the stage. So he's obviously having as much fun as everyone else in the audience. The rest of the band, Tom Conrad and Mike Carden on guitars, Adam Siska on bass, and Andy "Butcher" Mrotek on drums were in their element as well. They coursed through a majority of their album, including the introspective "Classifieds" and the slow to build up yet awe-inspiring "Down and Out". While often opening bands don't have the entire audience behind them, this wasn't the case. Mostly everyone in the venue knew a majority of the words to each song on their setlist. Hang on folks, these guys are going places. Set to tour the West Coast with Mae and Jamisonparker, they will follow with a tour of the East Coast with Days Away, Plain White T's, and June. Keeping up the life on the road, The Academy Is will also be hitting Warped Tour's Volcom Stage from July 26th to August 7th. The Academy Is Setlist Attention Season Slow Down The Phrase That Pays Classifieds Checkmarks Down and Out Read my review of The Academy Is' Almost Here Ontario's Silverstein was the fourth band to perform. From the very first chord, vocalist Shane Told spewed his screamed words at the audience. The rest of the band (Neil Boshart and Josh Bradford on guitar, Bill Hamilton on bass, and drummer Paul Koehler) helped Told absolutely brutalize the audience. With the band toeing the line between rock, hardcore, and metal, they powerfully ran through about seven songs, which included "November" and a new song called "Smile In Your Sleep," which is supposed to be on their next album. It was during their set that the crowd surfing got dangerous for those of us in the front row. The band's last album was in 2003, titled When Broken Is Easily Fixed. Their new one comes out in early August and will be named Discovering the Waterfront. They were impressive for someone like me who had not really heard much from them before. Silverstein Setlist (incomplete and in alphabetical order) Bleeds No More Giving Up November Red Light Pledge Smashed Into Pieces Smile In Your Sleep Weak and the Wounded (there were two more songs, one being a cover of a song by The Lifetime) The Factory wasn't sold out for two weeks ahead of time to see a bunch of extremely talented opening bands. So as expected, Fall Out Boy was greeted with a huge ovation from those in attendance. Comprised of Pat Stumph (vocals, guitar) Pete Wentz (vocals, bass), Joe Trohman (guitar, vocals), and drummer Andy Hurley, their technical proficiency was as good as expected. As they stepped onstage, they launched into the first song from Take This To Your Grave, titled "Tell That Mick He Just Made My List of Things To Do Today". And to quell any rumors, their tour manager is not, but does bear a striking resemblance to William Hung. The first four songs were all from their last album, but they performed one song that was a demo that appears on From Under The Cork Tree remastered, followed by the new hit single, "Sugar We're Going Down." By then, the crowd was really feeling the energy in the air. Unfortunately, right about here, Pat Stumph and Pete seemed to lose something in their vocal quality. For the next five songs or so, they both sounded off-key, letting the audience do a lot of the heavy work. It was quite disappointing to see them play the instruments so well and just not have it all vocally. They finished with a three-song encore of "Dance Dance" (from the new album), "Honorable Mention" (from their very first album), and "Saturday" (a staple of Take This To Your Grave). While Fall Out Boy wasn't bad, they just seemed to take about five songs in the middle of the set for granted and thus didn't sing very well. That didn't make the crowd love them any more, or any of the other bands any less. Despite this, the hype for their upcoming release is obvious, given the number of people there who said they were attending solely to see FOB. If Take This To Your Grave didn't get people interested in helping to make them a success story, it looks like the new album will. After this tour ends, Fall Out Boy will be invading Warped Tour '05 for its entirety on the North Stage with such names as The Offspring, Thrice, and Dropkick Murphys. Watch out; they'll be hitting the stages near you.  Fall Out Boy Setlist Tell That Mick He Just Made My List Of Things To Do Today Dead On Arrival Calm Before The Storm Nobody Puts Baby In The Corner Sugar, We're Going Down Homesick At Space Camp Our Lawyer Made Us Change The Name Of This Song So We Wouldn't Get Sued Patron Saint of Liars and Fakes Grand Theft Autumn (Where Is Your Boy) Grenade Launcher Chicago Is So Two Years Ago Dance, Dance Honorable Mention Saturday Something I've always found great is when bands take the time to connect with their fans. At the show, I managed to meet some of the nicest people ever to join a band, namely Travis McCoy (GCH) and William Beckett of The Academy Is. Both were willing to spend time talking about their bands and offering some insight into what they do. While my impromptu interview with William didn't save (the microphone adapter broke), I am going to work to set one up with him in the future. But I talked with him about how the band matured based on the criticism that their self-titled EP received. He talked about the self-righteousness that they displayed before, which they've turned into a really honest record that is Almost Here. If you want to see some of the hardest-working up and coming bands out there, make sure you check out each and every one of the groups on this tour. They are all committed to performing the very best they can, and each band offers something different for the crowd. From Hayley Williams' up-front crooning to William Beckett's microphone swinging to Silverstein's anguished screams to Fall Out Boy's manic drumming to Gym Class Heroes' personal side of hip-hop, this tour has everything a music fan could possibly want. Concert Information Ticket Price: $15 Venue: The Factory (Fort Lauderdale, FL) Acknowledgements: Special thanks to Mike Cubillos, Seth, Travis McCoy, and William Beckett for their time and assistance. Thanks to Daniella Curry for her photos. |
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