yes, the kids are taking over.

as previously stated, it seems the kids are the future of rock. or pop-punk. or pop-rock. you know. all that catchy, dancy jazz. sing it loud is a band that falls into this category. they're good: not amazing-drop-everything-right-now-and-listen-or-else, but good. and for sil that's good enough for me. approached last night by bassist nate flynn we were asked if we wanted to buy an ep for just $3 to help them out. sam gave in and i didn't mind because i'm all for helping bands out and supporting music, but i didn't think i'd really be listening to the album much to be honest. sam and i tested it out this morning on our drive to school and decided it's not like we wasted money. frontman pat brown has a voice that you'll enjoy listening to - a nice little break from all the whiney poppy boys out there at the moment. the ep reminded me of a mixture of motion city soundtrack (ironic because it was produced by mcs's josh cain) and mayday parade/all time low...or at least something along the lines of the last two, which isn't hard to find nowadays. they're fun to dance and sing along to. plus, i can say i'd listen to "i've got a feeling" over and over.

party like a rockstar.

last night the avalon was jam-packed with awesomeness. cry of the afflicted, pierce the veil, as cities burn, mayday parade, and emery played, overall, one hell of a show. i didn't get to see cry of the afflicted play, but from what i've heard off their myspace they are a sweet solid state band with a sound similar to story of the year. you'll definitely want to check them out and snag "take this day"; available to download on their purevolume: here. i got there when pierce the veil started. it took me a minute to decide whether or not i liked them, but after they played their version of michael jackson's "beat it" i was sold. ptv is a band that's all about having fun and rockin' out. frontman vic fuentes has a unique voice that gets their party going. the band as a whole had really good energy while playing and the crowd enjoyed their rock/metal/party sound; as did i. also, feel free to download a couple of songs for you listening pleasure at their myspace: here. to my surprise as cities burn was next. but, even still, they did an absolutely amazing job with their disappointingly short set. they played some of my favorite songs including, but not limited to (ha), "our world is grey" and "bloodsucker pt. II". even without former member, tj bonette's screams it was still a very good performance. i have a lot of respect for acb moving forward and using the talent they still have instead of calling it quits. so all in all it bummed me out that they couldn't play all night. the majority of the kids at this show seemed to be there for the next band up: mayday parade. since the release of their newest album, "a lesson in romantics", word has been spreading of this pop-punk band. frontman derek sanders got into his groove with a mic swinging and hair flipping routine that reminded me of adam lazarra. they were fun to say the least. their dance-a-ble beats were only lacking the unique and powerful vocals of former member, jason lancaster (now frontman for go radio). without him the performance seemed to faulter on certain songs such as "when i get home you're so dead"; deeming the last time i saw them live to be much better. and last, but definitely not least, emery. even the fading size of the crowd after mayday didn't stop emery from putting on one of the best performances i've seen. the way i can best describe the overall feel to this set is chaotic harmony. each band member was doing their own thing, but it all somehow fit together. and with josh head (who was at one point in the crowd being held; standing straight on top of 20-or-so hands), devin shelton, and toby morrel all switching up on the vocals a unique energy pulled the crowd in. and it was this energetic performance that made me quite glad i had attended and also wonder why the new album, "i'm only a man", wasn't getting such great reviews. i figure it's because whoever doesn't enjoy it hasn't seen an emery performance quite like last night. so to sum it all up: there was fun, dancing, singing, screaming, mic-swinging, crowd...standing, and lots of partying rockstars. touché.