I had been anticipating the Alternative Press Tour since around the end of February. I was aware that these shows would draw a huge crowd simply because of the fantastic lineup (Family Force 5, 3OH!3, The Maine, Hit the Lights, and A Rocket to the Moon), so needless to say, I bought my tix pretty early. And lucky for me. It was announced last night at the show that only five of the remaining dates weren't completely sold out, and I heard today that another had sold out sometime between that show and the next morning.
I arrived at Rocketown in Nashville, one of my very favorite venues in this area, at about 2:30PM, with the doors opening at six. I managed to snag the closest ($5) parking I've ever found at a show there, and hoped that was a sign. Shortly after staking my spot in line, I saw an all too common large white touring van fly down the street and cut right onto 6th Avenue. Andy from A Plea for Purging had graced us with his loveable presence, and was helping out the good Rocketown staff by marketing some unsold Chiodos and The Honorary Title merch to the anxiously waiting crowd (in between yelling "There's that guy from 3OH!3; he's the 3!" in the direction of any skate punk that happen to walk by). He really is one of my favorite people. Rolling up in a similar van was a group of Koreans from a local church filming and taking pictures of us. I'm still not sure if that actually happened, or if I simply imagined it.
After a three and a half hour wait, the doors finally opened. I was searched, etc., and settled in on the rightside balcony. The opening band, A Rocket to the Moon, turned out to be my second favorite band of the night. Nick Santino, with a mess of flowing orange hair, fronted his band's easy-listen, poppy music and vocal style, typical of his label Fueled By Ramen. I was surprised at how well they executed their performance, and the crowd's response to the relatively new band was quite positive. Their set consisted of the five songs on their EP "Greetings From..." Nick received a quaint laugh from the Nashville crowd when he inserted some Taylor Swift lyrics in the middle of one of his songs. The band, hailing from Braintree, Massachusetts, had actually never played a show in Nashville before and, according to Nick, had never even been in the state of Tennesee up to that point. I feel like we made a good first impression.
(I must insert here that I've heard several bands state that Nashville has some of the best show-goers anywhere.)
Ohio punk quintet Hit the Lights were not a band I had heard much about or looked up beforehand. They impressed me with a catchy, energetic set, in many ways reminiscent of New Found Glory in years past. Derek, or "Chap Stique", of FF5 and Kennedy Brock of The Maine filled in on a few songs because HTL guitarist Omar Zehery was with his father, who was undergoing back surgery. Also, whoever was in the back mixing them didn't give us half the quality of singer Nick Thomson's vocals during their set. In spite of all the trouble spots, though, HTL gave a great show, and gave me a new band to keep my eye on.
Self described as that "shitty boyband from Colorado", 3OH!3, in their typical fashion, tore it up. With gang signs held high by the whole crowd at every mention of their name, they were without a doubt the most anticipated band of the night. And not just by the local scene. Earlier in the week, Nashville pop radio station 102.5 "The Party" had even been playing their single "DON'T TRUST ME", which vocalist Sean Foreman announced during the set had been certified platinum by the RIAA the day before. Definitely something to celebrate for a band that was only in AP's 100 new bands to watch this time last year. Their superinfectious showmanship and face-smashing beats were unmatched by any of the other bands of the night, which places them as my pick for best band of the tour. They're not bad dancers either.
The characteristic shriek from the girls rung out as Arizona natives The Maine took the stage. As far as musicianship goes, guitarists Jared Monaco and Kennedy Brock impressed me with their interesting fretboard work, something that many times is lacking in the pop-punk world. I wasn't entirely impressed, however, with vocalist John O'Callaghan's crowdworking, or their self-marketed t-shirts proclaiming "I Wanna Make A Baby With You The Maine!" And as far as memorability goes, suffice it to say that I've heard them before somewhere. But The Maine carried an enthusiastic following, and overall gave a good and very likeable performance. Basically, to quote bassist Garrett Nickelsen, "We talk way too much."
At the close of the night came Hotlanta's own crunk-rock five piece Family Force 5. To be honest, this band had been a turnoff to me in past listening endeavors. I had tried to get into them, as many of my friends had, but never quite felt the need to download any of their work. Their set was actually much more enjoyable than I expected, even though somewhere around 80 people left before they even played. I suppose they felt the way I did before I actually saw them. I definitely give them kudos for being the most into their music and performance. With Nadaddy beating a glowing electronic synthesizer-wall, Xanadu dancing around the sides of the stage in his glittering bowtie, and Soul Glow shrieking and falling to the floor, it became truly difficult not to bob your head. I was also surprised and impressed by their use of Daft Punk's "Robot Rock" to intro "Luv Addict". They proved themselves well to be exactly what they are: a very fun band to go see.
At the end of the night, I was in quite a pleasant mood. All in all, I would recommend all five of these groups. A Rocket to the Moon is expected to release a full length this summer, so definitely watch for that. You should also WITHOUT A DOUBT go see 3OH!3 this summer on the Vans Warped Tour. You won't regret it. They're booked the whole tour, along with Hit the Lights and The Maine. I look forward to that as well.
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