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Thursday, March 28th
Music Reviews: Concerts
Concerts
All Time Low rocks it in Seattle

Jennifer L. reviews a raucous concert with All Time Low, Mayday Parade and the Maine. .

Band brings electricity and passion to NY

Cristina goes to Albany, NY to check out the Jimmy Eat World/Paramore tour.

Silverstein & TDWP rocks out Seattle

Jennifer L. was in Seattle to check out Silverstein and The Devil Wears Prada.

The Veronicas makes rousing return to the US

The Australian twins made a loud return to the US and Cristina was there to see it all.

Copeland/Lovedrug @ Boston

Amanda reviews the Boston tour stop for Copeland, Lights, Lydia and Lovedrug.

More concert reviews
Albums
Newcomer makes breezy, powerful debut

Alan reviews the major label debut of singer-songwriter Erin McCarley.

Debut gets weighed down by conventional songs

Alan reviews the major label debut of 'American Idol' Season 7 winner David Cook.

Ballads dominate somewhat conventional debut

Kelly reviews the debut of 'Idol' runner-up David Archuleta.

Alt-rockers evolve on new effort

Amy reviews the latest offering from The All-American Rejects.

Legend evolves into modern R&B/soul on new album

Alan reviews the third effort from R&B/soul star John Legend.

Forgive Durden- Razia's Shadow

One of the year's most unique music concepts and albums gets reviewed by our Cristina.

Country debut tries to do too much


Alan reviews the country debut of former Hootie & the Blowfish frontman Darius Rucker.

Disney star makes stellar debut

Spencer reviews the major label and album debut of Camp Rock star Demi Lovato.

More reviews


 
Relient K
 
Honor Society @ House of Blues, LA


Guests abound in pop/rock quartet's West Coast debut
HSHonor Society’s first west coast headliner at the House of Blues in West Hollywood, California was highly anticipated for weeks by their fans. The online frenzy ensued as their street teams and supporters rallied to spread the word, fans from all over the country committed to flying in for this once in a life time event. I was personally excited to have Honor Society “in my back yard”. I had been waiting for a year to have them show on the West Coast “on their own”. I was super excited. Then, and I say this with all due respect….there was an “announcement” posted that a certain group of brothers may attend the show “…wink, wink.” At that point my balloon drifted downward. As much as I personally admire the Jonas Brothers (8 concerts and counting and one of my inspirations), I wanted all the spot light to be on Honor Society – so I feared this would be taken away.

Fast forward to THE DAY – as I drove down Sunset Blvd toward the House of Blues a mass of humanity appeared before my eyes. The line of people wrapped up the hill, around the corner and down Sunset Blvd. I was thrilled. I was fortunate enough to be one of the first let in, I perched myself to the right of the stage, just as soon, the fans started running through the door, darting straight to the stage. In no time the floor was filled. It was standing room only. Slowly, more and more, the anticipation built up, everyone kept looking up to the “VIP” area located on the second story. A few well known Disney stars and recording artists showed up to support Honor Society: Tiffany Thornton, Malese Jow, Zoe Myers, Benji Caya, Mitchel Musso, and Derek Hough, Sam Marder, Harry Sullivan of Ballas Hough Band were the first in view. 

I was pleasantly surprised to see up and coming Disney Radio recording artists KSM (Katie, Kate, Sophia, Shelby and Shae) in the house and soon enough, they were on stage opening the show! Now, these girls got the crowd going with their high energy pop rock-punk vibe – I was happy to see them pull off a flawless live performance with just a few songs, definitely gaining a house full of new fans with their impromptu showing. They ended with their super catchy tune “Distracted” – the crowd was unmistakably pumped – as soon as their set ended, eyes turned up to the VIP area – searching for new famous arrivals.

The next act, who was originally slated to open, was Alana Grace, now I can honestly say I hadn’t heard much of this artist other than one of her songs appearing on “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” sound track. I didn’t have any expectations. As you know, performing and singing live is a hard act, and to sound as good as your recordings can be difficult, but for Alana Grace – she clearly has the talent to pull it off. I was most definitely pleased with the live renditions of her music, though not as pumped up by her stage presence and/or showmanship as I was by KSM’s. At one point, during Alana’s set a couple of girls passed out in the middle of the crowd, and had to be carried out, this was a definite distraction. The emotion and energy just didn’t appear to be there. I was disappointed, I don’t like to state negativity, but it is what it is.  

Just as soon as Alana Grace ended her set, and the curtain dropped, the crowd anticipation was at an all time high, then all of sudden I heard screaming from all around, I looked up and there appeared Demi Lovato, waving down at the crowd with her gleaming thousand watt smile. I heard whispers from anxious teens around me wondering if and when the Jonas Brothers were going to make an appearance, and what do you know…they did just that. As soon as the Jonas Brothers appeared high above the crowd, I had to put my ear plugs back in, cause I couldn’t take the screaming from the teen standing next to me. I wanted to put duct tape over her mouth; she must have said “Oh my God” a million times, with tears streaming down her face “Joe I Love You!!” over and over again. This is when I got upset. This is when I screamed out “HONOR SOCIETY!!!!” I wasn’t the only one…there were chants of “Honor, Honor, Honor” erupting here and there.

I love the fact that other famous, established, successful artists and entertainers come out to support up and coming artists, acts or bands – but what I wanted, again, was for the focus to be totally on Honor Society. For this group of guys, Honor Society, to have come as far as they have is due to their hard work, perseverance and real talent – they showed all of us clearly that they’ve arrived; and why Jonas has picked them to tour the world as their opening act.

My fear totally diminished as soon as the curtain opened, the focus and attention by 99% of the crowd was now on the four handsome gentlemen standing in front of me, on stage, with Michal, Jason, Andrew (Andy)  and Alexander (Alex) grinning widely at the crowd.  I swear they made eye contact with every fan out there...the fans went completely wild! Opening with “Over You” – Honor Society’s full set list consisted of 12 songs – each song with an R&B/Pop-rock melody, each beat vibrating in its originality to every corner of the house, the crowd was totally pumped and focused; with “Full Moon Crazy”, “2 Rebels” (which Alex just dominated on drums, he caught my attention), “Why Didn’t I”, “Good Night My Love” and “My Own Way”. (One thing that stands out the most to me about Honor Society, is all the members can sing, their ability to harmonize isreminiscent to the Eagles to me - no doubt they'll only get better and for me - that is top notch).  The transition to a couple of covers, the crowd was more awake than ever. With the “Heartless” and “Single Ladies” the crowd sang along swaying, hands clapping and arms above their heads; reaching out in an attempt to touch or just to feel the energy in the air.

Not only was every transition to each song flawless, each member played their instrument like it was a part of their being, smooth, knowing and eloquent in all areas.  Vocally strong, the showmanship outstanding.  The stand out moment (besides when the Jonas Brothers came on stage) was with “Nobody Has to Know” – with its groovy dance vibe and catchy lyrics – the crowd was in sync. Nearly every arm extended pumping, hands reaching out – everyone was dancing. It was an awesome site. The Jonas Brothers were announced, and of course, the crowd went super crazy. It was a frenzied several minutes. Jonas and Honor Society sang “Don’t Close the Book” – again, the crowd sang loud in unison.  

At the end of the show, the encore was once again, “Over You” – then ending with “See U in the Dark” (which is one of myfave’s ) and of course with this ending...the entire house, all of the fans squeezed together like sardines, attempted to do the "HONOR ROLL" dance - which was amagnificent sight. Over all, this show, quite possibly is the best show I’ve ever been to at any House of Blues thus far – Honor Society proved clearly that they can hold their own and I can’t wait to see what they bring us in the future. Their next performance will be at the House of Blues on April 24th, in San Diego and I will be there to capture it. Honor Society at the House of Blues in West Hollywood definitely gets a “5-Star Rating” from me!


Alexandra ZawadaAnn Frohoff is a staff writer in the West/Southwest region for Musiqtone.com. You can reach her at annfrohoff@musiqtone.com.
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