Typically, the headlining band of a concert is the highlight of the show. This was not the case at Friday nights concert at Alley Katz. Punk bands Troule Is, Early November, and Count the Stars opened up for rock band American Hi-Fi. Unfortunately for Hi-Fi, they also stole the show. I once went to a Green Day and Blink 182 concert where Green Day played first. Afterwards, seeing Blink was a let down. The same feeling was present last Friday night.
Trouble Is hit the stage first and they were OK. No better and no worse than most bands that are there more or less to warm up the crowd. The audience remained a little chilly until the end of their set when the guitar player soared into the crowd, setting a trend for the rest of the evening.
The real highlight of the show came with the advent of the next two bands. Early November and Count the Stars were the second and third bands to play and had a great dynamic. The two bands are friends and they each came out for the other one’s set to help out with the crowd. They helped people who were crowd surfing to make it to the stage. They were cool with the audience and most of the surfers who actually made it up to the stage were allowed to chill up there for a few minutes and then stage dive. Most clubs probably don’t allow this kind of activity, but Alley Katz has always been known as somewhat of an “anything goes” establishment.
It’s difficult to say which of the two bands put on a better show. They both had great music and showmanship. The crowd went wild and that is the true sign of an excellent band. Being the poor college student I am, I was personally appalled when Count the Stars started destroying some of the speakers like they could be bought half price at the five and dime, but the rest of the now riled mob seemed to get a kick out of the band’s destructive antics. If the audience wasn’t in love with the bands before, they definitely were after each member took a leaping dive into the pit. I’m certain that Early November and Count the Stars will be welcome in Richmond anytime they want to come back.
There is little to say about American Hi-Fi’s performance. If you like their music, then you would have had a good time. But security really tightened up (more than likely at the bands request) when they came on and that was a downer for most of the crowd. Their lead singer jumped into the crowd at one point, but there was definitely a feeling in the air that was a real change from the previous two bands. For their final song they played their hit single, “The Art of Losing” and everyone seemed to perk up a little. Most fans get excited when a band plays their single, but as for me, I was just perking up because I knew they were almost done playing.
Overall the concert was a pretty decent way to spend a Friday night in Richmond. On the way out I couldn’t help but notice that some of the people who had been doing some hardcore moshing looked pretty worse for the wear and a trickle of blood here and there wasn’t hard to find, but in general, the crowd left well pleased.