We were just Kids In Love

Night number two was another success!  Got to see all five bands perform, and I'm pooped.  The bands that played tonight were The Make, There For Tomorrow, You Me At Six, We Are the In Crowd, abd Mayday Parade.  What do these bands have in common?  Their pop rock and alternative sound and they all have had albums released recently.

The Make, hailing from Chico, California, embarks on their first tour.  If you're looking for a good pop rock group, this is it.  Generally all of their songs are upbeat, but it wasn't quite upbeat enough to cause the crowd to get rowdy.  Lead singer, Jeff, even addresses the awkwardness that is silence among the audience.  The crowd tonight was much less than the previous night, but the bands still taunted it for more screaming.

The best part of their performance was the female guitarist, Sarah Ann.  In lamest terms, she is a bad ass.  She sang, played electric and acoustic guitar, played two keyboards, and messed with the mixer.  She juggled all these different instruments flawlessly, so I was impressed.  I'd say that these guys have a good chance to break out into the pop rock and alternative scene if they stick to their catchy tunes and quirky performance.

Second to play were Florida natives, There For Tomorrow.  I wish these fellas were more popular because they always put on a great show.  I love their music  a lot because their songs have infectious beats and vocals that could make you melt.  Visually, they all get into the zone, and whenever they play, the audience feels out of their element because the intense bass vibrates your entire body.  My personal favorite thing about this band's performance is watching the drummer, Chris Kamrada.  He alone really gets into his drumming almost as if every stroke is an explosion of energy.  He even does cool drum stick tricks while he's playing - an entertaining observation.  They played a mix of old songs and new songs from their latest album, The Verge, and they sound really good.  I can't wait to listen to the album in its entirety.  Don't know which song to listen to first?  I'd go with "Hunt, Hunt, Hunt."

This band right here came all the way from the UK.  They call themsevles You Me At Six.  Signed with Virgin records, these guys exert a rock sound that makes you wanna jump up and down to the drumbeat.  All their songs made me wanna dance because of their incredible catchiness.  On a side note, I'm personally a fan the lead singer's accent and the quirky character he plays onstage because that added more fun to the performance.  I think it's awesome when bands interact with the audience because it shows how much they love being onstage performing.  Especially if the band is from overseas, that's a great deal to be touring with US bands.  After this tour, they'll be coming back to Austin in January 2012, and I can hardly wait!

The band to play before the headliner was We Are The In Crowd.  What's cool about these guys is that there are two vocalists: a girl and a boy - Taylor Jardine and Jordan Eckes.  When they perform, they sing duets and they sing in a conversational way in which their lyrics respond back to each other.  We Are The In Crowd is another pop rock band, but I'm not quite sure how I feel about them.  I can't deny that their songs are good and somewhat catchy, but I did not react to them.  Usually whenever I'm at a show, I'm always moving to the music whether it's a simple nodding of the head, jumping, or maybe even dancing, but when they were performing, I was completely still.  I started spacing out and that never happens, so I guess my conclusion is that I'm not into them.  They didn't WOW me enough to push me to listen to more of their music.  Although their presence is similar to the band, Hey Monday, I simply couldn't get into We Are The In Crowd.  With Hey Monday, I'm captivated by Cassadee Pope's amazing vocal performance where as with Taylor Jardine, I could barely hear her and when she needed to soar in the stratosphere with her voice, she pulled the mic too far from her mouth that ultimately we didn't hear any vocals.  In essence, I was not too impressed with We Are The In Crowd.

Finally, the headliner of The Noise Tour, Mayday Parade.  Mayday Parade never ceases to amaze me.  They know how to perform and always deliver.  Words can't even describe how awesome they performed last night.  I hadn't seen them since...I can't even remember the last time I saw them, but now I remember why I listen to them.  Not gonna lie, I was not crazy about their last self-titled album, but after last night I think I might give it another chance.  They too played a mix of old songs with the new, and for this set, I was dancing like no one was watching.  The crowded was jumping, fist pumping, cheering, singing along, and going crazy.  Even when they slowed things down with a couple of ballads with just Derek (lead singer) singing and playing piano, the performance was phenomenal.  Lighters went up in the sky and we all sang along with him.  They played an encore of two more songs before they left the stage, and I felt as if their set was so quick.  I didn't want them to leave!  Needless to say, last night was another great show, and I will definitely go see them again whenever they decide to drop by Austin again!  If you're interested, go listen to "Anywhere But Here" or "Kids in Love" - you won't be disappointed.