Something Corporate, RX Bandits, Mae, Days Away

November 8th at the Hollywood Palladium.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this venue; when looking at the website for parking information, I couldn’t fathom how a concert could be held at this ritzy palace. Finally, after a good thirty minutes of sitting in Hollywood traffic and shelling out 12 dollars for parking, I entered the Hollywood Palladium on the cold and rainy Saturday night. In one word, this place is great! It was extremely large, with two balconies that over look the small, intimate stage. There couldn’t be a bad seat in the house. The crowd that showed up that night was exactly what I expected: mounds of over excited teenagers dawned in Something Corporate shirts.

The house lights remained on as Days Away took the stage. The Philadelphia natives opened with “Stay the Same”, a mellow number that got the crowd swaying to the beat. Not many people seemed to be paying much attention to this awesome band, though they definitely should have been. The foggy, irridescent colored stage set the mood for the next set of songs: “Keep Your Voices Down”, an older song, and “God and Mars”, another song off Days Away’s new EP entitled LDSEP. During this song lead singer Keith Goodwin gave the audience a little dance number. The rather inattentive audience’s interest was captured by the popular song, “She Knows My Name”, which raised the energy level of the crowd significantly. Finally captivating the attention of the audience Days Away, which includes Goodwin on vocals and guitar, Chris Frangicetto on bass, Tim Arnold hitting the drums and Matt Austin strumming the guitar, are an underrated band that perfects the mixture of soothing emotion filled vocals and upbeat rhythms. Goodwin’s expressions while he sings are enough to make you feel as if you’re going through what he felt when he wrote the song. Finishing with a new song off of LDSEP that had an eerie, smooth sound at first, broke through with Goodwin’s passionate voice. Over all, Days Away is always a fun, energetic band to see live and they proved that by enlivening the band for a night of artists that proceeded.

To my surprise, Tooth and Nail’s Mae were up next. I had just started listening to Mae’s debut album Destination Beautiful a little over a month ago and was thrilled to discover that they were playing the show. Their relaxing, calming melodies were perfect to listen to and even better to watch performed live. Lead singer Dave Gimenez crooned to the audience with the opener “This Time is The Last Time”, which got the crowd's heads bopping along to the music, if they weren’t already singing along. Gimenez then removed his jacket as the show was about to heat up. By the time the band hit the fourth song of the set list, “Last Call”, the crowd was energized and feeling the music. Hands lined the air as guitarist Zach Gehring proceeded to climb up his amp and jump off producing a cry of cheers from the audience. By now the crowd had finally seemed to wake up and circle pits were beginning to develop carefully on the hardwood floor. The band, which consists of Jacob Marshall on the drums, Mark Padgett playing bass, Rob Sweitzer on keyboards and background vocals, Gehring on guitar and Gimenez singing and playing guitar, synchronized a magnificent jump to introduce the last song “Embers and Envelopes”. This closing song of the set was clearly the most anticipated song of the night by the audience, ending the very energetic set with one final, great tune. Mae cleverly combines hard rock riffs and soft melodies which makes for a very lively, entertaining show.

As the RX Bandits sign unrolled upon the stage, cheers were heard all around. I had only seen the Bandits once before and all I remember is that I went to that show not knowing any of their music, yet still had a blast watching them. I could tell that the same thing would occur tonight. The band, that originated in Orange County, started off their set with 2 songs that livened up the crowd and got everyone in the venue dancing and bouncing on their feet. Playing a dynamic mix of punk/ska, tunes the bandits definitely got the party started. As the band played some personal favorites including “Mastering the List” and “Analog Boy”, the crowd began to get crazy. The entire pit was jumping off their feet and crowd surfers were popping up everywhere. There were definitely a good amount of fans attending exclusively to see the Bandits. Vocalist Matthew Embree bobbled his head as he sang songs such as “Taking Chase as the Serpent Slithers” and “Consequential Apathy”. With saxophonist Steven Broth and trombonist Chris Sheets dancing along and playing their horns, concert goers all around danced and appreciated the music. Consisting of Embree singing and playing guitar, Steve Choir playing both guitar and keyboards, Broth and Sheets on the horns, Joseph Troy strumming the bass and Chris Teacakes hitting the drums, the RX Bandits played a great set, closing with “Get” off their 2001 release Progress. The band left the stage with the crowd chanting “RXB! RXB!” Their set proved to be a well appreciated performance from an awesome band.

Soon after the bandits left the stage the venue made an announcement where the fire exits were and that up next would be Something Corporate. The multitudes of girls and guys of all ages applauded and screamed the message. From then on, the excitement only grew. As the house lights finally dimmed and the band walked on to the stage, the crowd went wild. The OC natives opened with “Straw Dog” as pianist/singer Andrew McMahon ran around the stage in sandals, making sure that everyone was getting the show they came to see. The mostly female audience of course went wild for this. The band, who includes McMahon tickling the ivory as he sings, Josh Parlington and William Tell strumming the guitars, Clutch on the bass and Brian Ireland on drums, played a couple more songs off of their 2002 release Leaving Through the Window, which tantalized the ever so excited crowd and resulted in them singing along with every word as they constantly jumped in the air. Just prior to playing the first single off of their most recent album North, McMahon told the audience how he gets nervous before shows and always has to go to the bathroom. On this particular night the ceiling was rather low and when he stood up he split his head on the ceiling, yet apart from his rather recent injury he was still playing for them that night. He then wiped his shaggy blonde hair from his eyes as the band played “Space”. Fists were in the air, chanting “Hey!” during the chorus, and the crowd once again was off their feet to participate in the music. The guys then played “I Woke Up in a Car”, “21 and Invincible” and “Drunk Girl”, which was dedicated to all the adults in the back by the bar. McMahon and the band then decided to cover the Outkast song “Ms. Jackson”, which they did so wonderfully that everyone was dancing and grooving. As the band played “Punk Rawk Princess”, guitarists Parlington and Tell climbed the amps so that even the people in the balconies could get a good view as McMahon scrambled atop his piano and serenaded all the girls in the audience who wished they were his punk rock princess. I’ve always enjoyed Something Corporate music, yet I’d never seen the band perform their slower songs live. I was delighted when McMahon announced they were going to play some of their slower songs. Parlington and Tell picked up acoustic guitars as Ireland joined them to sing back up vocals, to play “Walking By” and “Wait”. By far the best moment of the show came next, when the band began to play “Konstantine”. This song, which lasts for more than ten minutes, brought shivers to my skin when it was played so perfectly and beautifully, with an enticing piano solo by McMahon. The band concluded the night by playing “If U C Jordan” and “Hurricane”, pleading the crowd to “get crazy” (which they undoubtedly did). On the whole, the show was full of great bands full of energy and a great night of talented music.

-Review by Katie Plourd