I am still at odds over how I felt about this show, it was no doubt entertaining, but I think these bands really lack in the integrity area. Punk Rock is now a commodity, and it can be bought in a neat package at every mall. I am not putting Midtown into this category, because they aren�t trying to be anything nevermind something they are not. Nevertheless, this was a good time show, but I think to enjoy it you�d have to be under the age of 15.
Local heroes, tHrOnE, opened the night. Their set was blistering and the kids loved them. They are absolutely electric on stage, but they seem to be a very �rehearsed� act. They are simply a rock band, but I think they got lost somewhere in 1994. Their brand of music is simply outdated, though very good. This is all just personal however; the crowd couldn�t get enough of them. I just think considering the �pop-punk� nature of this show, a local punk band like Grover Dill, Endless Mike or Two Hour Shower would have suited the show much better.
Midtown was a lot of fun. They always are, but they were a little crazy tonight. Let us just say, �pelvis thrusting� and leave it at that. Coming out and starting off with �Just Rock and Roll� was a brilliant move. The song starts out as just vocals stating, �God, I wish I could hate you for the rest of my�� Midtown are one of those bands that are trendy right now, but unlike their cohorts, will actually last. Upon speaking with Tyler, he told me that as it was the last night of this tour, things would be crazy. He did want to be quoted as saying however �These are two of the bands in the world that I don�t hate�. I have to question him on that however.
Mest are truly a talented band musicianship-wise. I�m still not sure of them though. They are energetic and funny, but so generic. Pranks were already underway during their set for the last night of the tour. The thing that irked me about Mest was that the played their smash hit, �What�s the Dillio?� before coming on stage, and then never played it. Considering they aren�t exactly Nirvana refusing to play �Smells like Teen Spirit�; it seemed a little odd. The crowd was even more pumped for Mest. It wasn�t even safe to be down by the stage, which made me feel at the very least, OLD! The audience was a sea of shimmering braces and �Hot Topic� clothing. I had no place being there.
Needless to say, though I am old and jaded, I did notice these kids wanted one thing, Good Charlotte. Everyone at this concert was wearing a Good Charlotte shirt, which to me, was always integral suicide to wear the shirt of the band you are going to see! Good Charlotte did rock the Webster. The pranks were ready to rumble, and soon Benji and Joel, the twin brothers who lead the band, were covered in salsa, cake and god knows what else. Benji ended up with an official �Mest Hat�. All good fun. The crowd sang louder than the band during their hit, �Motivation Proclamation�. They had the Mest boys come out to do their tribute that was also recorded with Goldfinger, entitled, �The Innocent�. That was a sentimental moment for the audience, and gave them a sense of credibility, but still, something was missing. Maybe it�s the fact that Benji dons a Casualties shirt playing in a band that is more reminiscent of Sugar Ray than the Casualties. I had the pleasure of meeting him before, and I have a picture of him with this Johnny Rotten sneer on his face, it is all so confusing.
It was nice to hear how much they love Hartford. I guess since they played the 104 Fest, they wanted to end their tour here. That�s always nice to hear, since Hartford is usually skipped over.
Good show, lots of fun, tons of energy, I�d still rather see Ben Folds play the intro to �Brick� for 15 minutes.
