Show Review

I've had Home Grown's CD now for about two weeks and let me tell you I have seriously listened it through at least once a day. The first day I got it, I listened through it about 5 times and I just can't get enough. It is incredible.

You can only imagine, then, how excited I was to be able to see them with Yellowcard, who also carry a high priority on my playlist. Allister was also playing, and I must admit I am not really too into their fast punk rock sound but I am anxious to see what their new stuff sounds like.

I missed them (Allister), unfortunately; traffic was bad. But I caught their last tune, something about "don't turn the radio down cause it's playing my favorite songs" is what I remember the crowd singing along to. Not bad, but I can't really give an opinion off of the end of their closing song.

Some local band took the stage and I think we all just wanted to see YC/HG. They finally got off and Yellowcard took hold of the stage. One word: amazing.

They played a set very similar to the one I saw about a month ago or so, opening with "Drifting." They did a lot of different stuff though, which was incredible; they played two different songs from their EP. They weren't "Underdog" or "Powder," either; two brand new ones. Again, incredible stuff. I was astounded to hear their guitarist/vocalist Ryan play "Cigarette" by himself and have the rest of the band join him on the stage in the middle of their set. That dude is one talented guy, as is the rest of their band; their stage energy and charisma was incredible. The crowd just couldn't get enough.

After the most excellent Yellowcard set, Home Grown took the stage and kicked serious ass. They opened with a silly song, "Barbie Girl," and rocked quite hard. The crowd got really into it, and most of the kids were singing along on almost every single song. They played a wide variety of tunes, spanning all their releases except the Limbeck split (Phone Home EP, That's Business LP, Act Your Age LP). I was amazed to hear "Suffer" performed, as it's my fave song by them (haven't decided on any specific song on Kings of Pop). They also played "Surfer Girl," of course, and some kid sang along for a lot of the song on it. John and Adam switched instruments on that one, and after a couple songs the drummer and John switched and the bass player messed around a little bit, playing along with Adam (while Adam was on guitar). You had to be there, but it was incredible to see how talented the guys were; they all know what they're doing.

John and Adam were especially hilarious. They cracked all sorts of racial jokes and added a definite flavor to the stage. All the kids thought the band was hilarious I think, and they were really intimate with the fans. Kids falling onto the stage slapped Adam's ass at his request. It was hilarious.

The only disappointment I have if any, is that HG didn't play too much new material. That makes sense, considering basically no one has heard the new record yet. I don't know how much the kids would've gotten into it if it was all new songs. After listening to the new LP so much, it's hard to imagine a world without it. So definitely check these guys out, on this tour or not, because in any case you are going to get rocked. Hard.

review by Andrew Martin