By snoadmin
Pop-rock bands We the Kings, Mayday Parade, A Rocket to the Moon, There For Tomorrow and A Stereo Skyline played to a sold-out crowd at the Anaheim House of Blues on Saturday in support of the Sub City Take Action Tour.
The Take Action Tour is known for its support with nonprofit organizations. This year they chose to assist Driving for Donors.
As Maika Maile, vocalist of There For Tomorrow, described, “It’s a fight against bone marrow cancer, leukemia and all those other shitty things.”
Ten percent of each ticket purchased went directly to the organization. Among other ways to contribute, attendees were encouraged to sign up to be bone marrow donors.
The night kicked off with A Stereo Skyline, who sounded like a cheaper, blonder version of The Jonas Brothers. The amount of peroxide that colored their hair to make them all look identical wasn’t enough compensation for their annoying and childish sound. It was questionable whether the band had experienced puberty but when lead vocalist Kevin Bard’s voice squeaked, it was apparent that they had reached the point of becoming young men.
The only thing really positive to say about this group was that the venue at Downtown Disney was appropriate for their Jonas sound and, thankfully, their set was short.
There For Tomorrow set up their own equipment on stage, proving that they have a down-to-earth quality. Their harder sound and good looks energized the crowd, but their performance was easily forgettable as it was bland and their sound wasn’t very unique.
A Rocket to the Moon opened their set with Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire,” which jumped into the band’s hit “Dakota.” The venue was filled with the voices of fans who sang along with singer Nick Santino. The set was graced with surprise guests, including Brian Dales of The Summer Set and Eye Alaska’s Brandon Wronski, who seemed shy to get on stage and only went on when he was encouraged by Santino.
Mayday Parade got the audience to dance and sing along to songs from their “Anywhere But Here” and “A Lesson In Romantics” albums. As they stood on platforms and a brightly-lit stage, their performance was poppy and energetic. Vocalist Derek Sanders slowed things down when he performed the acoustic ballad, “I Swear This Time I Mean It.” The song had the entire audience singing along, hoping that their “voices could get it right,” to quote the song.
The lights dimmed for what seemed a long time as the stage was being set up for the headliners of the night, We The Kings. When the quilted curtain of The House of Blues finally went down, a white curtain took its place as bright lights shined on stage to reveal silhouettes of the Florida pop-rock band.
When the white curtain fell, the band was revealed with vocalist Travis Clark flashing his famous big, red hair and wearing a suit jacket similar to a marching band uniform. After the first song, however, Clark took off his jacket to proudly display something that made the audience burst into laughter: an NSYNC shirt.
Highlights of We the King’s set included Clark’s piano rendition of their ballad “All Again For You,” which had the audience singing along. Clark acknowledged the bright voices in the room and said some of the audience members should try out for American Idol.
The group also performed “We’ll Be a Dream,” a song they recorded with Disney star Demi Lovato. However, the song sounded as though it was missing something as Lovato was absent from the performance.
Hilarity ensued when Clark told the audience about an encounter he had with a gangster in the ghetto of Atlanta. He talked about how the gangster recognized him as a rock star and Clark felt like his life was on the line, so to save himself he said he was from Fall Out Boy. He also put up the We the Kings gang sign, which was hands forming the shape of a “w.” That led the band to play their “twisted,” yet optimistic, song “The Story of Your Life.”
The band ended their set with their “sexiest song,” as Clark put it. “Secret Valentine” had the audience dancing, singing and jumping in unison. At the end of the song, Clark acted as if he were a choir director and had the audience sing the rest of the song a capella as the band walked off. The exit was memorable as the audience was left wanting more, raising their voices with each note they sung, hoping the band would come back out on stage.
Luckily, the band did come back for an encore of performance of their hits “Heaven Can Wait” and “Check Yes, Juliet,” complete with confetti falling into the audience.
Overall, the night turned out to be a huge success both musically as well as an accomplishment for Driving For Donors.
Those interested in registering as a bone marrow donor can visit drivingfordonors.com.
