A line-up so nice, we had to see it twice! Forever the Sickest Kids, The Rocket Summer, Sing it Loud, My Favorite Highway, and Artist Vs. Poet played in Hollywood last night, December 3rd, at the Avalon and the night was AWESOME. I’m going to attempt to give you the scoop without ruining out HUGE feature on Saturday (December 5th in Anaheim at the House of Blues Disney) where we get to do a video interviewing Bryce Avary of The Rocket Summer! (Forever the Sickest Kids/The Rocket Summer Duel Headline Double Feature Part II)

Did Artist Vs. Poet go on first? We walked into the venue while My Favorite Highway was setting up and sound-checking. I’d heard their name around the “Myspace scene” and was interested to see if they could bring it. They opened with a cover of “Gonna be a Good Night” by the Black Eyed Peas and transitioned to some of their own lyrics. The Taylor-Hansen-esque vocalist David Cook dominated the frontman formula with guitar, keys, the mic, and occasionally singing from atop his piano stool (not simultaneously, of course). Their guitar riffs and big bass pop-rock breakdowns fall into the category of Boys Like Girls and Sing it Loud while one of their heavily piano-based songs seemed to be influenced by a band on the very same tour, The Rocket Summer. Alex DeLeon of The Cab came on stage to sing a song with them and they closed with a sweet The-Fray-like song, “Bigger Than Love.” The only question I have left… which highway is their favorite?

Sing it Loud opened with “Best Beating Heart” and the first thing that caught my attention was the bassist’s unbuttoned shirt revealing his skinny white hipster bod. Bet all the teen ladies were lovin’ that! Each band member seemed to be donning a different style – rocker, emo, surfer, hipster… the keyboardist was even wearing a hip-hop looking hat. Appealing to every crowd! I was pretty impressed with their attitude about the show, though. Lead vocalist Pat Brown explained that their trailer had broken down four times, but instead of canceling the show, they borrowed gear from the other bands and crashed with Artist Vs. Poet. The band broke into “I’ve Got a Feeling” and the crowd went NUTS! They closed out with “No One Can Touch” and “Come Around” – their power pop teen love anthems. Awh how cute!

The moment all of us (or about half of us, to be exact) had been waiting for! The stage was adorned with lamps that read “Hurt” “Hope” “Triumph” “Failure” “Faith” …and one other I can’t remember… and Bryce took the stage starting with the drum kit and looping drums, the piano, then the bass, and finally the guitar and then busted into “Break It Out.” In order to save some surprises for Saturday’s review I’ll just give you the low down: there were a group of kids in the middle of the venue jumping up and down, dancing, and singing along to every song. The first break between songs Bryce says, “It feels like a house party in here!” Frontman and mastermind of The Rocket Summer, Bryce Avary, sings his heart out on every song and in a way that lets you know he means every word from the feel-good power pop of “Brat Pack” (to which EVERYONE sang along) to the Jesus-centered ballads “Save” and “In This Hour.” He played my favorite off the new EP You Gotta Believe “Hills and Valleys” and his new single, the title track for which David Cook (or was it Will Cook?) of My Favorite Highway sung support vocals. I’m saving the acoustic track as a secret in case you plan on going to Saturday’s show, but let me tell you it’s a good one. As always, it was an amazing performance for The Rocket Summer. As always, I wish it was longer and they had played older songs.

Dancing on stage to a school bell and announcements of detention, the Forever the Sickest Kids crew jammed out one power pop dance track after another: “Believe Me, I’m Lying,” “Catastrophe,” “Hey Britney” “The Way She Moves” and a ton more off their full-length Under Dog Alma Mater. They also played a few from their very recently released EP Friday like “She Likes (Bittersweet Love)” and “Hip Hop Girl.” The new songs sounded awesome, had a great beat, and were even a little more hip-hop than their previous tracks have been. Even for the new songs that a lot of the crowd didn’t know, everyone was bouncing, head-banging, moshing, and full on grooving. There was never a still moment from the crowd. Lead vocalist Jonathan Cook proclaimed, “Hollywood has been baptized by rhythym!” The guys on stage were gettin’ their groove on as well—keyboardist Kent Garrison was gettin’ freaky at the keyboard, Jonathan took to acting out the lyrics of the songs, and Austin was head-banging. To close the show, Selena Gomez, a close friend of Jonathan Cook, joined the sextet on stage to sing backup on “Whoa Oh,” the first single off UDAM. The kids went wild and there was no way anyone in that venue was standing still.

The night was full of good beats, catchy powerpop riffs, and lots of dancing. The crowd had a ton of energy and all the bands fed off it, making the whole night awesome.

…Can’t wait to do it again tomorrow 😉