The Starting Line / Mae / Days Away

live in Allentown (2003)

As the winter weather dropped another 3 inches of snow and ice onto the east coast of Pennsylvania, many thought that this show wasn't going to happen. We got there about 40 minutes later then we thought we would because of all the snow and ice, it was a really bad driving experience. The temp outside was probably around 5 degrees. But, it was all worth it. To be packed into a tiny club, with the bands 3 feet from you. One of the best performances i've ever seen.

Hidden In Plain View was the first band to take the stage. These guys are probably the most underated bands around. You will hear about these guys that hail from NJ real soon. A major label will snatch these guys up in no time. The kids went nuts for them, eventually knocking down the guardrail in the front. They have a huge following in Allentown and it was shown by half the crowd singing along. Check them out at Hiddeninplainview.com, they made many new fans.

Days Away were next. The crowd didn't really recieve them too well. You think Philly is tough? At the Saves The Day show Kind of Like Spitting was booed off stage. These kids know what they want. They played a good set. Kenny from TSL came out and sang along to the last song to get the crowd more hyped up. And that was about it.

Mae was next. Mae played an excellent set. After never seeing them or hearing them before I thought that these guys from Virgina, on tooth and nail records, played excellent. More kids in the crowd sang along and were dancing. Mae was very excited to be playing with The Starting Line, they jumped off their tour to come play this show and they did very well. I also recommend checking these guys out. Kenny was in the crowd for most of Mae's set talking to the fans. It seemed like Kenny was at home, he walked around like he was with a big family which, I thought, was unbelievable.

The Starting Line was next. The highlight of the evening. They played everything and anything. The crowd was jumping so much I thought that the floor was going to fall through. I've never seen so much energy from the band and the crowd, it was an amazing site. Kenny repeatedly said that this has to be "one of the best shows we've ever played". He then jumped off the stage, guitar and all, into the crowd which reminded me of seeing AFI live with Davey in the crowd (although i'll probably get a lot of "how can you compare TSL to AFI, but you know). After they played almost everything off both their cd's, the band left the stage, and kenny came out alone for an encore. He played a song from their upcoming acoustic cd. The band then took the stage again, and ended the encore with Decsions, Decsions, and 3's a charm.

After being on TSL message board, The unofficial Starting Line page, and talking to the band, this show was probably the best they've ever played. And the best set i've seen from a live band ever.