Reggie and the Full Effect / Midtown

live in Chicago (2003)

Katie

Saturday night at the House of Blues Chicago- Reggie and the Full Effect, Midtown, My Chemical Romance, and Moneen. Needless to say this was an energetic crowd, consisting of mainly younger kids in the prime of their high school years. Although I am only 19, I felt like I was on the older end of the crowd.

After Alkaline Trio's "Good Mourning" rang through the speakers in it's entirety and then some, fellow Vagrant band Moneen took the stage, one of the highlights of the night for me. Moneen came out and rocked out hard. They started their set with "Nothing Says I Love You like a Set of Broken Legs", and moved straight into their title track off their new album, "Are We Really Happy With Who We Are Right Now?" For those of you who are not familiar with Moneen, they are a fun band. They play their hearts out on stage. I would compare their sound to that of Taking Back Sunday, however, with a little more flare. My only problem with Moneen, their set only consisted of four songs. They wrapped up the show with "Start Angry . . . End Mad" and "The Passing of America".

I have to say, I don't think I have ever been to a show where I have seen so many kids wearing the shirt of a band playing as I did that night with My Chemical Romance. It seemed every other kid was wearing a MCR shirt and covered in sweat from dancing in the pit. I don't think it is and exaggeration to say that My Chemical Romance was close to, if not, the favorite of the night. Bursting with emotion Gerard came out on stage and took control of the venue. He had the attention of everyone at the show, and spoke to them with his lyrics. His emotions were reciprocated by the energy and sing-a-long from the crowd. MCR played two new songs during their set that sound pretty promising. Their new album, which they are currently working on as they are on and off tour, should have some impressive new material. My favorite of the night was "Vampires Will Never Hurt You". As the band ended their set, Gerard let the crowd know that the band had some important news to share with their fans, and if they were at all interested check the band's website that night to see what he was talking about. For those of you who have not heard the news, head over there and check it out.

Surprisingly enough, much of the energy was lost when Midtown began to play. It may have had something to do with the vocals sounding weak (this being a technical problem). But once things began to run smoothly, kids started warming up to the guys in Midtown. Since their show last year at the Metro, I think Midtown has lost some of the support Chicago has previously given them. I am not too sure why, I found myself singing along to the majority of their set and having a good time. But I can't speak for everyone at the show; I heard some booing as Midtown continued to play. Their set was mainly songs from Living Well is the Best Revenge, however, the crowd favorite was "Just Rock'n'Roll" off of Save the World, Lose the Girl. Overall I had a good time during their set, but it was nothing mind blowing.

And finally, the band of the night, Reggie and the Full Effect. This night marked my first time seeing Reggie. I have heard so much hype about their live show. Maybe I was going into it with too high of expectations, but they really didn't do the trick for me. But we are all entitled to our own opinions, and I think I am in the minority with mine. Reggie had a huge welcome from their fans and came out in their trademark attire and face paint, consisting of bright red suits, black ties, black wigs, and red face paint. These guys were having fun onstage, and Gerard from MCR joined in on the fun dressed in a bear suit. Reggie had a seemingly long set, and over the course of it, the temperature in the House of Blues rose considerably. As far as their set list, I am not going to be too much of help, but they did play a lot of songs off their newest album. The most audience participation was during their song "F-O-O-D" which had me singing and dancing a little myself.

Overall this was a fun rock show, nothing too heavy, or too light. I think the line up of bands was a good mix, enough to keep you grounded for the night, but still have fun.