It takes an interesting concert line-up to get me out to a show the night before a midterm. As un-punk as this may make me sound, I actually do care about doing well in my Mass Comm class. However, this line-up definitely intrigued me. I wanted to see how the All-American Rejects held up live, and it couldn't hurt any to see the Riddlin Kids again, as they've been excellent live every time I've seen them.

Arriving at the venue, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that Wakefield was moved from opening band to next-to-last, playing only before headliner Homegrown. This worked out well for me, as I really had no interest in seeing either of those bands. Anyway, first up were the All-American Rejects. I had heard some of their stuff on the computer, so I was wondering how it would sound live. They were very good, with an energetic performance and crowd interaction. I was wondering what they would do for the little electronic intros and fills on the record; it turns out they just brought a synth with them on stage to play those parts. Highlights of the set were "Swing Swing," which had the entire crowd singing along, as well as "Happy Endings" and "Last Song." Dissappointingly, they didn't play "Too Far Gone" or "Drive Away," but there's always next time. Overall, an energetic, very fun set, and I'll definitely try to catch them the next time they come to town.

Next onstage were the Riddlin Kids. As soon as they got on, they burst right into "See The Light," and didn't look back from there. This was probably the best RK set I've ever seen. The crowd was responding very well, and the band was glib as usual, joking around between songs and jumping around while playing. For "Crazy," the bassist of Wakefield came onstage, so RK singer Clint could bring the mic into the crowd. No REM cover to close the set this time, but it didn't matter as the closing "Blind" was just as good. Very very fun set.

Following that, I headed home to get back to the books. I was completely satisfied with the show. I'd recommend catching the All-American Rejects or the Riddlin Kids live, if you like pop-punk shows with plenty of pogo-ing and crowd-singalongs. As well, I'd recommend Wakefield if you like Good Charlotte, and I'd recommend Homegrown if you like bands that have been playing the same "Barbie Girl" cover for five years.