I arrived at this show just as the doors were about to open, which I regret, because I had to sit through some pretty terrible opening bands.

First up were Wanted Dead from Chunksaah Records (the Bouncing Souls' Record Label). Early in their set their singer said, "Fuck this world. It means shit." Or something to that nature. That remark pretty much summed up how intelligent and imaginative their music was. They were your typical three chord, fuck everything, punk band that offered nothing that I hadn't heard or seen before. I found them very ordinary and uninspired as did the rest of the crowd, which was at a complete stand still.

Next up was Mike V and the Rats. From the name I expected a rockabilly band to play but I was wrong. I would have been lucky if a rockabilly band played, anything would have been better than Mike V and the Rats. Their guitar player looked like he belonged in ZZ Top. Their music was pretty much really bad and slow oldschool punk. Their front man, Mike V, tried desperately to look and sound like Henry Rollins and failed miserably. If there was one word to describe this band it would be "disaster."

Next up was Western Waste who had the sound that any other band would have if they were signed to Vans records. Its the typical Pennywise and Deviates brand of punk that makes all the bros aroud here turn their trucker caps sideways and scream their poor little hearts out. Their set offered nothing special and I was pretty bored through the whole thing. I was amazed/disgusted that their drummer was brave enough to take off his shirt even though he had breasts and back hair.

I was beginning to wonder who booked the support for this show because so far none of them seemed to fit in with Death By Stereo's sound at all. Welcome To Your Life, turned things around a bit. As they started to play, the crowd started to show signs of life, and a decent pit finally broke out. I wasn't really into Welcome To Your Life's brand of Metalcore, but they were a breath of fresh air compared to the bands that preceded them. They sounded kind of like Atreyu. Growling over metal riffs with the occasional sing along part. The crowd seemed to really like them and they did a good job of warming the crowd up for the almighty Death By Stereo.

After a few technical problems that their brand new guitar player had, Death By Stereo exploded into "Sticks and Bones," and total anarchy ensued. This show had stage dives galore. People were jumping all over the place, even off of the balcony and PA system. The pit was in a constant balance between a circle pit and a hardcore dancing pit, mirroring Death By Stereo's use of Hardcore and Punk influences. They played three songs off of the new record and they were amazing. The first was a diatribe against Child Molesting Priests called, "Shhh, It'll Be Our Little Secret." I didn't catch the name of the next song, but it was a very angry song about fashion core kids in the scene. The last new song they played was, "Wasted Words," their track on Punk O Rama 7. Efrem was throwing out ugly hats with Death By Stereo stickers on them, Hulk Hogan records disguised as the new album, and blowing on air horns the whole night. He jumped into the crowd numerous times during the show and started his own pit. As for their set they played a good amount off of both records. I could be forgetting a few songs, but they played, "Sticks and Bones," "Sing Along With The Patriotic Punks," "No Cuts, No Butts, No Coconuts," "Emo Holocaust," "Hippie Holocaust," "Looking Out For #1," "Turn the Page," "No Shirt, No Shoes, No Salvation," "Desperation Train," "Getting it Off My Chest," "Holding $60...," and "High School was like Boot Camp for a Desk Job."

Overall, they put on a great show with some killer energy. I can't wait for the new record to come out so I can see them again.