This was a sold out show, which was hard to believe when I arrived because there were only a handful of people outside. Unfortunately, this shows to me a lack of interest or possibly just knowledge of the opening acts.
And the opener: the still unheard of Rocky Votolato, formerly of Waxwing. He's so unheard of, his merch is still handmade. You can get a homemade wristband or fleece scarf, and none of them are the same. The fashion conscious hipsters can put their worries to rest with this merch. But to the music: I fell in love with his music a couple of years ago, and have made every effort to make it to most of the his appearences, but as far as everyone else is concerned, he's having trouble getting his name out. I could simply say he is a short guy with a guitar and a harmonica. My closest, although very bad comparison is Dashboard Confessional sans band and with more mature lyrics. His guitar playing is more intricate than Chris Carabba's as well. If you're even remotely into this kind of simple music, I say get your butt to the show early and catch this act.
By the time Recover went on, the venue was at least half full, with people continuing to roll in. I don't know much about Recover to give you a decent in depth detailed review. Recover is another one of those bands where if they haven't already, will soon be on the cover of AP Mag. They're not big yet, but seem to me like the kind of band that will be big next year because that's just the kind of music they are. Sort of like Brand Who? in 2002, Brand New in 2003. I wasn't into Recover, but a good sized group was. They were definitely the sore thumb in the line up though because they were just a little too fast for Rocky and a little too rough for The Get Up Kids. They just barely make it into this genre.
The Get Up Kids are one of those bands that tries the differnt sounds, hit it with some fans, lose it with others but can please everyone with their pop. After 2002's iffy (yet good) On a Wire, the Get Up Kids may be back in their game with Guilt Show. It's much more upbeat than Wire. The Get Up Kids have a sizeable discography but the CD that seems to remain on top with the crowd was "Something to Write Home About", as the majority of song titles screamed out were from that album. There were some kids though that thought they were being funny or cool be knowing and screaming out GUK side projects.
Band frontman Matthew Pryor showed his respect for the venue by reminding the crowd to behave. I applaud him for taking charge of the crowd rather than leaving it to the venue employees. It says a lot about the manners of the band. The band played a great set and the thing I liked best was that they played a little something from pretty much every CD they have (excluding compilations). Some of the songs played (in no particular order): I'm a Loner Dottie, A Rebel, Anne Arbour, Mass Pike, Red Letter Day, I'll Catch you, Action & Action, Paul Westerburg's Beer For Breakfast, and of course a few songs off the newly released Guilt Show. The show ended on 3 song encore with the last song being 10 Minutes.
The performaces of the bands were well worth my time, I have nothing hateful to say about this show and for that, I would recommend this show to you.