Straight Up Random

Concert Review: Boys Like Girls Headlining Summer ‘09 Tour

When: June 24, 2009

Where: Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ Culture Room

The Review:Boys Like Girls is back people, and they brought along two bands this summer as they trek the states to remind fans what they are all about. It was obvious that fans in Ft. Lauderdale that night hadn’t forgotten about them as a huge line formed and wrapped around the venue (Culture Room) in anticipation to see not only Boys Like Girls, but NeverShoutNever, and The Ready Set as well.

Once the doors opened at seven o’ clock, people began pouring into the venue and were squished into it like a can of packed sardines. The Culture room is a completely different setting than their ’08 summer trek on “The Soundtrack to My Summer Tour.” Not nearly as big as Mizner Park Amphitheatre (which is where they played last summer), the Culture Room is nearly a club venue, hence why the show easily sold-out.

The first band to take the stage was The Ready Set, and they were the band that I was completely shocked by. I had a previous notion of them which was a) being a one-person band who was riding off the success of acts like NeverShoutNever and b) being one of those neon-colored electronica singers. But instead, I was pleasantly surprised by their fun performance and poppy music. The only thing bright or close to neon about the band was the rave-lights that they used for their set. The Ready Set is also a full band – not just Jordan Witzigreuter, and his Macbook (as one fan previously told me she had thought).

The crowd, which was comprised of mostly teenage girls and teeney boppers who were accompanied by their parents, were instantly hooked on the tunes that The Ready Set played, and I have to admit, their songs are too darn catchy to pass up.

NeverShoutNever came on the stage next, and honestly they are a band who I only care to see once live, but have managed to seen them twice. There’s nothing about his performance that’s great, yet all the girls eat him up. No special lighting equipment, no fancy backdrop, just him and the band churning out tunes and making the girls swoon. When he got up on stage and started singing, the entire audience (besides maybe me and the parents) sang along with him and it felt like Bamboozle Roadshow all over again (read the part of my Bamboozle Roadshow review about NeverShoutNever and you’ll understand what I mean).

Finally, the headlining band came on – Boys Like Girls. They put on an unforgettable performance and are one of the best bands live I have ever seen by a long shot! They are definitely professionals because they know how to sing every note flawlessly, interact with crowd (both the girls AND the guys) and know how to get the audience moving. At one point during the set, singer Martin Johnson sat on the edge of the stage with his guitar and started talking to the audience, thanking them for still caring about the band and sticking with them as they were recording their new album Love Drunk. They played two new songs from Love Drunk that night and the crowd seemed to be really into them.

During their set, they never once forgot about the audience that was on the second tier of the venue (located only on the right side of the stage) and Johnson positioned his microphone toward them during one of the songs as if he was singing directly to them. The look on the crowds face was priceless as their eyes got huge and sang along to every line of their song with him.

By now I’m sure Boys Like Girls have come to terms with themselves that they’re a pop/rock band and their fans are mostly girls, but that night, they decided to act “punk” by pointing to the guys of the room and telling them to start a circle pit in the middle of the crowd. “I bet none of you teeneys have ever seen this before, this is some punk rock sh*t,” singer Johnson proclaimed. Then the band continued their song and a mosh pit started right in the middle of the crowd. I would have never expected that in a million years at a Boys Like Girls concert, but it happened, and it was great!

Boys Like Girls played what seemed to be their last song of the evening “Heels Over Head,” and left the stage, but the crowd chanted “one more song,” as a way to communicate with them to come back on stage. It was obvious that when they came back that they’d play their most popular song “The Great Escape” due to the fact that they left it out of their set all night. What was to come next no one expected.

A little over half-way into the song and Johnson jumped up on the speakers that provided easy access for him to go onto the second tier of the venue and all the fans on the second floor went bizerk. He made his way to toward the stairs and went into the crowd that was on the floor of the venue, all the while, as the fans were holding him up, he was singing “The Great Escape.” He then crowd-surfed his way toward the stage (although at one point the crowd almost dropped him. Think about, little girls aren’t that stong.), and the security guard helped him back up onto the stage. The rest of the band finished out the song instrumentally and they ended the night by throwing drumsticks, picks, and water-bottles into the crowd.

That night, I know for a fact that everyone went home with a big smile on their face. Three bands, one night, and unforgettable memories make for an awesome show. When this tour rolls into your town this summer, be sure not to miss out on all the excitement, and just remember one thing – Boys Like Girls are back and ready to rock your face off!