A review of We The Kings and The Maine performance on April 11th can be seen in the replies.
April 11, 2010 – Rocketown, TN
We The Kings, The Maine, Cartel, Artist Vs. Poet, Stereo Skyline
By: Faith Draayom
Sunday night was the official kick-off to the We The Kings, The Maine, Cartel, Artist Vs. Poet, Stereo Skyline tour and I was lucky enough to witness quite an amazing night of music. I’d seen all the bands play before, but seeing them all play together in one night had me excited for quite awhile.
Stereo Skyline opened the night with an energetic explosion of pop rock. Though I could tell that a lot of the crowd didn’t know their music, they weren’t letting that hold them back. Lead singer Kevin Bard really got the crowd to participate, and by the end of their set, the crowd was going nuts. If you’re not familiar with this band, and you love solid power pop, you really need to check them out.
The next band to take the stage was pop rock quintet Artist Vs. Poet. I’d seen this band a few times before, but everytime was in a small setting. I was very excited to see them perform to a larger crowd, and they definitely didn’t disappoint. All of the guys looked like they were having the time of their lives up on stage and the crowd definitely pulled from their vibe.
The third band of the night was Cartel. Cartel were definitely the veterans of the tour when it comes to putting on a live show. They had everything down to a science. Lead vocalist, Will Pugh, sounded absolutely flawless as he ran around stage, spreading amazing energy throughout the room. Their set was full of Cartel classics like Say Anything (Else) and Honestly, but was also pumped with new favorites like Let’s Go and Deep South.
The Maine was the forth band to set foot on stage, and boy did they make a commotion when they did so. This is the first tour The Maine has done since completing their sophomore album that has yet to be released. I was most excited to see this band, simply because they’d been in the studio for so long. Their set was full of favorites from their first album, Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop, along with a new song called Right Girl. If the new song is any indication of what the rest of the new album is going to be like, The Maine fans have a lot to look forward to.
We The Kings wrapped up the evening with a very solid set. Every time I’ve seen We The Kings, I haven’t been let down. They have so much energy and the crowd is always stoked to see them. Travis Clark, the band’s quirky red-headed front man, really knows how to excite the crowd with his goofy stories and off the wall jokes. Their set was a perfect mix of their old material from their self-titled and their most recent release, Smile Kid. I highly recommend going to one of the shows on this tour if it comes to a city near you.
