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The Trocadero opened its doors Sept. 21 to a torrent of teenagers as acts Schoolyard Heroes, Monty Are I, Amber Pacific and Sum 41 took to the stage for a night of entertaining punk rock and middle school nostalgia.
Though we arrived too late for Schoolyard Heroes, judging from the band's appearance at its merch table and the music on its MySpace, female singer Ryan Donnelly fronts a punk band with a darker, scarier edge to its sound.
Monty Are I, from Rhode Island, played its post-hardcore rock set with all the gusto of a band who wants the crowd to remember it. The group received a fairly mixed reaction, but no one could deny that Andrew Borstein doubled on the synthesizer and the trombone for the duration of the set, which was both admirable and really kick-ass. Guitarist Ryan Muir would pause from time to time to join Borstein on the trumpet, and during one interlude, lead vocalist/guitarists Steve Aiello and Muir borrowed drumsticks from Justin Muir and performed a mini-drum circle on the stage.
The most familiar numbers of the band's set included "Between the Sheets" and "Castle Bound" (which begins with a synthesized intro from Super Mario Brothers), from the 2006 CD Wall of People. Both are available on the band's MySpace. Monty Are I sound was solid and its stage presence electrifying (at one point Aiello and Ryan Muir climbed onto the stacked speakers on either ends of the stage to perform). This is definitely a band to go see when they come back to Philly.
Amber Pacific was up next, and singer Matt Young led the way through the set with a pop punk attitude and sweeping arm gestures. After commenting on the disappointing record the Eagles are currently holding, he led the crowd in a "Go Phillies!" cheer. The band's songs encouraged a lot of dancing and, surprising to both the band and the rest of the crowd, a giant circle pit. Who knew pop punk still had such influence?
With the 2007 release Truth in Sincerity and a stint on this past summer's Warped Tour, Amber Pacific has garnered a following of excitable teens that can't resist poppy turns in its songs. Older numbers like "Poetically Pathetic" mixed well with the similar sound of the new album, which includes hyped tracks like "Fall Back Into My Life" and "You're Only Young Tracks." Complicated? No. But irresistibly catchy.
And finally, the headliners; Sum 41 arrived on the stage and the crowd went berserk. Personally, I had a flashback to the 8th grade, especially when Derek Whibley insisted the crowd chant " F--k you, Derek!" in between songs. Accompanied constantly by an overabundance of expletives, the punk rock band paraded through rowdy and politically charged songs "Over My Head (Better Off Dead)" and "Still Waiting" from 2002 s Does This Look Infected?, and new numbers from 2007 release Underclass Hero like "Walking Disaster" and "Underclass Hero." Tom Thacker, who recently took over Dave Baksh's position as lead guitarist, proved that he has blended well with his new musical cohorts.
Sum 41 was good to its fans; throughout the set the band was tossing water and picks to the crowd and chose four kids to watch the show from the stage. At one point, Whibley pulled a boy from the crowd and challenged him to play his guitar. Crowd pleasers like "In Too Deep" and the encore performance of "Fat Lip" sent the Troc into a frenzy of jumping, shouting and fist pumping. Juvenile as the band's attitude may be, Sum 41 knows how to put on a fun show.
All in all, the show was definitely worth the $20. Though the crowd was littered with kids whose parents had to drop them off, it was an enjoyable way to spend a Friday. At least it was definitely more satisfying than the football game.
wagnere1@lasalle.edu
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