All-American Rejects Concert Review

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The lead singer of the All-American Rejects spit the closing lyrics to their first song, “Listen now just try and see me please don't leave me now.” Don’t worry. Everyone came to The Norva to see you, they’re not going anywhere.

The show opened with punk-rock snoozer Flashlight Brown, who did their best to get the crowd going with their generic styling. One of the guys in the audience put it best, saying “These guys would have been huge… Five years ago!” No point could hit closer to home, as Flashlight Brown definitely sounds like every run-of-the-mill band during the Green Day era. At least at the time the vocals seemed acceptable, but by the pop/punk/emo standards of today, their lead and backup guys were simply laughable. Not to be totally negative, the guys in the band are really down to earth and cool. They seemed to enjoy their stay in Norfolk, especially the accommodations the Norva provides. You can read all about it, and even see a snipet of footage at their homepage.

It was after Flashlight left the stage and the next band began to set up that the crowd realized the fun was about to start. It’s always a good sign at a show when you’re having fun with watching a band get all their stuff prepared. Normally an annoying portion of the show, the members of Motion City Soundtrack kept it light and comical during their sound check. Many in the crowd stared at the odd instrument included on the stage, known to the few of us that had heard MCS previously as the moog. It adds such a unique element to not only their sound, but their stage performance. MCS would go onto rock the Norva hard, as many later said that they stole the show. Fans of the Rejects will definitely dig their sound, they could best be likened to a mixture of said band and The Anniversary. They were recently signed by Epitaph, and have a full length coming out in June. They have a split-ep out with Schlitz, and it is a worthy purchase to tide one over until the album this summer.

Before A-AR hit the stage, I hit the merchandise table. I was lucky enough to meet the members of Motion City and tell them how much they owned everyone in the building. The guys were great as well, and as a theme for the night, they seemed to be enjoying The Norva. By all means, go and read their own glowing review of the show at their official site.

Before I go into glowing praise for the Rejects set, just let me get the bitterness out of the way. I hate the song “Don’t Leave Me” (track 7 on the CD), so of course, they opened with it. Though I hate it, at least I could finish my chat up with the MCS crew before heading back to the hard wood dance floor. The song finished, and then (at least for me) their performance began. For reference of those going to future A-AR shows, they do use some drum and effect tracks from the album during their live performance. Some of the more “hardcore” purists hate this, but I find it a huge bonus. Much of the music from the album uses nice effects that cannot be pulled off with a guitar, bass, or drums simply because those instruments do not make the proper noises of a piano or triangle or whatever other odd occurrence takes place. Just thought we’d get that out of the way. Much to the audience’s pleasure, they played every song from the album, one so fresh that it left no room for new songs. They left stage without playing the radio hit “Swing, Swing,” so an encore was imminent. The guys returned to the stage to play that song and then finish up their time with us with “The Last Song.” Anyone who knows me knows this is the reason I fell in love with the Rejects, so it was a perfect ending to an emotionally driven set.

All in all, the show was one of the better I’ve seen. Sure, Flashlight Brown bored me to tears at the beginning, but it was all uphill from there. What a climb it was, with a band fighting to be my new favorite in MCS, followed by a sing-a-long of Dashboard proportions with the All-American Rejects. I’d highly recommend going to see either band live, and picked up the Motion City album when it hits the streets. If you don’t, may Flashlight Brown rock ‘n roll in your dreams (or nightmares…) for the rest of time.

8.5 / 10
- Flashlight Brown… ‘nuff said.
- No stagedive? What kind of show is this?
- I wanna use the Norva hot tub too!
+ Flashlight Brown left the stage.
+ MCS… ‘nuff said.
+ “The Last Song”