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I overslept, so I rushed to the show, late as hell. I arrived at some point during Karate High School's set disoriented, still tired, wishing I had worn a hat and in desperate need of a breath mint.
I was still out of it and waiting to interview Foxy Shazam, but I liked what I got out of Karate High School's set. The singer was using a crutch because he had broken his ankle, but he surprisingly didn't let that stop him from (slowly) moving around on stage. He had a lot of charisma and some good between song banter, including telling a great story about joining the wheelchair club with a girl eating a chicken nugget at Disney Land and interacting with the crowd, especially with a kid named Tom that he gave an inspirational speech to before their last song.
The songs were keyboard driven melodic rock songs with a lot of energy. They were catchy as hell, had some great hooks and good stage presence. The small but attentive crowd really seemed to be into, especially a couple that I saw dancing together wildly. I guess they bring that out of people.
I was watching the Celtics game in between bands, which was good for awhile, until someone started smoking pot. I don't care if people smoke pot or not; I just can't stand the smell of it. I decided to walk closer to the stage, and was misted with a totally different smell: a mixture between a stripper working her thing and breaking a sweat and a crusty punk kid. I'm still not sure how I feel about the smell. It was quite unique.
I was surprised that the singer of Foxy Shazam had such a small talking voice, especially since his sing and scream are so strong, matching his on stage energy, which had him disco dancing at one point, and I don't think he stood still at all.
The band matched him energy wise, making them a fuck of a lot of fun to watch. The keyboard player had some Jerry Lee Lewis in him, standing up while playing and playing with his feet. The guitarist and bassist were in their own grooves, rocking out when it was necessary. Even the drummer looked like he was dancing while he played.
While their music is all over the place, stylistically wise, they threw some extra little treats into their live set, including some extra music intros and some acapella and/or spoken word in between songs. Their actual songs were tight as hell, even more energetic and fun than they are on CD. They are a band who were both visually and audibly stimulating; a band that will be playing for a lot more people (in a headlining role) very soon.
I wasn't at all familiar with Tubring, with the exception of the song I listened to and enjoyed earlier in the day, which is the reason I stayed to watch them. I only got to see a few songs because I was interviewing Eric of Foxy Shazam, but I liked what I heard. They too had the keyboards and high energy stage presence (and a dressed up singer). I only heard about three or four songs, but they were good. I especially liked their encore, with the singer just telling the crowd to pretend that they left the stage and came back. I wish more bands did that.