EastScene

On July 11th, the ‘What Happens in Vegas’ tour took a pass through Buffalo, New York stopping at Mohawk Place downtown. The tour consisted of 7 bands in total, some on certain dates and not others. The Buffalo stop just happened to include a line-up that looked like this: The Cab, The Secret Handshake, The Summer Set, Eye Alaska, and My Favorite Highway. The show was sure to please.

I showed up to the venue at about 4:30 pm and the fact that these bands are fairly small was very noticeable. First thing you see is The Cab and The Summer Set just hanging out with their friend and unloading their own gear, something I haven’t seen in some time. I was excited knowing that yes, even though The Cab were the headliners, all the opening bands had almost equal time slots. The wait was long, but enjoyable.

So, picture this, a bunch of excited concert-goers and a room not much bigger than most people’s living rooms, including the smallest stage that I have ever seen. I could vouch for  any high school and say that their stage is at least 4 times its size. Honestly, it was a little scary at first, but things changed quickly. I was lucky enough to be right up against the stage, thanks to showing up pretty early.

The first to take the stage was My Favorite Highway. I hadn’t heard much of them before the show, so I had my doubts and quite frankly, they killed it. Front-man David Cook, for sure, took the crowd’s attention with his great vocals and the solid band to back him up. The crowd proceeded to sing their songs word for word, true fans for sure. By the end of their set, their catchy chorus’ and upbeat tempo took away all my skepticism.

Then came Eye Alaska. Now, Genesis Underground, their latest album, wasn’t quite up to my pleasing at first. It definitely has a different spin when you first hear it. The band set up and lead singer, Brandon Wronski came on, apple in hand, which sort of threw me off. I couldn’t help thinking who in the world this guy thought he was, eating an apple and clearly intoxicated by something. Despite his numerous stumbles and one of a kind antics, the music impressed me much more than the band’s new CD. Strangeness and all, the crowd loved them. I wasn’t entirely enthused, but you can’t please everyone and that’s okay.

3rd in line was my personal favorite, The Summer Set. Now, I’ve been listening to this band since right after they got together in 2007. The Summer Set is a group of  best friends from Arizona; 4 boys and 1 girl. And let me point out, contrary to most bands where the girl is the lead singer, Jess Bowen rocks the drums. I was extremely excited to hear the lyrics that had been the soundtrack to my life for almost two years. With all of my anticipation I was most likely in line for some upset. They played almost every song off their MySpace player and a new one called “The Boys You Do (Get Back at You)” which made me even more anxious for the new album. Everything sounded absolutely awesome. All the members clearly had a ton of fun and the crowd played off that. Lead singer, Brian Dales, wasn’t about to let anyone stand still and the crowd obeyed. TSS was anything but a disappointment.

Enter The Secret Handshake. These guys make some of the most mood-boosting music I’ve ever encountered. Luis Dubuc’s lyrics plus synths/beats courtesy of his macbook and some back up from other band mates made for an A+ show. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone happier than the girl next to me jumping and singing and much of the crowd seemed to follow suit. TSH was surely a crowd pleaser and a great opener for The Cab.

And finally, the headliners: The Cab out of Las Vegas, Nevada (which I now know thanks to the boy next to me in line, who gave me a dirty look when I asked why there was a trailer from there). It was obvious that many people came out to the concert to see these guys. Fans were screaming from every direction, one girl even got kicked out for merely being too loud. The Cab came on and played an amazing set, including “Bounce”, “Take My Hand” and “High Hopes in Velvet Ropes”. “Vegas Skies” seemed to be the one the fans loved the most, played acoustic by the band with everyone singing along loud enough to be heard at the front door of the bar. After many, many songs, Alex Deleon announced that it was too hot and that the concert was moving outdoors. An acoustic set proceeded. Considering the band was working with new guitarist Bryan Dawson and it was their first big national headlining tour, nerves didn’t show and the set would have pleased the toughest of critics.

I won’t say that this show was the best, most amazing one I’ve ever been to, but it was amazing the talent that shared the stage that night. 22 awesome musicians and about 4 hours of music proved to make a great night. Each band was clearly gracious to be touring with each other, throwing thanks around like it was nobody’s business. Every single band member hung out for such a long time afterward, taking pictures and just simply talking to their fans. I met some of the sweetest people that night, and many kid’s years were made by what this tour brought to Buffalo. I’d recommend anyone to see these bands.