Album Review :
Tourantula Show Review

Tourantula. Who would expect a less extravagant name for a Family Force 5 tour? Fortunately, no hairy, long-legged arachnids showed their faces at this event (at least not at this particular date), but the show was adventurous nonetheless.

I won’t go into too many details if you haven’t yet seen it, but I will say this – opening band Since Forever has a ton of energy. They’re new to this national tour jamboree and bring an excited, positive, hopeful demeanor to the show. They opened their set with Justin Bieber’s “Baby Baby.” And baby, you bet it worked. The dimly lit room suddenly erupted in screams from the less than 100 attendees (consisting of mainly high school girls). Lead vocalist Zach Easterwood jumped off speakers, reached down into the crowd and interacted with individual audience members. The super pop/dance “Get Low” proved to be a hit as well.

Swimming with Dolphins filled the second set. Most of the crowd didn’t know how to react – and I’ll be honest – I wasn’t sure how to either. Their music is uncannily catchy and their indie style and seemingly laidback personalities intriguing. But from the crowd, it’s hard to know what to do. Do we dance along? Do those who know the words sing along? No one did.

Next was Stereo Skyline. Well, half of Stereo Skyline. Lead vocalist Kevin Bard walked on stage with an acoustic and drummer Rob Michelson sat behind a small set. Michelson’s had better days to say the least. He looked like someone bribed him to be there. Despite the lack of a four-piece, Bard held it together well. He played new and old songs alike, along with Backstreet Boys’ “I Want it That Way.” He explained that a last minute emergency called the other two members home. My sources say that this has been the Long Island, NY natives’ story almost every night of the tour. And I’ll just leave it at that.

After an intermission and incredibly long intro, Family Force 5 took the stage. Each in white not-so-skinny jeans and t-shirts adorned with the head of a ferocious animal. Much less jaw-dropping than the signature FF5 unique outfits (or dare I say costumes?). They opened with “Kountry Gentlemen” and then it began…a set full of a solid dance party. And it was fun. Really fun. The lights were spectacular and only added to the adrenaline-filled performance. Everyone from the 12-year-old girl standing with her mom, to the gray haired and bearded man dancing dead center by himself, partied the night away.

They played through the majority of the crowd pleasers from 2006’s Business Up Front, Party in the Back and 2008’s Dance or Die. When I spoke with them back in August, they were just about to head into the study to work on their next record. Looks like they’re almost done…but it’s only an EP. During their set, Soulglow told us that they were gearing up to release an EP. They played “Dang Girl” off the new one, and ended their encore performance with a slower track from the EP.

Overall, it was a good show. The majority of ticket-holders came Stereo and FF5, and those attendees seemed to seriously enjoy themselves. The opening acts were decent-ish and the headliner stayed true to its expectations. Let’s do it again!

(Look for an interview with Since Forever and some live shots from the evening to be posted soon!)