Down With Webster + Sweet Thing + The Envy + 2AM Club @ Metropolis

TEENAGERS! The first thing I realized about Down With Webster was their uncanny teenage fan base. The show was a sea of hormone driven kids, none above the age of 17. Although scary and headache inducing, it wasn't a surprise. Number one: young teenagers are the only ones left who buy CDs off the shelves like candy. Number two: Down With Webster's sound is like a herding call for youngins. After watching the group of girls in front of me braid each others hair for thirty minutes, the lights finally turned off, the screams got to a glass shattering pitch and the show commenced.

The first band to hit the stage was 2AM Club. I had no idea who they were but that could have just been my ignorance (come on, there are so many bands out there!). The teens in the concert hall seemed to know who they were 'cause they erupted like it was the Easter bunny himself on stage. Not much can be said about this band, other than they had a sound that has been echoing through the pop music industry for a while. Although they have a bit of hip-hop flavor in their sound, they still came off a bit generic (man I hate that overused word). I found myself tossing and turning, but the rest of the audience was dancing like never before. Maybe I missed something?

Now for the second act: a group called The Envy hit the stage with a cool original introduction. The lights were going down, some voice echoed through the hall and two banners with the band's logo (crossed fingers) waved on stage. Well I had my fingers crossed too, hoping this band would keep me from diving face first into my palms. And they did just that. After seeing past the weird half t-shirt, half undershirt thing the lead singer was wearing, I realized his voice and their sound were, as teens would say, "epic." They looked kind of young too, which was cool because it meant they still had time to grow.

Finally they were done and it was time for Down With Webster – not. Another band came out who were not DWW (that's what the cool kids call Down with Webster). Take note promoters, or whoever this may concern: artists should never have more than two opening acts; after the second, people start to get restless and begin to care less, which makes for an annoyed crowd. Sweet Thing came on stage, and at this point even the hormone-injected kids had lost their energy, so the cheering and clapping had mellowed down a notch. Now this band I really liked; the lead singer had interesting, eccentric moves and their sound was much more grown-up and wise. Unfortunately, they seemed out of place. The crowd wasn't buying it as much as an older crowd (like me) would have. Maybe they should have opened for Metric? Although when they played their most popular song, "Change of Seasons" (which can be heard in the movie Easy A), the crowd did seem to have woken up a bit. They finished, and it was now time for what we all came here for.

Down With Webster came out with a bang. The way they tossed around their energy and made it bounce off the walls of the venue was like no other. There was a lot happening on stage, but it was just the right amount. What I appreciated most aside from the ridiculous amount of energy was the combination of hip-hop and rock. It felt like they were breaking barriers with every song they sang.

If you know down with Webster then you know that they aren't just a two-man act; in fact there are seven of them. That's right, 7 members, each equally important. They're full of different faces and identities, and it’s refreshing. It gets tiresome watching bands with members that all look and act the same. Just when I thought it couldn't get any better, the drummer, Marty, began to kick it with a drum solo. They covered songs like Drake's "Over,” Wiz Khalifa's "Black and Yellow” to a song by Pavarotti. And let me tell you, it was incredible and entertaining. In the end I found myself writing down songs so I'd remember to check them out when I got home. I soon realized that I had basically written down every song from their album.

-Brandon C co-hosts SoReal Radio on Sundays from 12-2pm