HOT ROD CIRCUIT + Straylight Run @ La Sala Rosa

By: Ganit Bar-Dor - The Punk Wears Prada - 10/21/04

Sometimes you forget about certain bands just because – no particular reason – they just slip through the cracks. One of those bands is Hot Rod Circuit and as I stood there at La Sala Rosa on October 21st, I remembered that I actually really like this band. I've had the opportunity to see them on various occasions and every time I swear that I'm gonna dig up one of their CDs and I swear I will one of these days. Hot Rod Circuit delivered a great show with one their guitarists seeming out of place because of his intense enthusiasm onstage i.e. jumping around on stage as the rest of the band remained in place which was amusing to watch. Even with that little discrepancy onstage, they were tight and played some awesome Rock n Roll. Straylight Run, the co-headliners, followed Hot Rod Circuit. A little background information on Straylight Run: they formed last year when John Nolan and Shaun Cooper decided to leave their former band, Taking Back Sunday, due to personal reasons. They formed their own band with John's sister Michelle who shares piano, guitar and singing duties with John, and rounding off the group is former Breaking Pangaea drummer, Will Noon. With an album under their belt which was just released on Victory records, they rocked La Sala Rosa. They had fun on stage singing some Neil Young and joking around with the crowd. The small but intense crowd sang along to those songs that have been in rotation on The Punk Wears Prada since the winter and the band seemed happy with the response. Hopefully that these two acts come back very soon to rock out to a larger crowd and gain some well-deserved recognition.

Check out Your Name Here (Sunrise Highway) - Straylight Run from the Victory Records website.

Check out Inhabit It - Hot Rod Circuit from the Vagrant Records website.