 The Rocket Summer |
 Hellogoodbye |
 The Rocket Summer |
Story and photos by Karen Bondowski
Huntington Beach, California boys Hellogoodbye have recently received some fame for their appearance's on MTV's The Real World: Austin and winning MTV2's Dew Circuit Breakout. The band's name was inspired by The Beatles song "Hello Goodbye."Their blend of powerpop/indie/emo found a primarily teenage crowd at The Rave II open their arms in full embrace. Culling fom their self-titled debut on Drive-Thru records Hellogoodbye gamely lit up "Bonnie Taylor Shakedown [2K1]," "Jesse Buy Nothing... Go to Prom Anyways," and "Shimmy Shimmy Quarter Turn (Take It Back to Square One)." The highpoint of the show was the crowd fav "Dear Jamie... Sincerely Me." Vocalist/guitarist Forrest Kline had some fun along with the rest of the band chanting the harmonies while letting the chorus shake and shimmer with a fluid and spontaneous delivery.
Musical wonderkind Bryce Avary of The Rocket Summer opened the night with a rousing set of 70s inspired piano rock mixed with some startlingly infectious indie/emo pop.
Alternating between, piano, guitar, solo singer and even a little drums - Avary (looking like Ryan Cabrera's little brother with blonde spiked hair and boyish good looks) mastered every calling. You see he writes all the songs and adeptly plays all the instruments on The Rocket Summer's albums. Tonight he had a more than able backing band to help deliver his finely woven craft.
Opening with the lively "Cross My Heart" Avary's vocals came out clean and sharp and then swayed with the varied tempos. "Brat Pack" hit some rough patches with the band hitting a few bad notes - then the boys quickly gathered up the missing links and got on the right track with the drum led assualt.
Other songs that couldn't contain their energy (or the crowds' for that matter) were "Show Me Everything You've Got," "Movie Stars and Super Models," "Never Knew," "Around the Clock," "Story," "I'm Doing Everything (For You)" and "Tell Me Something Good."
Hellogoodbye
The Rocket Summer
The Rocket Summer
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