Mayday Parade Brought Energy to the Take Action Tour

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Parent Category: Film and the Arts

Category: Reviews

Published on Sunday, 23 May 2010 02:33

Written by Sam Leon

A packed House of Blues (8430 West Sunset Boulevard) buzzed with electricity on Sunday, Feb. 21, 2010, where the Take Action Tour  (running Spring 2010 ending in Dallas, Texas, Mar. 2) hit the Sunset Strip. Stereo Skyline, There For Tomorrow, and A Rocket to the Moon played three quick sets.

Then pop rockers Mayday Parade launched into their first song, rich in upbeat riffs and catchy choruses, energizing the crowd. With thrashing guitars thrown over their heads and their bodies flailing all around the stage, this quintet pumped up the room. Given how charged Mayday’s energetic performances can be, it was a pleasant change to hear lead singer Derek Sanders perform a stripped down version of “I Swear This Time I Mean It,” bringing a needed change of pace to the set. With the many Mayday fans in the crowd, audience members sang along to this acoustic version.

After this short reprieve, these Tallahassee FL rockers kicked back into a lively set that propelled them to a full-strength performance. One crowd surfer after another had to be pulled down from the stage front as the audience reacted to Mayday's frenetic pace. While they played a string of powerful songs, “Black Cat” was the one that stood out due to its infectious guitar hook. With their most popular song, “Jamie All Over,” -- their best in this humble crit's opinion -- Mayday closed out their set and showed that while their stage presence was incredible, their set was truly impressive because they had great music to back it up.

Before headliners We The Kings took the stage, The Take Action Tour organizers played a brief video. Take Action sheds light on important issues from depression to volunteerism for young people and shows how everyone can make a difference. These issues have taken center stage since it was founded in 1999.

Twelve-year-old Patrick Pedraja then stepped up to talk about Driving For Donors, an organization he founded when he was diagnosed with Leukemia. A friend of Pedraja died because they were unable to find a matching bone marrow donor. He then realized the importance of people signing up to the National Marrow Registry, which has a critical shortage of minority donors.

Best known for two Top 40 hits, “Check Yes Juliet” and “Heaven Can Wait,” power poppers We The Kings offers a more middle-of-the-road style so they didn't benefit from following the compelling, balls-out Mayday Parade. Neither as fast or in-your-face as MP, this Florida-based quartet simply couldn't match in performance the previous band's explosiveness and intensity. That's not to say that We The Kings was not able to get the crowd pumping with their impressive array of songs including a favorite, “She Takes Me High.”

Disney star Demi Lovato's surprise guest duet with WTK front man Travis Clark on “We’ll Be A Dream" provided additional support from the Lovato fans who found out through Twitter that the pop singer would be performing there. Although following Mayday Parade was a tall task, the charismatic Clark does his job well, so We The Kings was able to deliver a strong performance that also rocked the House of Blues.

The female-skewing, teenage audience departed from the venue with smiles on their faces. It was clear the bands had left it all on the stage. Ears ringing, this was a night to remember.

For more info on how to be added to the National Marrow Registry, visit: www.marrow.org/JOIN

To support Driving For Donors, please text ACTION to 85944 to donate $5.

For info on next year's annual Take Action Tour! info go to: http://www.takeactiontour.com/

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