The Graduate at the Canal Club, 8/2/08

The Canal Club is always a fun place to see bands. Last night was no exception. The Graduate were playing with Rookie of the Year, PlayRadioPlay, My American Heart and Secondhand Serenade.

Within minutes of getting there, I was surrounded by a dozens of 16-year-olds who were literally half my size and screaming "Oh my gawd! I love this band! I've been in love with them since last week! [Insert lead singer's name here] is sooooooo hot!" Luckily, I was smart enough to move at that moment.

No sooner did I move, The Graduate took the stage. I must say that I was very impressed with their set. All their energy was spent making sure the crowd had a good time. The guys looked like they were having fun on stage and sound much better live than on the album. When they played the first few notes of "Anhedonia," I found myself jumping around with the rest of the crowd. The final song ended with a 2nd drum set brought out on stage, doused in water and hit repeatedly for a stunning effect musically (there were 3 drummers performing at this time) and visually (water flying off the drums is always cool).

I stuck around for a few more bands and was pleasantly surprised.

PlayRadioPlay was a fun, electro-rock dance your feet off kind of show. PlayRadioPlay sounds a lot like Band of Horses mixed with The Format. A lot of synth pop rock, but an overall good time. Definitely have to check them out again.

The crowd was going nuts during My American Heart. I had never heard of them before, but obviously a lot of people there not only knew of them, but knew every single word to their songs. I actually laughed during the final song when the band was pretty much running all over the stage and then the roadies (a group of heavier-set guys) rushed the stage swinging shirts and screaming at the top of their lungs.

I haven't had a good time like that since the Music Seen Festival.