So I should have posted an event notice sooner, but it slipped my mind.  Yesterday, a band called Hawthorne Heights played at the Common Grounds in Gainesville, FL.  If you’ve never heard of Hawthorne Heights, I don’t blame you, but they had a couple of hits about 3 or 4 years ago, but seemed to fall of the face of the earth (at least in my opinion).  My first thought was that Common Grounds was a small venue for a band like Hawthorne Heights, but after a little bit of thought, it didn’t seem to be that out-of-place given their relative obscurity in the last couple years.  A total of four bands opened for Hawthorne Heights, none of which I’ve ever heard of, but I’m always excited to listen to bands I’ve never heard of.  (For those that know me, I’m not one to listen to just the mainstream or popular music.)

Unfortunately, I missed the first act, Nightbeast.  But I did happen to catch the next act called Monty Are I, and I am glad I did.  I was quite impressed the style of music and the energy that they played with.  The small crowd (and I do mean small) seemed to enjoy the music and the band engaged the audience and fed off what enthusiasm the audience could emit.  Monty Are I came with a fresh sound and excellent use of guitars, keyboards, drums, trumpet and trombone.  Now I’m not an experienced music critic, just a guy who loves music, but I would say that Monty Are I has got some potential.  Check them out at myspace.com/montyarei.

The next two acts were a bit lackluster.  Punchline came on and tried to play with enthusiasm, but you could tell that the crowd was not into it.  As for me, I felt that the band really did not play anything I haven’t heard before.  In fact they reminded a bit of a band called Fenix TX from several years ago.  They  mentioned they had been playing for 12 years and it seemed that Punchline was a band that had not reall evolved in those 12 years.

Just Surrender was not much better than Punchline.  Although Just Surrender played with a different sound and great energy, it was not anything new (although a newer sound than Punchline).  The music was decent, but the harmony was not quite there.  They made a decent showing, but I’m not lining up to buy any albums anytime soon. Finally, it was time for Hawthorne Heights.  They played with good enthusiasm and the audience seemed to really enjoy the music.  They played a good mix of some newer songs and some older hits.

Overall, it was a good night, but you could tell a few of the bands were a little frustrated either at the lack of enthusiasm or at size of the small crowd.  In fact, I was a little surprised at how small the audience was.   Maybe it was because it was a Sunday night or because of the lineup’s relative obscurity, but a few of us enjoyed the night.  I think I’ll go pick up Monty Are I on iTunes in the next couple days.

Sorry, no pics this time.

Looking forward to tonight!  Why, you ask?  Because tonight AFI (A Fire Inside) is playing at the House of Blues in Orlando.  AFI has come a long way from their punk-hardcore roots, but they still write great music.  I’m sure a lot of people would disagree with me or say that AFI has sold out, but I say they have evolved and grown as a band.  Don’t get me wrong, I love their old punk music and I do miss it, but I think that a band has to grow and evolve to be successful.  No one wants to hear all the same old songs all the time.

This will be the third time seeing AFI in concert and I’m sure I won’t be disappointed; they always put on a great show.  Plus, I love the House of Blues – it’s such a great venue.

Update: What a great show!  I was not disappointed in the least.  Typically, AFI’s first track on any new album is an intro song; usually short and/or mostly instrumental, and each live show begins with an intro from their most recent album.  AFI’s new album did not have their typical intro track, but instead was an intro track and full song mixed into one.  That being said I was interested to see how AFI would start the show.  In typical AFI fashion, AFI came out to their first track on the Crash Love album…and the crowd loved it.

AFI came on really strong with lots of energy and dancing which set the tone for the whole night.  The rest of the night was just as good.  Many songs were played from Crash Love, DecemberUnderground, and Sing the Sorrow.  A couple songs were even played from some of their older punk albums.  All-in-all it was one of the best shows I’ve been to.  I very well think it could be the show I’ve ever seen had they played either Total Immortal or Fall Children from their All Hallow’s EP.