Festival Pier at Penn’s Landing Philadelphia
Philadelphia, PA — Five bands perform to a sold-out crowd. Hey Monday, Cobra Starship, Metro Station, All Time Low and Fall Out Boy
Radio stations 102.1 and 104.5 put on a concert at Festival Pier, Penns Landing, Philadelphia, PA. They said, “Rain Or Shine”. Maybe they should have said, “Rain And Shine”.
At 5:00pm, there was a long, long line waiting in the rain for the 6:30 show. They had drenched clothes and blankets, broken umbrellas and soaked heads. The gates opened at 6:00. As soon as the line started moving, the sun broke through the clouds, the rain stopped and the sky turned blue. Everyone figured it was all over and left their rain gear. Inside, the general admission “seating” basked in the warmth of a beautiful evening. Hey Monday played under the sweet sunlight. Cobra Starship rocked out as the sun started setting behind them. Then, something began to feel amiss. During Metro Station’s set, giant clouds started rolling overhead. Splash! The rain came pouring down. Within an instant, it was a massive wet t-shirt contest.
The show went on rain… and, shine… and, rain… and….
Hey Monday
The first band to take the stage was Hey Monday. Hey Monday is an American pop punk band from West Palm Beach, Florida, United States. Fronted with a female singer, Cassadee Pope, they played a spirited and spunky set that included: Run Don’t Walk, Candles, How Do You Love Me Now and Homecoming.
Cobra Starship at Penn's Landing, Festival Pier, Philadelphia, PA
Cobra Starship
It was a little surprising that Cobra Starship was the second act. Of the five bands, they were probably the second best performance of the night. Their music is a powerful blend of punk, pop, techno, mosh, funk and rock. As vocalist, Gabe Saporta, said, we “bring it all together.”
They appeared to get pleasure from playing in front of the sold-out crowd. There was plenty of interaction with the audience, as well as, encouragement to “go for what you want”. In fact, by the time their set was done, they had converted the entire audience into Cobras. Having taught the uninitiated the proper hand sign, thousands upon thousands of arms could be seen held high in the air creating a sea of snakes.
set list
1. The City Is At War
2. Smile For The Paparazzi
3. Kiss My Sass [With A Verse From Hollaback Boy]
4. Bring It (Snakes on a Plane)
5. Pete Wentz Is The Only Reason We’re Famous
6. Guilty Pleasure
Metro Station
Hmmm… what can be said about Metro Station? Despite the downpour during their set, they still didn’t float my boat. On the other hand, they were quite dance-able. The age group of dancers was diverse, too. From eleven year olds to fifty year olds, people couldn’t help but dance and sing. Perhaps some people like to dance to disco more than listen to disco? It seemed like the songs went something like: Kelsey, Now That We’re Done, Dead And Gone [cover], Seventeen Forever and Shake It.
All Time Low
You’d think Metro Station would be the all time low, but as All Time Low took the stage you’d have to think again. (just kidding) Sure, All Time Low also started out a little too disco. When they started showing their harder edge, about half way through, the sound started to bring you back up. As Poppin’ Champagne started playing, they got a bit easier to swallow. The last song, Dear Maria, Count Me In, redeemed their status to — Yeah!
Fall Out Boy at Festival Pier, Penn's Landing, Philadelphia, PA
Fall Out Boy
What can be said about Fall Out Boy? A: They rock.
The sound was on the money. If not that, at least worth the price of the ticket to get in. It kind-of blew you off your feet, yet, was not so loud as to deafen your ears. With a solid sound and charismatic stage presence, it was easy to understand why they were the headliner.
They continued the sing-a-long theme of the evening. That is to say, the patrons new just about every word to every song to every band. A few of the highlights included: Sugar, We’re Going Down, I Don’t Care and This Ain’t A Scene, It’s An Arms Race.