Monday 19/02/07 Cartel, Cobra Starship, Boys Like Girls, Permanent Me @ The Rialto, Tucson, Arizona

The night starts out with Indie Rock in the form of Permanent Me. The instrumentals are smooth and Mike’s drums fly during ‘Heartattack.’ Justin the bassist and backup vocalist is tall, long and lanky but moves like cat. He asks everyone to hug their friends then stands on a speaker and plays ‘4AM’ as squealing girls reach for him. They definitely hold their own in front of the cheering crowd. The announcement of ‘Allison’ elicits screams. Why? It’s an awesome song and rightly shows off lead singer Brian’s vocals.

Boys Like Girls tune up their own equipment. Good thing too because their sound is perfect throughout the set. We last saw them open for Lostprophets and were impressed. With mass amounts of touring now under their belts they’ve put a shimmering polish on their Indie Rock. ‘Hero/Heroine’ is one brilliant love song. Lead singer Martin Johnson closes his eyes, leans into the mic and sings “I’ve got my hands in my pockets and my head in a cloud” Lovers in the audience hug and kiss. Its a sweet sight indeed. The instrumentals and harmonies in ‘Great Escape’ are absolutely divine. The mob jumps like fiends, sings along and we’re blown away. This is a must see band.

Lead singer Gabe Soporta of Cobra Starship has a self confident, swaggering openness about him that’s instantly magnetic. Like lightening ‘The Kids Are All ****ed Up’ hit the jumping crowd hard. The band pours on the energy, Gabe puts his foot up on a speaker, waves a finger and sings “Everyone’s asleep when we play…” as mob madness rages before him. During ‘The Church Of Hot Addiction’ he stands on top of the drum then does a huge split jump, lands, turns and keeps on singing. The crowd’s hands are in the air and surfing begins.