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Good Charlotte
Good Charlotte and Tony and Nick
from Mest sing "The Innocent".
Performers: Good Charlotte,
Midtown, Mest, and Lefty
Where: The Electric Factory
When: Thursday, December 20th, 2001
8:00 PM
“Walking on streets of D.C.” (Good
Charlotte’s “East Coast Anthem”) – well, it was more like “walking on
streets of Philly” last Thursday night at the Electric Factory.
The bitter cold and biting wind could not keep hundreds of kids from
anxiously lining 7th Street in anticipation of the sold-out
Good
Charlotte show. From the time
their first single, “Little Things,” hit airways more than a year and half
ago on Philadelphia’s Y-100, Good Charlotte has been a favorite among this
punk community. Of course the
line-up of the show definitely aided ticket sales.
Lefty,
Midtown, and Good Charlotte’s best
friends and self-proclaimed cousins,
Mest,
opened the energy-packed show. If
you were looking for the epitome of a punk-rock experience, the Electric Factory
on December 20 was the place to be.
Taking the stage at 8pm was
California’s Lefty. Despite the
fact that the majority of the crowd was not familiar with their songs, Dennis
Hill (vocals, guitar), Lorenzo Giovani (guitar), Scott Somers (bass), and Kenny
Livingston (drums) had no trouble getting the kids pumped.
Playing songs off of their ’99 Interscope Records debut, 4-3-2-1,
and a punked-out cover of “Jane Says,” Lefty’s pure energy was enough to
get the crowd moving. At one point,
they even pleaded with the crowd to sing together, proclaiming “it’s just
like sex but with no diseases!” Keep
your ears open for Lefty -- these boys are on the rise.
Next up was Chicago’s Mest.
From the time Tony Lovato (vocals, guitar), Jeremiah Rangel (vocals,
guitar), Matt Lovato (bass), and Nick Gigler (drums) hit the stage with “Hotel
Room,” a hearty portion of the crowd began jumping, screaming, and singing
along. Playing a mix of songs off
of Wasting Time and their new album, Destination
Unknown, Mest’s harsh and unrefined (in a good way!) nature got the pits
and crowd surfers going. Good
Charlotte’s Joel could even be seen standing on the sidelines bobbing his head
and singing along to Mest’s beat. Throughout
the set, Mest gave mad props to their buddies in GC, even dedicating “Fuct Up
Kid” to them and other members of the crowd who desperately struggle in a band
or life in general. They concluded
with their new single, “Cadillac,” which Tony dedicated to his girlfriend
Chelsea, who was present. If
you’ve never seen Mest play live, you’re definitely missing out!
Hitting the stage next was New Jersey’s
own, Midtown. Since Jersey’s just
a hop across the river from Philly, it was no surprise that Gabe Saporta (bass,
vocals), Heath Saraceno (guitar, vocals), Tyler Rann (guitar, vocals), and Rolo
Hitt (drums) had a plethora of supporters in the crowd.
Midtown played a rambunctious set of songs off of their Drive-Thru debut,
Save the World, Lose the Girl.
A highlight of their set was when they broke out with “Let Go,”
proclaiming that they needed a “sing along song” for the crowd.
Midtown also showed their softer side when they stopped to give the crowd a
round of applause for all their support. If you’re not familiar with Midtown, I recommend checking
them out.
And then the moment the crowd had been
waiting for finally came. Through
the soft glow of the Electric Factory’s twinkling Christmas lights,
silhouettes of the Good Charlotte boys could be seen within the black abyss of
the stage. In a split second,
lights shined on as lead vocalist Joel, accompanied by his twin brother Benji
(guitar, vocals), Paul (bass), Billy (guitar), and Dusty (temporary drummer),
broke out with “East Coast Anthem” and “Festival Song,” working the kids
into a frenzy. A definite highlight
came early in the set when GC showed their patriotism by holding up flags, which
were draped on stage, and singing “The Innocent,” accompanied by Tony Lovato
and Nick Gigler of Mest. The crowd
sang along to this song, written in the aftermath of September 11 ("we
don't know why the innocent die"), proving that Philly’s punk community
is proud to be American.
On countless occasions, Good Charlotte
stopped to thank the Philadelphia kids, stating that “you supported us before
anyone else knew who we were” and “from now on we’re gonna say GC’s from
Philly because you represent like no one else."
They went on to dedicate “The Motivation Proclamation” and “Philly
Worldwide” (a take on “Waldorf Worldwide”) to the crowd.
They also played two new songs, “Another Loser Anthem” and “Bloody
Valentine” -- that will most likely appear on their new album due out around
April.
Another highlight came when Joel and
Benji took the stage alone to slow things down with acoustic versions of
“Change” and “Thank You Mom.” During
“Change,” Joel captivated and mesmerized the lighter-holding crowd with his
unique, emotional voice. Good
Charlotte went on to play every song (except for “Screamer”) off of their
self-titled debut (including “The Click” – the song they wrote for
MTV’s, The Undergrads). Before
concluding their hour-plus set with “Little Things,” Benji and Joel stated,
“we promise that if you’re always down there (pointing to the crowd),
we’ll always be up here (pointing to the stage).”
Well, Good Charlotte, I think it’s safe to say that we Philly fans
promise to always be there! -Kristal
Austin
Click on the artist to see photos from this
concert:
Good
Charlotte Midtown
Mest
Lefty
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