Live Concert Review The Secret Handshake & The Cab

The all ages show at the Grog shop on 07/07 was packed with teenagers from the stage to the back wall. I set up camp at the bar with the parents and big sisters. The show started at 6pm and for teenagers on summer vacation the $12 dollar door charge for five bands was a hell of a steal. I arrived halfway into the second band, Eye Alaska, after missing the opener, My Favorite Highway. Eye Alaska was doing a great job getting the crowd pumped and was also highlighting the release of their record Genesis Underground. The songs “Walk Like a Gentleman” and “Roll Right Over” were particularly noteworthy and crowd pleasing.

The Summer Set, the third band of the night from Phoenix, AZ certainly lived up to their Myspace fame. All the bands on the lineup have large Myspace followings. The Summer Set played hard, full of teen angst and poppy lines. The crowd pleaser seemed to be the remake of Usher’s hit, “In Da Club”, which had all the teens jumping up and down. Another standout was “Chelsea”, that seemed it needed to be on the soundtrack of a major teen movie. The teens in attendance seemed to be more familiar with this band than the two openers and voiced their appreciation when asked by frontman, Brian Dales who had heard of them before this show. Dales was very appreciative of the support. Drummer and only girl in this five piece, Jess Bowen is as cute as she is amazing at drums.

Next up was The Secret Handshake from Dallas, TX. These guys came out with strobe lights flashing and a huge TSH sign lit up behind them. This was the first band of the evening whose songs were distinguishable from one another. The catchy lyrics, hard beats, and synthesized jams had the young crowd in a dancing frenzy. The stage presence was electrifying and lead singer, Luis Dubuc, actively engaged the crowd in conversation throughout the set. Dubuc made a great point in saying, “this tour is about discovering new music”, and he definitely made more than a few new fans this evening. It’s always refreshing to see bands appreciative of fans. Even the parents at the bar were into TSH. A cool thing the band does is the musical interludes in between songs are all electronic, pumped up versions of classics and today’s hit. It was a cool element that I have never seen before. Check out song “TGIF”, Dubuc gave the song’s inspiration to Full House’s Uncle Jesse.

By the time the headliners The Cab took the stage the teens were ready to explode. The Cab is out on their “What Happens in Vegas Tour”, that is taking them cross country all summer. The Cab, like TSH, was very appreciative of the fans, even saying at one point, “thanks for spending your money to come see us”, and judging by the screams of the crowd, it was worth every penny. The Cab is promoting their EP, The Lady Luck, which features the standout song, “Take My Hand”. There didn’t seem to be an unhappy fan in the place by the time this night was through.