I had a feeling this was going to be a huge show. Maybe it was the monster line-up, the fact that it was a Friday night, or just in general, how all the elements were fitting together, this was bound to be a big one. And indeed, with officially 906 people crammed into the Church, it was a record setter. As I arrived early to help out Jamie with the show, I occaisonally peered outside at the line gathering. It stretched around the block and then some. It was quite a see, and quite a line that I was glad not to be stuck on.

The STRYDER came on at about 7:30, with more than 500 people already inside, which isn’t exactly the normal situation for an opening band. I really like this band and they way they craft their songs together. Yeah, it has that poppy, emo-punk sound, but there is a definite edge to it, and lots of energy too. All of the songs played were off of their new cd, “”Masquerade in the Key of Crime,”" and included such memorable tunes as, “”Eleven Eleven,”" “”King of Coronas,”" “”Sucker,”" and “”Intoxicated.”" Check them out if you can.

DASHBOARD CONFESSION feature Chris, formerly of FURTHER SEEMS FOREVER doing the acoustic thing, which although isn’t my cup of tea, sounded pretty cool. Unfortunately, this was when I got put on door “”bracelet”" duty, which lasted until MIDTOWN played. This is the price you pay when you’re a friend of the guy running the show. Since the show sold out, and we had to turn people away, one’s “”bracelet,”" upon paying, allowed people to come and out of the venue. Naturally, many of the people who couldn’t get in stuck around and tried in many ways to harass me into letting them in. More on this later.

After a fairly long break in the music, RIVER CITY HIGH stormed the stage with some pure punk and roll. These Richmond based boys combine a strong dosage of rock with catchy, anthem like lyrics. This was my second time seeing them, and with the large crowd supporting them, I was more impressed. “”Anybody, Anywhere,”" is a truly great song, and although I was watching their set from the door, things looked to be moving quite well. A friend of mine said to me, “”these guys really know how to work the crowd.”"

After the show initially sold out, there were about 15 total bracelets left, which it was decided upon that we’d let 15 more people in. So a few of the lucky ones who stuck around got inside, some happier than others. I gather that the kid who screamed in my face “”FUCK YOU,”" wasn’t pleased that he had to wait in the cold an extra hour to get in, but hey, he should have arrived earlier, heh. Anyway, HOT ROD CIRCUIT turned things up a notch once they got on stage. Being that the Church was packed full, there wasn’t much room for a pit to form, but that didn’t stop people from crowd surfing everywhere. I’m not too familiar with HOT ROD’s catalog, but the crowd seemed to enjoy them, and I guess that’s what matters.

As many of you have read, MIDTOWN was in a serious van accident a few weeks ago and one of their dear friends got hurt. The band was collecting money at the show to help pay for her medical bills (no insurance), and I was proud to see at the end, quite a bit of cash into both of the jugs that were set up. This was my first time seeing MIDTOWN live and they were extroadinarily precise with their tunes. As the Church supplied a nice cushion to balance out the sound, MIDTOWN were right on target with every note. Hitting most of the songs off of “”Save the World, Lose the Girl,”" their debut album on Drive Thru, the crowd was very much into the band, and sang along with vigor. During some of the earlier acts, MIDTOWN’s vocalist was doing some pretty dead-on impressions of Brett Detar of THE JULIANA THEORY, whose cd, “”Emotion is Dead,”" provided the background music in between sets. Back to MIDTOWN: the crowd loved them, they played a great set…get their cd!

Finally, after being at the church for nearly six hours, I got to see what I waited all week for – NEW FOUND GLORY. Although these guys meet the quota of being the “”Boy Band,”" of punk rock (besides BLINK 182), there is something about them that ropes me into their tunes. Perhaps its the ease in which their songs seep into my head, or how NFG has the ability to throw in a huge hook into every track that hits just the right nerve. The band started off with three songs off their new self-titled cd, which it seemed nearly half the crowd already owned, and from their, it was just hit after hit. “”Better of Dead,”" “”Dressed to Kill,”" “”Eyesore,”" and “”Boy Crazy,”" all sounded fabulous with the crowd singing back-ups. If this band doesn’t get huge within the next few months, i’ll be shocked. Word has it that the big media (radio) push is coming in February. Enjoy watching this band now before all they play are arenas.

Major congrats go to Jamie for pulling this event off. With this many bands and people, none of this I imagine was easy. DIY Church shows rule. Above picture from DriveThrurecords.com.