“8123 Tour” featuring The Maine – REVIEW

The 8123 Tour came rolling through Chicago for the first of two nights at the Bottom Lounge featuring The Maine, A Rocket To The Moon, This Century and Brighten. You can check out our review of the show, after the break.

8123. If that number means anything to you then you know what it is to be fan of The Maine. On their recent 8123 tour with Brighten, This Century, and A Rocket to the Moon, they made two stops in Chicago; a Friday and a Saturday show. I was fortunate enough to be able to attend Friday’s show and I wish I was able to go the second night as well.

With Brighten opening for them, he made sure to have people singing along to songs such as “Never Alone”, ”Home”, and “I’ll be there”. Even though his set was short I really enjoyed it. I’ll be sure to check them out again if they come back and I encourage others to do so as well.

When This Century came on the stage, people were ready. “This song is about not letting your past ruin your future,” said lead singer, Joel Kanitz, before playing “Skeletons”. In addition to that song they also played “To Love and Back”, “Tiptoe”, “Bleach Blonde”,” Slow Dance Night”, and “Sound of Fire”. Watching This Century is like having one big party. They are such a fun band to watch live and if you haven’t yet, I don’t know what you’re waiting for.

I still couldn’t get over the fact that when A Rocket to the Moon took the stage, it would be my last time seeing them. If that isn’t reason enough for you to attend a date on this tour, then what is? Since A Rocket to the Moon has been together for about seven years now, I was sad to say goodbye. Making sure to play crowd favorites such as “Baby Blue Eyes”, “Whole Lotta You”, “Dakota”, “Call It All Home”, “Mr. Right”, and “Give a Damn”, A Rocket to the Moon didn’t disappoint with sending Chicago out on a good time and memory.

By the time for The Maine to go onstage, the venue was packed. With just putting out a new album, Forever Halloween, The Maine doesn’t cease to amaze. They grow with their albums but stay true to who they are, still keeping that spunk that makes them, well, The Maine. Starting off with “Love & Drugs” from their new album they took the crowd through time and back with songs such as “We All Roll Along”, “Kennedy Curse”, “Misery”, “Into Your Arms”, “Some Days” and “Happy”. They also played their cover of “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”.

Now I’m not going to lie, I find it disrespectful when a band is playing an acoustic or slow song during a set and people just talk right through it. This was the case when John played the piano for “These Four Words”. It was meant to be an intimate moment, and some people were in the back just talking like there wasn’t a show going on in front of them. Now I know I can’t control these things and if people are going to talk then that’s just what they are going to do, but like I said, I feel it’s disrespectful. I don’t know if a musician can hear the chatter over them playing, but if so, I’m sorry. I wouldn’t want a band to feel like they couldn’t play a certain song because they didn’t get a great response from the crowd, especially if that song does mean a lot to some people.

For their last song “We’ll All Be” all the other band members came on the stage to sing and dance with them.  Joel, from This Century, and Nick, from A Rocket to the Moon, took turns singing into the mic for the last few verses. All in all it was a pretty good night and I wish I could have gone the next night to have just as much fun. After the show everyone was out meeting people and talking and having a good time. If the 8123 tour is coming to a place near you, definitely get a ticket. It will be worth it.

Information about the review…
Tour: 8123 Tour
Bands: The Maine, A Rocket To The Moon, This Century, Brighten
Reviewer: Ali Jimenez
Date: June 21, 2013
Venue: The Bottom Lounge in Chicago, IL

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