Anywhere But Here Tour feat. Freshman 15 – REVIEW

The Anywhere But Here tour feat. Freshman 15 came to the Penny Road Pub in Barrington, IL. With them came Junior Doctor and A Criminal Risk. You can check out our review after the break!

At around 5:30pm, I pull into the parking lot of the Penny Road Pub. A couple bands were loading their equipment into the venue, while fans started to head in.

It’s down to the basement where tonight’s “Anywhere But Here Tour” stop gets ready to begin. During the first half of the show, some local Chicago bands take the stage. A few bands in, more and more people arrived and in no time the venue is filled just in time for A Criminal Risk’s set. Although, I had not heard of them before, I was interested to see what they would bring to this tour package. Right out of the garage/straight into the basement: An energetic three piece band from Ocean County, New Jersey, A Criminal Risk started strong. Heavily influenced by Blink-182 and Sum 41, and very similar to Blink-182’s lineup, A Criminal Risk’s guitarist Tom Kunzman and bassist Danny Kay switch off for lead vocals while drummer, Joe Appolonia, amped the band’s performance. About halfway through their set, their take of Sum 41’s “Fat Lip” gets a positive reaction from the crowd, as the audience sang back the lyrics, while jumping up and down. They wrap it up with their song, “Heartless Romantic”. After all is said and done, I’ll give them two thumbs up for a catchy chorus.

Powerpop / Rock band Junior Doctor from Cocoa Beach, Florida was next to hit the stage. Up until now, I had not heard anything about this band either, but then again I’m not huge on the power pop genre. Even though that was the case, Junior Doctor did a good jobgrabbing my attention.  They took the stage and instantly brought excitement to the room.  Playing songs from their 2011 album, Clumsy Words and Bad Pickup Lines, this band engaged the audience and made it fun to watch.  With their upbeat and lively sound, they soon covered “The Middle” by Jimmy Eat World, giving the crowd something a little more familiar to participate in.

Finally, the headliner: Freshman 15’s frontman / guitarist, Davey Fortner, brought an entertaining edge to the show. His unique personality and energetic attitude kept the fans smiling throughout their set. Bassist Davey Hoogerwerf, guitarist, Mike Baker, and drummer, Leo Teran, rounded off Fortner’s antics and personality perfectly, all adding a little bit of their own style to the band. Their well known cover of “Paper Planes”, originally by M.I.A, was a crowd favorite. Teran did a really good job keeping the fast paced pop-punk beats right on time and made each hit look effortless. They continued their set with originals, including songs from their new album, “Here’s To Feeling Good”, coming out March 13th via Standby Records.

There were definitely some unique bands mixing it up at the show.  Now I’m looking ahead to what’s to come from each of them.

Information about the review…
Tour: Anywhere But Here Tour feat. Freshman 15
Bands: Freshman 15, Junior Doctor, and A Criminal Risk
Reviewer: Brittany Bowman
Date: January 27, 2012
Venue: Penny Road Pub in Barrington, IL