I have to admit that walking into Headliner’s Music Hall; I asked myself, “What songs do they sing, now?” Of course, everyone knows the Plain White T’s, from their 2006 Mega chart-topping hit, “Hey, There Delilah”. It had burned the charts up for months, infecting us all with “song-stuck-in-your-head” syndrome, which was, in this case, a great thing that no one wanted a cure for! The Plain White Ts followed up “Hey There Delilah” with another hit in 2008 with “1, 2, 3, 4” and 2010’s “Rhythm of Love”, both written by Tim Lopez, the band’s guitarist, songwriter and lead vocalist. So, I knew three songs!
As far as Parachute… I knew (and loved) one… one song! “She is Love”, which was released in 2009 on the band’s Losing Sleep album. It was played over and over on VH1 for months on the top 20 countdown as well as featured in a Nivea commercial. I absolutely loved this song and the lyrics. In a previous interview, the song’s writer, and lead vocalist of the band, Will Anderson, said ‘“She Is Love’ is really introspective. I wrote that for someone but I won’t say who they are. It is a song that was very personal.”
What I did not realize was that Tommy & The High Pilots would be opening. Tommy & the High Pilots released their debut album in May of this year, entitled, Only Human. Tommy & the High Pilots immediately came onto the stage full of energy and ready to get the place jumping, literally! They not only sang, they danced, saying “everyone dance with us, there are no rules for dancing, just have fun” and everyone did!
This band had the crowd engaged from song one until they closed their set! Tommy & The High Pilots hung around the Music Hall and met with the crowd and enjoyed the rest of the show. In my humble opinion, I think we will all be hearing a lot more about them very soon.
Next up, the Plain White T’s! Ok, so I was excited! I was not sure if they would start with the “songs we all knew” or something off the new album… it was new material but it was terrific! The new album, entitled American Nights, is the band’s fourth album, which will be released in early 2014. The Plain White T’s were very high energy, very engaging with the crowd and the crowd, in turn, showed the love right back! They did do the “classics” that were expected, with the band’s founder and leader, Tom Higgenson, taking the stage alone, with simply his guitar for a beautifully arranged, acoustic performance of “Hey, There Delilah”. When he started playing the first few cords, the crowd started singing. Tom stopped playing, looked out at the crowd, smiled and asked, “Do you want ME to sing, or do YOU want to sing, and I will just play the guitar?” Which of course, only had the audience more excited and they sang every word, as Tom continued and sang along with them. Of course, they knew every word.
Finally, Parachute took the stage and the wait was well worth it. With a new album that was just released August 13, of this year, Parachute came onto the stage and gave the crowd exactly what they wanted! A full-on, charged-up party! There was no a person standing still in the venue, from the parents that brought their teenagers, to the fifty-somethings in the middle of the crowd.
Not only was this show definitely worth the $20 ticket price, it was a night that so many will remember for years to come. I look forward to their next visit to this area!
Photos by Laura Wood
