The Plain White T's supporting Fall Out Boy's "Young Wild Things" Tour written by Lynn
Last week, the Young Wild Things tour, including Fall Out Boy, Gym
Class Heros, the Plain White T's and Cute is What We Aim For, came to
town. Playing at the Wachovia Spectrum in Philadelphia, a decent-sized
venue that hosts somewhere around 17,000, they managed to just about
fill the place, too, which was pretty impressive from my point of view.
Sure, Fall Out Boy has been experiencing huge success recently, but the
rest of the bands on tour with them - Plain White T's being no exception
- are, perhaps, up-and-comers that one might think are not ready for this
size of a venue which, all things considered, is pretty ambitious for any
band these days considering the norm has changed to playing to smaller,
more intimate houses of between 1000 and 5000. Ambitious or not
however, not only has Young Wild Things been filling the larger venues,
but they've been selling a lot of them out, too, and after seeing that show,
no, I don't believe that's happening simply because the headliner is FOB.
I think it's happening because the show, as I experienced the night I
went, is truly entertaining and fun, and loaded with good talent, as the
response to Hollywood/Fearless Records young hopefuls,
the Plain White T's can attest. It seems that despite being a band for a
surprising ten years, the Plain White T's time has finally come, and this
was a tour they were well-suited to, to prove just that.  

Going to the show, I had never seen any of these bands, and since I can
only honestly say that I am a semi-fan of Fall Out Boy, I went into this
pretty much blind. I think it's a good thing to do some of the time, though,
and get out there and listen to new music, see new bands, keep my views
and my preferences from stagnating. I had listened to a few PWT's songs
on MySpace before the show, for the most part I didn't know much about
their music at all. I had no idea what to expect from the band, either, but
I have to say, I came away both pleasantly surprised, and very much
entertained by the Plain White T's performance that night. I found their
style to be not so poppy that they were annoying, but more in the pop rock/pop punk area, with upbeat, catchy tunes, a great stage
presence, and the ability to hold my, and the entire audience's, interest for their full eight-song set and still leave the kids screaming for
more. I wouldn't have been opposed to seeing a few more songs performed, despite the fact that I frequently like my music a bit darker
and heavier. I would group the Plain White T's in that same cross-genre area where you might find Good Charlotte or Cartel these days.
I think it could be a good place to them to be, because it allows them to play to the appeal of more than just the kids listening on the pop
stations, thus widening the audience to listeners who - like myself - might be more inclined at first to go with something heavier.






























Opening their set with Hate, off their latest release Every Second Counts, lead singer Tom Higgenson and the rest of the band - guitarists
Dave Tirio and Tim Lopez, bassist Mike Retondo and drummer De'Mar Hamilton - immediately alerted me to the idea that this was a
band looking for ways to stand out and be noteworthy. Their harmonic, a capella intro was a striking attention-getter as they began their
set, and had me interested from the first note. The set continued with You & Me and So Damn Clever also off the new CD, and then
Take Me Away, which is off 2005's <i>All That We Needed</i>. The second half of the set was a performance of songs off Every
Second Counts including Our Time Now, Write You A Song, PWT's multiple number-one hit Hey There Delilah, which was sung to a
rousing sing-along chorus from the audience, closing with Friends Don't Let Friends Dial Drunk. By the time the band left the stage, it
was plain that the Plain White T's were well-deserving of the stage they shared with Fall Out Boy and the other performers that night.  

The Plain White T's are on tour supporting Fall Out Boy, with the Gym Class Heros and Cute is What We Aim For on the Young Wild
Things tour through December 2nd, the tour culminating in Las Vegas, NV. Afterward, fans in Boston get one more chance to see the
band on January 14th, just before they head over the pond to spend two weeks in Europe, between January 26th and February 18th.
Then, come the 23rd of February, the Plain White T's will be going down under and performing at all five dates of the Soundwave
Festival during their visit to Australia. For more information about the Plain White T's, their tours and music, check out their myspace or
their Official website below.

Special thanks to Mike Cubillos for his assistance with this review.
x4
SHOW: The
Plain White T's
supporting Fall
Out Boy's
"Young Wild
Things" Tour
DATE:
Tuesday,
November 13,
2007
VENUE:
Wachovia
Spectrum