Cute Is What We Aim For
W/ Cobra Starship, All Time Low, Mugshot.
Dec. 14, 2006
The Mod Club

I must state right now, for the record, G.A.B.E. is the S.H.I.T. I just had to throw that out there.

Due to Thursday being a clubbing night for the Mod, the concert was rescheduled to have doors open at 5 instead of a more appropriate 7ish. This most likely contributed to why Mugshot was playing to nearly a half full house, the majority of which looked like your typical high school fans.

There wasn’t too much enthusiasm coming from the crowd for the openers but there usually isn’t with early shows like this. The highlight of the set was a very well done cover of Shakira’s “Hips Don’t Lie” which sounded better than I could give the guys credit for.

The second band of the evening and the first to offer shots to crowd, All Time Low came out to a hard core rap that really got the crowd up. Energy was definitely spreading through the crowd with a mosh pit even breaking out for a few songs. It also turned out that singer Alex Gaskarth was celebrating and put on a great show like you should on your 19th birthday. I’m not really sure how many (legal) drinking partners he actually found in the crowd though.

The night shifted into a whole new gear when Cobra Starship hit the stage. They actually had the crowd going before they even came on as Gabe acted as head roadie and sound-checked all the instruments.

If there is a better showman onstage than Gabe Saporta, I haven’t seen them and they’ve got a really high bar to hurdle. Anyone who has had the pleasure of seeing Cobra Starship had to have fallen in love with Gabe and his charisma.

Playing most of the songs out of their limited catalogue, they closed with “Bring It (Snakes On A Plane)” but added an extra wrinkle to it. Apparently, as thug as he is, Gabe can’t rap and there is Travis McCoy’s (of Gym Class Heroes) verse in the song. Recognizing a fan near the front of the crowd that had been to some previous shows, Gabe pulled her out of the crowd to see if she could handle the lines. She nailed it and was rewarded with the guitarist’s sun glasses.

Rounding out the night (way too early) was Cute Is What We Aim For and were the kids ever into these guys. Playing a set containing most of their songs, CIWWAF brought a ton of energy and really demanded the attention they got. They also slowed things down with a mid-set acoustic ballad and brought people’s lighters out.

Closing with their hit, “There’s A Class For This,” surprisingly didn’t get very many people to cheer for an encore. With a little help from the birthday boy in All Time Low (who added some vocals on the previous song), the boys came back for one more and played “The Curse Of Curves,” to bring the show to an end.

It’s not very often you see a supporting band, who is in a completely different genre, put on the best set of the evening, but in the case of Cobra Starship tonight, it was completely true. Gabe truly is the shit.


- Dan Bilicki 

For more pics of Cobra Starship's set go here...

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