Off The Hook:

If you couldn't tell by the picture (an actual sign in Nova Scotia... thanx Friend Liz) and the title of this entry, yesterday's highly anticipated concert was indeed amazing. The moshing was mediocry to begin with, but once the kids wisened up about it and they allowed the circle to happen - it was all good and chaos ensued from their.

I had to chuckle though, I ran into the same three kids everywhere I went in the mosh pit. At the end of the night they were like "Dude, you're hardcore out there!" A little moral booster and super funny that I was probably among the older half of the crowd, yet I out moshed the likes of them... and I have my share of aches and bruises to show for it.

First off, my kudos to Rufio. I'm not sure how well known they are, but did they ever put on a sweet show to open the night up! What's even better was that their last song happens to be one of my favorites of theirs, "Above Me." I was impressed by their harmonizing guitars and high energy. Good work guys.

MxPx... wow. I would not label myself as a die hard fan, but if you want to see a high energy show and get a reminder that three-piece punk bands can hold their own - see MxPx. This is my second time seeing them and I have to hand it to them - they're good... REALLY good. They even played a cover of "I Would Walk 500 Miles" and during their encore, they closed with "Chick Magnet" and "Punk Rawk Show"!

And who can forget Relient K. That silly band from Ohio who I didn't give a chance until their second album. This is my third time seeing them and, boy oh boy, are they ever good. You know a band is good when what they play at shows sounds 10 times better than what's on their CD, even when their CD is amazing. They even brought a banjo and xylophone for a couple of the songs. Nice work on not ProTooling them in! The thing that blessed me the most was during the song "I Am Understood" that Matty T. ripped out his in ear monitor to scream the final lines of the song. Oh yeah, and they played the theme from Full House - how wicked is that!

A good night, to say the least. No, I did not buy an over priced band t-shirt. I already have a cooler Relient K shirt than they were offering and and older MxPx one. Had I bought a shirt it probably would have been from Rufio. I walked away with only two pieces of merch: one which I'm wearing right now and the other which is not for me.

Well kids, that is my report on the Panik With A K Tour. Until next time, form the circle and may the mosh be with you.