Earlier this year in Assistant Music Director’s Mailbox I reviewed the up and coming band, Honor Society’s debut album Fashionably Late. It was a solid effort that I enjoyed so I decided to see how the band would be live. I didn’t really know what to expect when I arrived at Boston’s Paradise Rock Club to see the band on their Fashionably Late Tour 2009. I was especially curious when I was handed a pear upon entry and told to not eat it yet. Now I’ve been handed a lot of things on my way into concerts, but fruit was definitely something new. Once I reached the performance space it all became clear. Within five minutes Honor Society came out and told us that they were shooting a video for their YouTube channel called “Snackin’ on a Pear.” Basically it was a variation of Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer” rewritten to be about pears, since the tour’s sponsor was USA Pears. It was admittedly a cool and odd way to kick off the show, as the crowd was videotaped singing along and waving our pears in the air.
Honor Society Fashionably Late
Published: Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Updated: Tuesday, January 26, 2010
After the video shoot the opening acts performed, and after about an hour and a half Honor Society finally hit the stage. They kicked off the show with a high octane performance of their song “Full Moon Crazy” and the whole crowd was going crazy. One thing I have to give these guys is over the course of the show they were having just as much fun, if not more, than we all were. The best kinds of concerts are when the bands are having fun performing and rocking out with the crowd. Honor Society was definitely good with this cardinal rule. Seeing as the Paradise Rock is a rather small club setting, the band was constantly coming right up to the edge of the stage interacting and rocking out with the audience. Given some of their tactics were a little corny, such as having us all hold up two fingers during the performance of their song “Two Rebels,” you never really knew what was coming next.
Seeing the band live also helped me to better appreciate the songs on the album that I wasn’t really feeling in my last review. Current single “Over You” is excellent live, and what I considered to be a weak chorus works much better in a live performance setting. The best surprise was the performance of the ballad “My Own Way,” which I previously described as bringing the album to a screeching halt. Honor Society brought their opening act, Justin Timberlake’s protégé, Esmee Denters, on stage to perform the song as a duet between her and lead singer Michael Bruno. The song works much better as a duet and the two of them had an excellent harmony, which really gave new life to the song and made it one of the best performances of the night.
I did however take issue with one part of the show. Before performing “Here Comes Trouble,” lead singer, Michael Bruno, decided to talk to the audience. Usually I’m all for this but it gets a little painful when after each word he stops to let the girls in the audience scream. It should not take ten minutes to say two sentences. I had an unfinished paper waiting for me in Rindge due the next morning; I was not in the mood. However all was forgiven when they played a surprise song from earlier in their career, “This Bed Is an Ocean.” It's a fantastic rock song which the band announced would be on their next album.
Honor Society closed the show with my favorite song off of the album, “See U In The Dark,” and created the ultimate party atmosphere. Half of the audience was jumping up and down screaming, and half was doing the band’s homemade dance “The Honor Roll,” specifically created to go along with the song at concerts. Of course I practiced the dance extensively before the show so that I was well prepared for this moment. Overall it was an excellent show that was only enhanced by the intimate setting of the Paradise Rock. The band rocked it out like seasoned performers and made it so even someone who had never heard an Honor Society song in their life could have a great time. While their antics sometimes led to annoyance, the rest of the show more than made up for it.
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