Photo by Alex Rauch
Hello Epicenter, the crazed Inland Empire teenagers have landed and they were here for a pop-punk serenade courtesy of five devastatingly good-looking young gentleman plastered in the tightest skinny jeans possible: The Academy Is….
As TAI took the stage they were met with a rush of teenage thrill, the chill blast of misters, and a giant dancing lobster. Met with a thousand batting eyelashes, the lead singer looked like a 1950s crooner à la Frankie Valli in a tight black t-shirt and a retro swoop.
Crushing hard, devoted teenage girls pressed against the barricade singing along to “About A Girl” as if they had practiced this moment their whole lives. The energy the band was projecting was palpable; the singer used the microphone stand as a prop/dangerous weapon of rock ‘n roll showmanship while the drummer was a beat-driven beast, hungry for the next hit of his drumstick.
This energy transferred into the audience as they pumped their fists and clapped along to songs like “Slow Down,” “Bulls,” and “We’ve Got a Big Mess On Our Hands.” Their pop-punk vibe was a perfect precursor to the highly anticipated climax of Blink 182 later tonight, whom they gave a shout out to at the end of their set sending shock waves through the crowd and emitting a battle cry from Blink fans present.
Way to get the punk-rock party started, The Academy Is…!
[Photo Center] KROQ Epicenter…
Rebecca/Ana
October 15, 2010 9:45 pm
The Giant Lobster was us!!
we wrote Rok Lobster on it and waved it around hahahaha good times.