I had the opportunity to see Gym Class Heroes about a year ago in Miami at the Jackie Gleason Theater in Miami. It was a fantastic concert. My girlfriend and I who are both fans had an amazing time.
Unlike some hip-hop acts their live performance stayed very true to what you would hear when jamming to one of their CD at home. Maybe its the fusion of Rap and Rock that they just personify and pull off so well.
The concert was a crazy outdoor live experience. The venue is a well-furnished auditorium setting with a perhaps only a few hundred seats. Our seats were terrific somewhere in the first few rows center-stage. The set was pretty long and included most of their huge hits but also several of their less well known songs.
The highlight was when they played Viva La White Girl which is probably my favorite song of theirs. I was so happy I managed to snag tickets to this as they ended up taking a break to pursue solo projects shortly after this. I am quite sure or at least hopeful that they will get back together at sometime and pump out some new great anthems.
Head Automatica’s first live show in Scotland saw them head to Garage, Glasgow. The venue, a nightclub popular with students, was a perfect choice for Palumbo and co.’s debut here, and the high octane performance didn’t fail to disappoint.
Palumbo got the audience caught up in their joyful performance during crowd favourite "Beating Heart Baby," the highpoint of night. The song screams out for stamping along feet and shouting along lyrics, and the crowd are only to happy to oblige.
The highlights of the evening mostly came courtesy of tracks from their 2004 dance-inspired album 'Decadence.' Along with stand out "Beating Heart Baby," highlights of the night came in the shape of "Please Please Please (Young Hollywood)" and "Brooklyn Is Burning." As Palumbo exuberantly asserts in "Brooklyn is burning," "I got, I got, what the people want," it seems that tonight, as the crowd shout along with him, he really does. With several lineup changes already under their belts, Head Automatica consistency comes from Palumbo. 'Glassjaw' fans might not revel in the new direction Palumbo is heading with Head Automatica, especially given 2006’s 'Popaganda’s propensity towards the pop-rock genre, but the band have found a sound that that’s picking up new fans along the way, as well as a few of the 'Glassjaw' faithful. Head Automatica might not be groundbreaking, but they give the crowd exactly what the want, and they give the impression that they’re have a hell of a lot of fun along the way.