Date:November 2, 2002
Location:Saratoga Winners - Cohoes, NY
Bands: Good Charlotte, Home Grown, The Halo Friendlies
Out of every single show I have ever been to I have never seen any band put in as much as Good Charlotte did this night. I had been waiting for this show for what seemed to be forever. This had been my second time seeing Good Charlotte live but I seemed to be even more excited for this show then I was for Warped.
It’ll all started on an early Saturday evening. Since the clocks had been turned back the previous weekend it seemed to be dark for the time of day we left. The drive to New York was breeze and all my fellow riders and me could think about was how excited we were to see one of our favorite bands play again. As we hit New York we noticed that the temperature had dropped to… let’s say around 23 degrees. Snow had already been falling for what seemed to be a half hour and the road ahead of us was starting to get wet. In spite of the nasty weather we were experiencing we kept our heads high and finally made it to our destination around five thirty. The line waiting outside was not as long as I thought it would be. Every fan pushed together in attempts to get warm as we started to wait outside in freezing weather. The anticipation grew as Halo Friendlies were heard doing their sound check for the evening. The doors opened and the crowd started to move slowly into the building where the jittery wait would soon begin.
We made it inside and started the long process of defrosting our feet. The first place my buddies and myself visited was the merch booths. We were lucky enough to meet Judita and Ginger from Halo Friendlies and even get a few free things from a local radio station. We talked to Judita for a while and then retreated back to our standing area to wait for the show to start. The lights finally went low and the background music stopped as the first band, Halo Friendlies took stage.
I’m a huge Halo fan. Their newest album “Get Real” is one of my favorite albums to date so you can image my excitement when they came on. I watched them play a wonderful set playing many of the songs off “Get Real” including “Milwaukee”, “Over It”, “Disappear”, and their first single off the album, “Sellout.” The crowd seemed to like the ladies and bobbed their heads to the catchy songs. The girls played a nice thirty minute set before they walked out gaining a few more fans then they already had.
The next band to come on was Homegrown. I really had never really taken the time to listen to Homegrown but took my chance with them anyway. These boys were extremely funny during their set. They did a mix of songs from both the albums “Act Your Age” and “Kings Of Pop”. Some of the crowd’s favorites seemed to be “I Love You Not”, “She’s Anti”, and a cover that was way better then the original of “Barbie Girl” from the band Aqua. Their set couldn’t be completed without the entire crowd being able to see drummer Darren Reynolds rear end after they completed an amazing set.
After meeting all members of the Halo Friendlies we all decided that we were more then ready for Good Charlotte. The crowd chanted “Good Charlotte” as their patience became shorter and shorter. Finally the all too familiar sound of the childish music that belonged to the “Intro” on the latest album “The Young and The Hopeless” began to play loudly from the front. Cheers rose as the excitement filled the room. The three guitarists walked out on to the stage along with the replacement drummer and began to play the energetic beginning to the show. The familiar riffs of “The Anthem” Soon followed as the lead singer Joel Madden jumped out onto the stage and into the next song. Good Charlotte played an exceptional show with a set list including songs from the latest album such as “The Anthem”, “Wondering”, “My Bloody Valentine”, “Riot Girl”, and “Hold On”. Along with the newer songs they played the oldies but goodies off the first self-titled CD that was released in late 2000. Songs like “Little Things” and “Motivation Proclamation” had the entire crowd singing along as the band gave it their all. Of course the last song they played was the popular hit “Lifestyles Of The Rich and Famous” which got the entire crowd hyped up and excited. Overall, Good Charlotte played absolutely incredibly and I definitely recommend them to anyone who loves energetic shows. This was well worth the hour drive to Cohoes.
For More Information:
• Good Charlotte Official Site: www.goodcharlotte.com
• Home Grown Official Site: www.homegrownonline.com
• Halo Friendlies Official Site: www.halofriendlies.com