327 Craig Owens Ace Enders VersaEmerge Gay Blades 3bb6eb54 - aceenders - Latest

3/27: Craig Owens, Ace Enders, VersaEmerge, Gay Blades

Get ready for a ton of awesome pictures..

VersaEmerge: Kids were lined up an hour before the show to make sure they didn't miss a second of VersaEmerge's early set, but these great performers played an acoustic encore set outside after the show so the latecomers still got their fill.

Gay Blades: Maybe I'm biased because these guys are from my parts of the east coast, but they REALLY killed it up there. Their live performance of their signature brand of trash-pop is so wild and entertaining, you honestly don't even notice their lack of bass player. As they demanded last night, the Gay Blades play music that makes you stomp in tune, not clap.

Ace Enders and a Million Different People: I've seen Ace play about a dozen times - albeit in 3 different bands and 3 different states - but last night's acoustic set was the most beautiful yet. He's just got the kind of voice that's so affecting you can't help but get a warm feeling in your stomach listing to him croon. I was very happy he threw some oldies in the mix (finishing with "Ever So Sweet", mmmm) and also did a cover of "Bittersweet Symphony" ("I'm a million different people from one day to the next..." - get it?). So that was splendid.

Craig Owens: You may know him from Chiodos or Cinematic Sunrise, but unless you've seen him solo you do not know Craig Owens. His set was part acoustic, part electric, and completely adorable. The room was dominated by a massive crowd of adoring teenage girls freaking out, and he totally catered to his audience. He even stepped down from the stage to perform a few intimate songs in the crowd, then proceeded to form a "high five tunnel" and run through it (this was only mildly successful, as it was mostly a "frenzied groping tunnel"). He performed a slow slow version of Chiodos' "Baby, You Wouldn't Last a Minute on the Creek" and a cover of Bright Eyes' "I've Been Eating For You." Those two songs alone were more than I needed to walk away happy, but really the whole set was heartfelt and sounded great.