New Found Glory performs on the Pepsi Stage at the South Florida Fair. (Photo by Maysa Askar)

True to what this quintet from Coral Springs is known for, New Found Glory opened on the Pepsi Stage at the South Florida Fair with one of the group’s more popular songs, “All Downhill From Here”, from their album Catalyst.

Lights dimmed, screams erupted and then, boom! — the beginning of what was a rather enjoyable show. Throughout the show NFG excitedly and tirelessly jumped headlong into song after song. Lead singer Jordan Pundik expertly hyped the crowd up through each song until everyone was up and singing along.

Despite the difficulty hearing the words to the songs due to a bit of mic trouble, NFG’s loyal fan base took care by filling in the lyrics at the top of their lungs through the whole show. NFG owned the stage with total completeness and obvious love of performing.

Photos: New Found Glory at the South Florida Fair | Visit this writer’s website

They also showed their sense of humor with an interesting cover of Sixpence None The Richer’s hit “Kiss Me”. NFG took the pop song and merged it with their hardcore influenced punk rock tempo, ultimately creating a rather interesting and fun version of the song.
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My Chemical Romance performs in front of an appreciative crowd at Revolution Live. (Maysa Askar for pbpulse.com)

It’s been a few years since the New Jersey boys of My Chemical Romance (MCR) rocked South Florida, but they made up for lost time with energy to spare.

MCR has always been known for delving into the dramatics of performing, and they sure gave the crowd a big dose. This flair for quirkiness did nothing short of make the show that much more visually entertaining. In tribute to their new album, Danger Days, the crowd played along by adding their own flair for drama with shiny masks and feathery boas. This sight was definitely an interesting twist to the way a crowd shows their love to their favorite bands.

More: Photos from My Chemical Romance at Revolution | More music coverage

Starting off with one of their recent singles, “Na Na Na”, MCR literally had the crowd jumping and singing along. They added other fan favorites such as “Planetary (Go!)”, “Hang Em’ High”, and “Mama”. Pure adrenaline craziness busted onto the stage from the red hair of lead singer Gerard Way to the sick guitar and drum solos from band members Ray Toro (guitar), Mikey Way (bass), Frank Iero (guitar) and Michael Pedicone (drums).
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Darius Rucker performs at Sunset Cove Amphitheater. (Erin Marta / rhythmscene.com)

True to country style, Darius Rucker first came out on stage at the Sunset Cove Amphitheater in torn jeans, cowboy boots, Chevrolet T-Shirt, and ball cap. After all, though he may have been the lead singer of a rock band like Hootie and the Blowfish, Rucker has serious country roots.

Originally born in South Carolina in 1966 (hence his recent album title Charleston, SC 1966), Rucker turned to country after first dabbling in R&B after leaving Hootie and The Blowfish. Whatever the genre, Rucker gave a performance with such heart you couldn’t help but want to get on your feet to watch for more.

He was more than happy to allow fans to look back at Hootie’s brightest moments, slipping popular songs like “Let Her Cry”, “Only Wanna Be With You” and “Hold My Hand” into his song list for the night.

As the show went on it was apparent Rucker was at his most comfortable by turning back to his roots. Rucker’s singing was undeniably coming from the core — even if he did slightly lose his wind in the middle of a few songs. Singing crowd favorites such as “Come Back Song”, “Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It”, “All I Want”, and “Southern State of Mind”, Rucker gave Southern lovin’ folk a show to remember.

Photos: Darius Rucker at Sunset Cove Amphitheater | More country music coverage

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Lead singer Jim Adkins of Jimmy Eat World performs at Revolution Live. (Erin Marta / rhythmscene.com)

Photos: Jimmy Eat World at Revolution Live | Visit this writer’s website

Beginning in 1994, Jimmy Eat World has been around for about 17 years. What do they have to show for it? Seven albums, sold out concerts, and a never-ending sea of devoted listeners growing throughout the years.

Their recent album Invented, released last September, was dubbed “classic Jimmy Eat World.”

From the first footstep onto the stage at Fort Lauderdale’s Revolution Live, Jimmy Eat World — made up of lead vocalist/guitarist Jim Adkins, guitarist Tom Linton, bassist Rick Burch and drummer Zach Lind — more than gave a performance to remember. Their easy to remember lyrics had the three floors of fans screaming — yes, you read that correctly, screaming — to the words of the songs played. The dedication and obvious love of performing rubbed off on the crowd, making it an all-around interesting watch. Every drop of sweat and funny facial expression from the band members did nothing short of showing how far they get into the moment for their beloved fans.
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The Used's lead singer, Bert McCracken, acknowledges the crowd at the Pespi Stage. (Katy Piedmont for pbpulse.com)

Photos: The Used at South Florida Fair

While waiting for the concert Wednesday at the South Florida Fair to begin, the infamous Batnails from 103.1 The Buzz graced the audience with his presence. Of course wherever Batnails goes, his handy dandy video recorder is attached with him whenever he revs the crowd.

With the crowd sufficiently fired up, the Utah-based group The Used made their appearance with a high-energy version of a fan favorite, “Take It Away”.

Adding a twist to crowd pleasing, lead singer Bert McCracken urged the “sisters” of the crowd to sing with him, causing tons of girls to scream in adoration. Then of course there’s the usual rock concert fist pumping, jumping, head banging, moshing, crowd surfing and diving.

McCracken — who is joined in The Used by guitarist Quinn Allman, bassist Jeph Howard and drummer Dan Whitesides — mentioned how good it was being back in South Florida. He then reminded everyone about the last time the band was in West Palm Beach, which was back in 2009 for the Buzz Bake Sale where apparently McCracken got arrested, thus beginning a tradition he said he would try to live up to while here.
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Mike Donehey and Jeff Owen of Tenth Avenue North perform on the Pepsi Stage. (Erin Marta / rhythmscene.com)

Photos: Tenth Avenue North at the South Florida Fair

Tenth Avenue North is a Christian rock band that originated 11 years ago in the dorm rooms of Palm Beach Atlantic University. So yes, when you read the band title Tenth Avenue North, that is really the street many of us drive on several times a day.

“We actually decided on the name driving home after a frustrating night of trying to figure out a band name,” said lead singer Mike Donehey during their show at the South Florida Fair’s Pepsi Stage. “One of us just blurted out the street name and we all just said yeah. We meant to change it, but never got around to it. Now it’s a band title that represents West Palm Beach!”

Donehey – who is joined in Tenth Avenue North by Jeff Owen (guitar), Jason Jamison (drums), Ruben Juarez (bass) and new keyboardist Brendon Shirley — openly admitted to the crowd that this show “is very much like a homecoming for us.”

Result? A crowd full of people cheering and clapping.
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Linkin Park's Chester Bennington and Mike Shinoda sing to the crowd at BankAtlantic Center on Thursday. (Christina Mendenhall / rhythmscene.com)

Photos: Linkin Park at BankAtlantic Center

The first thought that went through my head as I awaited the inevitable insanity while trying to exit BankAtlantic Center: Linkin Park gave a performance with such unending energy that you did not want it to stop. The 18-song concert more than made up for the headache of getting to the arena with all the traffic, rain, and don’t forget lines, lines, lines.

Thursday’s show was the first of their new tour — A Thousand Suns: World Tour 2011. If the show was any indication of how the tour would be, get ready for a mind-blowing experience. Linkin Park’s ability to mix rap and rock is what helped distance the group from the rest of the mainstream, giving the group their own unique sound. Chester Bennington and Mike Shinoda, vocalists of Linkin Park, work in such a cohesive manner that has had millions falling in love with their music from all over. Bennington, Shinoda, Brad Delson (guitarist), Rob Bourdon (drums) and Joe Hahn (turntables/electronics) all worked together to complement their music.

They did not disappoint in Sunrise. Their 18 songs played consisted of music from their entire catalog, through their albums A Thousand Suns, Minutes to Midnight, Meteora and Hybrid Theory and also their popular single “New Divide” from the Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen soundtrack.
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Joan Rivers. (Jemal Countess / Getty Images)

Crude, rude and hilarious! So said the crowd of people as everyone made their way out of the doors at Hard Rock Live after a night of sidesplitting laughter, and I couldn’t agree more. Joan Rivers is best known today for her E! show, Fashion Police.

Her ability to say the most outrageous things while pushing the boundaries of vulgarity has won the hearts, or rather the shocking admiration, of many. Her un-bashfulness of slandering the rich and famous by speaking her mind without caring of the consequences has lead her to become the voice of frank, and perhaps harsh truth that people and society knows her for.

At the beginning of her appearance on stage, Joan began her act by making announcements followed by questioning, “Is this what my life has come to?” ultimately ending in laughs and chuckles throughout the arena. Followed by the announcements she then began to share her unyielding point of view on life. It became apparent right away that she is a definite believer in the cliché that diamonds are a girl’s best friend, and that if a woman marries she is to marry big, big money.
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Godsmack performs at Hard Rock Live in Hollywood. (Erin Marta / rhythmscene.com)

UPDATED: Corrected song title.

Photos: Godsmack at Hard Rock Live

Ears ringing, adrenaline pumping, and the tickling foreshadowing of lost voices yet to be recovered — those who attended Hard Rock Live’s concert left in an unspoken satisfied haze after being officially backhanded by Godsmack with little to no complaints.

The night began with the popular and well-known song “Cryin’ Like A B***h,” before jumping to fan favorites such as “Awake,” “Speak,” “Love-Hate-Sex-Pain,” ”The Enemy,” “I Stand Alone,” and many others.

One song that stood out a little more was “War and Peace,” where the underlying message of the emphasis on division and unity was played up by the panels in the background, which separated when displaying the word “war”, then came back together in harmony at the word “peace”. Then an abrupt stop three-quarters of the way into the song created a tiny sliver of silence; allowing crowd to feel the emptiness of the message –- you just knew it wasn’t over –- and giving them a chance to soak up the shock.

Following the shock was a dramatic change of pace when guitarist Tony Rambola started playing an acoustic-feeling solo with a tri-colored spotlight shining from above, avalanching into the pop ups of glowing cell phone screens and lighters across the arena. Sliding from the contagious feel of the solo, the familiar hypnotic beats of the popular song “Serenity” sparked to life. Looking across the crowd as lead singer Sully Erna’s haunting voice played over the speakers, a slow, hypnotic trance-like sway began to take hold, ending in an arena full of swaying zombie-like fans caught up in the emotion of the song.

As lights went out and the sense of an unfulfilled end nearing, fans across the arena became itchy for some more wow factors. And a wow factor is what they got! Erna and drummer Shannon Larkin amazed the crowd in Drum Wars. The display of talent and fun mixed as one as these two gave a more than satisfying performance. The unexpected tribute sent the crowd into an uproar.
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