Images: Motion City Soundtrack, The Lips August 21, 2011 at the Hard Rock Cafe on the Strip

It’s been far too long since Motion City Soundtrack played a real headlining show in Las Vegas. The last few times they came here they opened for Blink 182 on their big reunion tour and played an intimate, acoustic in-store at Zia Records to promote My Dinosaur Life. So while the Hard Rock Café on the Strip wasn’t at maximum capacity, when they took the stage for Sunday night’s show, those in attendance were bursting with enthusiasm to see one of the best pop songwriters of the past decade tear through a career-spanning retrospective of songs. Sunday’s show was an off-date of Motion City Soundtrack’s 4 albums 2 nights tour, so while we knew we weren’t going to get the whole discography, it was exciting to know the band was rehearsed and ready to throw any number of deep cuts our way, made evident by having an official pole prior to the show to allow fans to vote on their setlist.

A cursory glance at the crowd let me know right away that these people were going to lose their minds once Motion City took the stage. A selection of lyrics and artwork by Motion City vocalist Justine Pierre adorned practically half the attendees in the form of tattoos, with some fans coming all the way from Iowa to get their MCS fix. And the band? They delivered in full force.

They kicked things off hard with “Attractive Today,” the first track off their popular sophomore album Commit This to Memory. Memory definitely has staying power with fans, the 4 songs played from the album garnering the biggest overall reaction from the crowd (not counting the encore, of course). “Everything is Alright,” in particular, had the audience screaming at the top of their lungs in unison with Pierre and co.  Debut album I Am The Movie was equally well-represented that night with 4 songs of its own, my personal favorites “Capital H” and “My Favorite Accident“ among them.

Pierre kept the banter to a minimum between songs, justifiably saving his voice for the long sets ahead. He led the crowd through handclaps of “Stand Too Close,” the sing-alongs of “Her Words Destroyed My Planet’s” and the jumps and craziness of “Time Turn Fragile.” Of course, no one had to call for assistance to get the crowd going for the final song of the encore, the ever popular “The Future Freaks Me Out.” The band’s first single remains as popular as ever, causing quite a spectacle of exited screams and dancing.

We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention local openers The Lips, who kicked things off with their brand of danceable, new wave-inspired indie pop that’s not far removed from other locals Imagine Dragons and The Killers. The band did a great job setting the tone for the night, with vocalist Charles Earland refreshingly excited to be sharing the stage with MCS and presenting his band’s music to fresh ears.  I’m always more receptive to a band when I can tell that they are having just as much fun, if not more, then the attendees, and that’s the impression I got during their short, “whoa-oh-oh”-filled set.

-Emily Matview

Photos by Tyler Newton | http://500px.com/spottedlens

SET

Attractive Today
Everything is Alright
Captial H
A Lifeless Ordinary (Need a Little Help)
L.G. FUAD
My Favorite Accident
The Red Dress
Last Night
Can’t Finish What You Started
Time Turn Fragile
Stand Too Close
Fell In Love Without You
A-OK
Hysteria
Her Words Destroyed My Planet
Even if it Kills Me

ENCORE

The Weakends
The Future Freaks Me Out