Images: Relient K, Motion City Soundtrack, Driver Friendly, Play for Keeps November 17, 2013 at Hard Rock Live

People tend to give up on going to a show pretty easily if there’s any obstacle involved, so when I heard that Las Vegas Boulevard was shut down for the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon, I immediately pictured the Hard Rock Live with Relient K, Motion City Soundtrack and friends playing to an empty room as marathoners ran through the streets below. Thankfully, my visions were a bit dramatic, and the turnout was respectable – especially for a Sunday night.

First up was Vegas-based Play for Keeps. They’re big on covers-as a cursory scroll through their YouTube page shows rocked up renditions of songs from the likes of Justin Bieber, Katy Perry and Usher. But the band is far from a novelty act, with their influences resulting in an extremely catchy brand of pop rock not that far removed from what headliners Relient K have perfected. The band did dip in the cover well once for Blink-182’s “All The Small Things.” Not surprisingly, that song got the biggest sing-along from the then-still infinitesimal crowd of early birds, which makes sense as Blink’s blend of radio friendly pop/rock and pop/punk are clearly an influence on all the bands playing that night.

Next up was Austin-based septet (I finally get to use that word!) Driver Friendly. The recent Hopeless Records signees have been in consistent rotation on my iPod, especially their astonishingly catchy Peaks + Valleys EP (seriously, give one listen to “Messidona” and see if you can get it out of your head in under a week). If you like bands like The Format, The Matches and Ultimate Fakebook just imagine that catchiness amped up to 11 and add a horn section. Frontman Tyler Welsh puts in 110%, switching from vocals to keyboard, and even to drums at one point, his energy winning over the audience that was steadily breaking way through the marathoners and filling up Hard Rock floor. After a short intro, they launched into what should be a massive sing-along with “Ghosts.” The full band chants the sparse lyrics – “It’s not death that scares us; it’s the ghosts we cannot see” – interspersed with a driving synth line and nice beat. I say “should be a massive sing-along,” but the crowd was obviously unfamiliar with the band. But by the time they hit “I Can See Canyons,” I saw a few toes start to tap along with the talented rhythm section of Jeremi Mattern and Chris Walker.

Next up was the band that more than a few people were anxious to see – Motion City Soundtrack! The Minneapolis-based quintet kicked things off with Commit This To Memory opener “Attractive Today,” one of their faster, more pop punk influenced tracks and it was a good choice, giving their set a big burst of momentum right from the get go. They stuck with CTTM, the obvious fan favorite if this night’s reaction was any indication, with “Better Open the Door” before launching into what’s possibly the band’s signature song, “The Future Freaks Me Out” from their debut I am the Movie. Outside of making me feel old with references to TV shows that were off the air by the time half the audience were entering grade school, the tune still remains very fun to sing along to. Fontman Justin Pierre sounds great live but his biggest strength, and the secret weapon of the band, is his unconventional style of pop songwriting that is a little offbeat and chock full of references to various pop culture touchstones, remaining so infectiously catchy throughout. The general public let me down by not causing the band to explode with the release of major label debut single “Her Words Destroyed My Planet” but here in the mostly full floor of the Hard Rock Live, the song resulted in dancing and deafening sing-alongs.

Admittedly, I haven’t listened to a ton of Relient K in my life, though that isn’t to be taken as a slight against the band. I streamed them a bit when they toured with MXPX but for the most part I was going into their show fresh based on my love for the openers. Earlier in their career, they played a faster, almost skatepunk-influenced style of pop punk in the vein of Slick Shoes and older Blink-182, but have since transitioned more into a straight pop rock style, and it suits them well. That sound, which reminds me a lot of All American Rejects and early The Starting Line, has gotten the long-running band on major supporting slots for stadium fillers Paramore and Fun and that big exposure resulted in a wide mix of fans in attendance, from young music lovers who just heard them from the aforementioned tour, older fans reminiscing about their more distortion peddle filled past, religious types drawn in by the band’s spiritual lyrics and possibly a marathon runner or two who gave up far too early and wanted to hang out in the climate controlled room.

The band kicked things off with the infectiously catchy and uplifting “The One I’m Waiting For,” the crowd joining in on the opening chants of “Hey Hey Hey” at the behest of frontman Matt Thiessen and crew. The song comes from the band’s 2005’s LP Mmhmm, which was the crowd favorite with radio jams “Who I Am Hates Who I’ve Been” and “Be My Escape” from the same album resulting in the exceptionally polite RK fans sporting huge grins, singing along at the top of their lungs and generally just enjoying every second of the music. Punkier track “Hello McFly” from Relient K’s debut album was my favorite of the night, with its MXPX-style bass intro and chorus of “whoa ohs” instantly worming its way into my ears (and I have to give props to any song that gets its name from Back to the Future).  The band’s latest album, Collapsible Lung, got a lot of play, with “Boomerang,” “PTL” and lead single “Don’t Blink” (which I hope was inspired by Doctor Who) already seeming like crowd favorites.

-Emily Matview | https://www.flickr.com/photos/holdfastnow/