I had been waiting two years to see Gym Class Heroes and on Friday, Sept. 15, my friend Austin and I made the drive up to the Webster Theater in Hartford to do just that. It wasn’t just any Friday night though; it was my 21st birthday.
After dropping a vagabond freshman off at Trinity to see his girlfriend, Austin and I drove around the block to the Webster. We got a prime parking spot just in front of the theater, and with our names on the guest list, I was looking forward to walking right in, avoiding the night rain almost entirely.
Well, such was not the case because at the Webster Theater, if you’re on the guest list, you’ll wait out in the rain with everyone else. After receiving a thorough soaking, we made it inside the charming former porno theater.
It was not long until we encountered a drunken suburban kid trying his best to rhyme and after that, fellow Fairfield staggers.
We actually ran into Mike Falzone ’06 who had played the Webster just the past week. It was an interesting crowd to say the least, and one that most people might not expect to see at a hip-hop show (as evidenced by the presence of Fairfield students, ourselves included).
Gym Class Heroes (GCH) is an explosive hip-hop act from Geneva, N.Y. Having been together nearly ten years now, GCH is just starting to see success.
The band brings hip-hop back to its roots with live instrumentation and stunning MC work. What is truly unique about GHC is that they are part of the indie/punk rock scene. This is largely in part due to their record label Decaydance/Fueled By Ramen, famous for bands such as Fall Out Boy, The Academy Is, and Panic! At The Disco.
The members of the band are also big fans of their label mates’ music and it shows on their most recent release, “As Cruel As School Children,” with guest spots from Academy Is singer William Beckett and Fall Out Boy singer Patrick Stump.
Their success though, is a result of danceable grooves, great rhymes, and the enigmatic energy of front man Travis “Schleprok” McCoy. Austin had already seen the Heroes several times but it was my first and I was about to be blown away.
Gym Class Heroes entered the stage to their very own theme music, as if a spectacle was about to begin. They kicked it off with the high energy “The Queen and I”, which also serves as the first track on their new disc. The song has been receiving airplay on New York radio stations all summer and is surely one of the reasons that KISS 95.7 sponsored the concert.
Travis introduced each song with a bit of its story and asked the crowd if it could possibly relate. The most memorable moment of the night was when Travis began to speak about an addiction he has been battling as he introduced the song “New Friend Request” saying, “I know many of you share in this problem of mine: I’m horribly addicted to MySpace.”
Down-to-earth and light-hearted issues are one of the things that makes GHC so appealing to the average person. The crowd bounced and swayed the whole night with the band, who may have been having even more fun than their audience.
Upon the end of their set, the crowd screamed for an encore and of course, the Heroes had to abide. Before starting the encore though, Travis threatened that they would only play their next song if everyone agreed to sing along.
The surprise was that the song they played was the Red Hot Chili Pepper’s classic “Under The Bridge.” They played an amazing version of the song and highlighted the band’s diverse range of musical influence. Finally, they closed the night with one of their oldest songs, “Boomerang Theory.”
Overall the night was a blast. We passed up a chance to hang out with the opening band Cobra Starship (famous for their minor hit “Bring It” from Snakes On A Plane) and headed home early where, unbeknownst to me, there was a birthday party waiting. My friends surprised me with a great party and Gym Class Heroes surprised me with one of the best shows of my life. A warm welcome to my 21st year.
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