The members of Mayday Parade brought a great deal of energy to their show at the House of Blues, where they rocked out for the annual Take Action Tour. Photo credit: Sam Leon, contributing reporter

A packed House of Blues buzzed with electricity last Sunday night Feb. 21, where the Take Action Tour was taking place. While most everyone was attending to see the bands, they also helped a good cause simply by buying a ticket since Take Action donates 10% of ticket sales to non-profit organizations.

Once the concert got under way, Stereo Skyline, There For Tomorrow, and A Rocket to the Moon each played three quick sets.

Next, the pop/rock group Mayday Parade started in on their first song. Their upbeat songs and catchy choruses really got the crowd moving. One thing that was very noticeable was that each and every member of the band brought a lot of energy. They were very active on stage, which involved thrashing their guitars over their heads and moving all around the stage.

Given how important Mayday’s energy was to their performance, it was nice to see a completely stripped down version of “I Swear This Time I Mean It.” Having lead singer Derek Sanders onstage alone with his guitar brought a nice change of pace to the set. It was quite evident that many Mayday fans were in the crowd, as many audience members sang along to this acoustic version of the song.

Afterwards, the liveliness of the set resumed with full strength, and the audience got even more into it. As one crowd surfer after another was pulled down from right in front of the stage, Mayday played a string of energetic songs. The song “Black Cat” really stood out to me because of its extremely catchy guitar hook. Mayday then ended their set with their most popular song, “Jamie All Over,” which I also feel is their best song.

Overall, Mayday’s stage presence was incredible, but what made their set impressive was that they had great music to back it up.

As the stage was set up for We The Kings, there was a brief video presentation about the Take Action Tour. It explained that Take Action sheds light to young people on important issues and how everyone can make a difference. Issues from depression to volunteerism have taken center stage since it was founded in 1999.

Then, 12-year-old Patrick Pedraja took the stage for a brief talk about Driving For Donors, an organization he founded when he was diagnosed with Leukemia. A friend of Pedraja died because they were unable to find a matching bone marrow donor. This is when he realized the importance of people signing up to the National Marrow Registry, where there is currently a critical shortage of minority donors.

We The Kings is probably best known for the two hits singles “Check Yes Juliet” and “Heaven Can Wait,” which both made the Top 40.

However, they did not benefit any from having to follow Mayday Parade. For one, their music is simply not as fast and as in your face as Mayday’s is. Part of this may have to do with only have four members as opposed to five, though the main reason is simply having a different style of music.

Although their front man Travis Clark is very charismatic, performance wise, they could not match the explosiveness and intensity of Mayday Parade. That is not to say that We The Kings was not able to get the crowd rocking with “She Takes Me High” and an impressive array of songs.

A highlight of the show was a surprise guest appearance by Demi Lovato for a duet with Travis Clark on the song “We’ll Be A Dream.” Apparently, Demi’s fans had found out through Twitter that she would be performing, and they had come out to the show simply to see Demi.

While following Mayday Parade was a tall task, We The Kings was able to deliver with a very strong performance that really rocked the House of Blues.

If you would like to find out more information on how to be added to the National Marrow Registry, visit www.marrow.org/JOIN. To support Driving For Donors, please text ACTION to 85944 to donate $5.

Jared and Jerusha Hess, the team that brought us Napoleon Dynamite and Nacho Libre, are back with another quirky comedy. This one, however, is sans the lovable characters and dry humor that won our hearts over five years ago with Napoleon Dynamite.

Benjamin Purvis, the protagonist in Gentlemen Broncos, is a home-schooled 17-year-old raised in Utah by his mother. When Benjamin finds out his idol, sci-fi legend Dr. Ronald Chevalier, will be teaching a writers camp, he packs up his best manuscript, Yeast Lords: The Bronco Years, and sets out to fulfill his dream.

On the bus, Benjamin, who has no friends, begins socializing with two other misfits—Tabatha and Lonnie. Both are very weird, and neither treats Benjamin very well. Instead of being likable, they quickly become annoying.

Once at camp, Benjamin attends the speech given by Dr. Ronald Chevalier, ingeniously played by Jemaine Clement (Flight of the Conchords), who is the highlight of the film with his perfectly deadpan performance. Chevalier views his students as untalented and often scoffs at their amateurism. His serious, self-important delivery is hilarious in itself. Combine that with some wacky lecture of how to create sci-fi character names, and you get the most hilarious moments of the film.

Unfortunately, we are abruptly taken away from the comical camp scenes and are instead transported back to Benjamin’s boring life in Utah.

A fundamental problem of Gentlemen Broncos lies in Benjamin not being a character the audience roots for. I think part of this results from Benjamin being such a pushover. Benjamin is a pretty pathetic person who shows little emotion, and he doesn’t provide any laughs either.

Throughout the film, entire sequences from Benjamin’s book are played out onscreen. These scenes do nothing to progress the film forward and fail to provide either humor or excitement. Moreover, they are completely and utterly disturbing. Once again, it’s hard to root for, or even like, a protagonist who writes such unsettling stories.

It was really disappointing to see the amount of gross-out moments Gentlemen Broncos had. In one scene, instead of capitalizing on the talented Mike White’s dry humor, we see a snake defecate all over him.

Another time we see Benjamin vomit in a trashcan before starting a conversation with Tabatha while chunks of vomit are still on his face. They then proceed to make out.

Both scenes succeed in being excessively gross, but neither is the slightest bit funny.

The most interesting character in the film is by far Dr. Ronald Chevalier, who constantly wears a Bluetooth headset he never uses. Though he is presented as the film’s antagonist, I would not have minded if the entire movie was about him. At the very least, he could have been incorporated in more screen time.

Though Chevalier is Gentlemen Bronco’s saving grace, even he couldn’t save a script that had so many inherent flaws.
It’s always a shame to see a brilliant performance, talented cast, or gifted set of writers go to waste. Sadly, this film wasted all three.

Couples Retreat features one of the best movie cast of this summer or fall season, and the payoff is a healthy share of laughs. Unfortunately, an unfocused plot prevents it from living up to it’s potential hilarity.

The problem is not the acting. Jason Bateman (Jason) and Kristen Bell (Cynthia) do a fine job of playing a couple on the brink of divorce. Their friends are also strongly played by Vince Vaughn (Dave) and Malin Akerman (Ronnie), Jon Favreau (Joey) and Kristen Davis (Lucy), and Faizon Love (Shane).

Jason and Cynthia explain to their friends via a PowerPoint that they want to go to Eden, a luxurious tropical resort, as a final attempt to save their marriage. The only hitch is that they can only afford this trip if they take advantage of a special group discount deal, which would involve their friends coming along to paradise too. However, Jason and Cynthia conveniently forget to mention that the couple’s skill building sessions are not optional.

We spend far too much time watching Jason convince the other couples to accompany them on the trip. They all finally agree to go to the island, which provides a beautiful backdrop for the movie.

Things then take a turn for the worst when the couples, with help from their therapists, begin having problems in their relationship. These therapy scenes are when Couples Retreat is at its strongest. Some of the most memorable laughs come from seeing Jason Bateman pull an imaginary gun on Ken Jeong as well as watching Vince Vaughn freak out at his therapist’s (John Michael Higgins) excessive note-taking. These character-driven laughs progress the story forward in part by providing some insight into the characters and marriages, something I would have enjoyed more of.

This is in direct contrast to some of the other scenes, which feel more like gags made just for the trailers. An example is when Joey and Lucy attempt to seduce their masseuses. There’s no payoff in this scene.

The movie’s main problem is that there are too many characters, which results in most of them being one-dimensional. An alternative could have been focusing more on Jason, Cynthia, Dave, and Ronnie; while the other couples played a more minor role.

Even given its flaws, Couples Retreat has a strong enough cast to provide the audience with consistent laughs. It may not be a classic, but if you’re looking for a fun movie, you won’t be disappointed.

The members of Paramore almost didn’t make it to their third album. In 2008, they cancelled their European tour due to internal band issues, and recording sessions in their hometown of Franklin, Tenn. were not going smoothly.

Luckily for us, Paramore headed out to Calabasas, Calif. to work with producer Rob Cavallo (Green Day), and the result is one exceptional album.

The first five tracks, including their first single “Ignorance,” kick the album open with upbeat songs full of energy and often anger. Even with the addictive hooks, the album (titled “Brand New Eyes”) largely deals with the band members’ rocky friendships and almost having to call it quits. “Playing God” has a remarkably catchy chorus, even as singer Hayley Williams warns, “Next time you point a finger I might have to bend it back or break it, break it off.”

On the B-side, “Eyes” wisely takes a slower turn with ballads like “The Only Exception” and “Misguided Ghosts.” These both represent an appreciated change of pace for an album that starts off with so much energy. The last track, “All I Wanted,” full of powerful vocals and layered guitars, is one of the strongest songs of the album.

It is evident that considerable thought was put into each individual instrument. On any given song you are bound to hear a catchy guitar rift, an interesting drum section, or even an unexpected bass line. Instead of simply acting as an accompaniment to Williams’ vocals, the dynamic instrumental parts give life to the music.

Though the lyrics and vocals are strong, I would have liked to see Paramore’s backup singer Josh Farro utilized a little more.

“Brand New Eyes” has fast songs, slow songs and songs in between. While a few songs touch on the subject of love, friendship is the prevailing subject. Williams is honest when describing the isolation she felt from her friends and fellow band members during their rough times. Though the band almost broke up, Paramore’s members recognize that they are a closer band and better people for going through the struggles they did.

In “Looking Up,” Williams says, “I can’t believe we almost hung it up,” before singing “We’re just getting started!” Judging by both the energy in the audience and on stage Tuesday night at the Fox Theater, I’m taking her word for it.

When Kanye West took the mic from Taylor Swift at the MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) and proclaimed that Beyonce had one of the best music videos of all time, I was convinced that it was another MTV scripted “reality” moment.

That’s when celebrities started tweeting about the incident. Pink said, “Kanye West is the biggest piece of shit on earth.”  Heidi Montag went so far as to say she “saw the devil in action.” It was then that I realized MTV had not planned one of the few entertaining moments of their otherwise horrendous two and a half hour show.

When P Diddy started reading the nominees for “Best Male Video,” the crowd booed and jeered angrily at the mention of “Kanye West,” who was nominated for his video “Love Lockdown.”

T.I. was also nominated. Currently, T.I. is in jail for illegally purchasing several machine guns and silencers. When T.I. was announced as a winner the crowd cheered and roared with enthusiasm for the rapper who “couldn’t be with us tonight.” Eventually the crowd stood to their feet in a prolonged ovation.  Granted, Kanye interrupting Taylor Swift’s speech was both incredibly rude and disrespectful, but it was absolutely appalling at how loving the crowd was towards T.I., a convicted felon.

The next day the loathing feelings towards Kanye only grew exponentially. Tim McGraw told CMT Insider, “[Kanye] needs an ass whoopin’.” Later, Kelly Clarkson blogged a surprisingly vicious rant directed towards Kanye, stating “I’ve seen you do some pretty shitty things, but you just keep amazing me with your tactless, asshole ways. It’s absolutely fascinating how much I don’t like you. I like everyone. I even like my asshole ex that cheated on me over you…which is pretty odd since I don’t even know you.”

The celebrities who began to bash on Kanye seemed to forget that he ruined the VMAs for Taylor Swift and became more interested in insulting him. Their comments took on a life of their own.

Who was this man everyone seemed so hell-bent on ruining?

A proud “mama’s boy,” Kanye attended college for three semesters before dropping out to sign with Roc-A-Fella, which was reluctant to sign him because he doesn’t fit the typical rapper profile. He chooses to dress with preppy attire and never shied again from his middleclass upbringing with no pretense to gangsta ties. He encourages kids to follow through with their education. The Kanye West Foundation helps combat the severe drop problem in high schools by helping under-served students unleash their creative ability and reach their full potential by partnering with community organizations. One of Kanye’s self-described goals is “to inspire up-and-coming artists to go against the grain.”

This is the man the President chooses to call a “jackass” and radio stations ban? Kiss 95.1 in Florida announced they were removing all of Kanye’s music from their playlists. I wonder if they ever considered banning all the artists with overly violent or sexual songs, such as Lil Wayne’s provocative hit “Lollipop,” which was one of the top ten most played songs on the radio during 2008. I was reminded of how the audience did not boo, but clapped, when Wayne leaped up on stage to receive a Grammy for Best Rap Album of the Year. Wayne claims himself a member of the Bloods, the violent gang responsible for thousands of murders in Los Angeles. A red bandana hung from his jeans as he gave his Grammy speech.

Nevertheless, what upset me most was the way celebrities and other musicians were so quick to jump on the Kanye Hate-Wagon and rip him apart. True, Kanye was wrong to jump on stage (even if the show would’ve otherwise been a snoozer). Yet, here is an artist who wrote the song “Roses,” a bedside account of his experience when his grandmother was hospitalized. Kanye is one of the few artists we have today who relies on music, not image or a train wreck public life, to sell albums. His music spreads positively and Kanye is a walking example of how to have the confidence to believe in yourself.

In Greenwich Village, Kanye was willing to risk his “street cred” by standing up for gays after a consciousness-raising encounter in a clothing store. Meanwhile, all his colleagues seem passionate about is bashing him.

Musicians used to be passionate and have something to say.  None of the celebrities self-righteously piling on Kanye, “nobly” ripping him to shreds with vicious comments, are willing to take a stance on anything of political importance. They won’t risk alienating a single fan by standing up for health care or holding Congressman Joe Wilson in check after his outburst during Obama’s speech. It’s time they get their perspective in check and take a stand for what’s actually important.