Walking into the Rock and Roll Hotel on Saturday night I don’t know if I was quite sure what I was getting myself into. The show was sold out which meant it was going to be crowded and as The Orwells took the stage everyone was already fighting for a spot in the front. I worked my way up front and center for one of the best spots of the show. Starting the set with their classic tune "Mall Rats (La La La)" had fans screaming and belting out the lyrics along with Mario Cuomo (yes, that’s really his name). As always Cuomo captivates the audience with the looks of Robert Plant and a fabulous "F*** you, I'll do what I want" attitude, perfect for getting the young fans riled up. When people were getting kicked out for stage diving and surfing back through the crowd he was upset and made sure to use a few gestures to prove it. After that, going up on stage was encouraged and got everyone going up for their chance to be on stage. Continuing through the set The Orwells played many great songs from their first LP, like "Halloween All Year" and teenage war cry, "Suspended." They also ripped through newer singles like "Who Needs You" and one of my absolute favorites, The Stooges' cover of "I Wanna Be Your Dog."
Covered in sweat, people's carelessly spilled beer and mixed drinks, and with my ears already ringing it was hard to realize The Orwells were not the main band and there was still more to come from FIDLAR. Continuing with the new wave punk attitude, lead singer Zac continued to encourage stage diving and participated in the crowd surfing himself, while still plugging away on the guitar. What better way to start their set than with the FIDLAR anthem, "Cheap Beer." The gritty bass-filled intro got the crowd jumping around and Zac's screaming encouraged everyone to sing along. Throughout the set favorites like "Max Can't Surf" and "No Waves" continued to draw the crowd up to the stage and get a little crazy. One fan even tried to drink from the band's bottle of Jameson. During FIDLAR's last song the Orwells even got back up on stage to join the band showing the camaraderie between them. It was pretty cool to see Mario out in the crowd during FIDLAR's set showing that he is still a true fan of music and isn't better than anyone else, although his band is gaining significant popularity. It is great to see bands who are still about music and not just about the money and the fame.
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