By Ryan Broderick
Boys Like Girls, Cute Is What We Aim For and Toronto newcomer, Lights, played at the Adams playhouse on Oct. 4 and the concert was a lot of what one would expect from a cutesy set list.
Lights opened up the night with subdued synth-pop wrapped around Vanessa Carlton-like vocals. Her set opened quietly and subtly and the songstress seemed a bit unsure of herself. Unsure as well was the Hofstra audience, unfamiliar with the young musician. By the fourth or fifth song of ethereal synths and booming drums, though, the crowd seemed warmed up to the idea and by the last song of the night there was a definite buzz in the air.
Going on after Lights was Cute Is What We Aim For. Their songs may absolutely suck recorded, but as far as an entertaining live show, they were possibly the best of the night. The band used samples, as did all the acts playing, but there was a definite sense of musicianship that seemed lacking from the rest of the night. Sure most of the concert was a fashion show, but Cute Is What We Aim For had a bit more realism to their performance.
Closing the night was Boys Like Girls. If you were male and older than 14 in the audience all there was to say was “Jesus.” If anyone wanted to know what it was like to see Def Leopard in their prime, Boys Like Girls could have been a fine substitute. They danced and strutted and pouted around the stage like N’Sync with wood body guitars. Lead singer, Martin Johnson had “perfect” hair, and this is not an exaggeration: he threw a guitar pick into the audience after every song. Samples played out of a laptop from the side of the stage and played everything they were too busy dancing to play. Sure they sounded good, but what did they exactly do? It just seems if people pay to see a band play, maybe they should. With pop acts you pay for the performance and the show, but if a band claims they’re still a band, maybe they should play something.
But regardless of how the audience felt about what BLG was doing, they were definitely into them. After every song the applause was deafening and giggly. The band closed with their first single “The Great Escape” and actually it was a pretty damn good way to close the night.