Hey Monday
House of Blues – Chicago, IL
November 23, 2009

Hey Monday is the new Paramore. Not that Paramore is going away any time soon. That band is here to stay. I am simply comparing one of my new favorite bands (Hey Monday) to one of my all-time favorite bands (Paramore) and I do not see anything wrong with that. Do you? While watching Hey Monday perform live in concert, the similarities between lead singer Cassadee Pope and lead singer for Paramore Haley Williams are blatantly obvious. Pope is Hey Monday’s main songwriter in addition to the “face” of the group. Then there is Cassadee’s vocal skills. Pope can belt like there’s no tomorrow, proving to audiences that yes, she can really sing. No Auto-Tune for this little lady.

See more photos of Hey Monday plus the band’s set list after the jump…

Patrick McKenzie (drums, percussion)

Alex Lipshaw (rhythm guitar, backing vocals)

Cassadee Pope (lead vocals, acoustic guitar)

Mike Gentile (lead guitar, backing vocals)

Set List / Chicago

Homecoming

Josey

Run Don’t Walk

Candles

Obvious

How You Love Me

Now

For “Candles,” Pope sat herself down on a wooden bar stool and performed the song without her four bandmates. Hey Monday’s tiny yet spirited frontwoman gave the crowd another reason to respect her as a musician when she played all of “Candles” on acoustic guitar. Listening to Cassadee playing her acoustic guitar and singing her heart out brought back memories of middle school and high school camping trips. For those three minutes, I really felt like I was an awkward and insecure teenager again sitting around a bonfire late at night in the middle of the woods with my classmates surrounding me. Ah, the good old times. Not really. I so would not want to re-live high school EVER again.

Michael “Jersey” Moriarty (bass, backing vocals)

Before launching into my personal favorite Hey Monday song “Obvious,” Pope exclaimed to fans that the Florida fivesome was about to “Raise the energy in here!” I swear to God, “Obvious” is one of the most catchiest pop songs I have heard in a long time. Besides anything written and/or produced by Max Martin, “Obvious” is a pure dose of sweet and sugary power pop if you ever need it. Upon seeing Hey Monday for the first time last May in Chicago when the West Palm Beach natives opened for Fall Out Boy, I immediately bought the band’s debut record Hold On Tight via iTunes. I just had to have “Obvious” on my iPod ASAP. It was like my drug. Totally addictive. And still is! I don’t think I’ll ever get sick or tired of that track.

Unfortunately, Cassadee Pope and Co. only had time to perform seven out of the eleven songs off of Hold On Tight. “Enough with the chit chat. Let’s get on with the show!” Pope shouted to fans crammed into a sold out House of Blues. Hey Monday then proceeded to play their last song of the night “Now.” It was all over before I knew it. I wish the Decaydance/Columbia group could have played a longer set, but alas, headliner All Time Low still had to take the stage.

Just to be clear, Patrick McKenzie (drums, percussion) is currently a touring member of Hey Monday on the Glamour Kills Tour. Elliot James is the band’s former drummer and left Hey Monday sometime last month.

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