As Gym Class Heroes took the stage, flag waving, at the 9:30 club Wednesday night, fans old and new were instantly caught up in the band's melodic sound and quick lyrical flow.
As the band began to play, a familiar hook filled the air-the sounds of an old fan favorite, "Papercuts," off the group's album "The Papercut Chronicles." The vibrations swayed through the crowd and reached the rafters, but the beats that moved this rap group's audience weren't from a soundtrack. GCH, unlike other rap outfits, plays its own instruments.
But GCH's show can hardly be defined solely as rap. The confident but unpretentious group draws on elements of the punk scene it has consistently been surrounded by. It merges genres to create a more melody-based, instrument-driven brand of hip-hop that appeals to fans by blurring stylistic lines.
Even RX Bandits fans, thrashing as they danced to the ska/pop band's mix of carefree songs and political anthems before the headliners took the stage, found something to enjoy the more different GCH.
A little while into GCH's set, the audience was rapping along to "Taxi Driver," a song whose catchy rhythm cannot match the appeal of its lyrics. The lyrics are a clever construction of many different rock band names-some emo, some alternative, some punk-that members of GCH enjoy.
"The Queen and I," with underlying Latin music themes, had the crowd singing along and was one of the highlights of the night, along with "Scandalous Scholastics," a song recounting post-class time "learning" with an attractive teacher.
"Scandalous Scholastics" is one example of the band's tongue-in-cheek lyrical style, which is only exemplified by their more serious, down-to-earth pieces. But without its humor, it is hard to say whether the group could sell out venues like the 9:30 regularly, as it has on its Daryl Hall for President Tour '07, along with openers K-OS, P.O.S. and RX Bandits.
As the band finished its set the crowd, not yet ready to go home, began to cheer. Soon, "GCH, GCH!" was on the lips of nearly every person in the club, and the guys appeared for one more song. Conspicuously missing from the stage, however, was front man Travis McCoy. McCoy soon grabbed the audience's attention, as he was standing against the upper lever railing, surrounded by excited fans.
The Heroes said goodbye with "Clothes Off!" as McCoy roamed the audience. The song's smooth R&B stylings coupled well with the end of the night but left the question of whether the group, creative as it may be both lyrically and musically, still has a thing or two to learn about class.
