Despite a small crowd, Gym Class Heroes did not fail to put on an energized show in the Tavern on March 24.
The Student Union Board sponsored the free show.
Gym Class Heroes burst onto the Top 40 scene in 2007 with their single “Cupid’s Chokehold,” featuring a hook sung by Fall Out Boy lead singer Patrick Stump.
At the time, groups like Gym Class Heroes and Fall Out Boy, plus other groups signed to the Decaydance and Fueled By Ramen labels (Paramore, The Hush Sound), were successful in the popular music scene.
Since then, however, a few of these groups have seemingly fallen off the face of the planet, with Gym Class Heroes a rare survivor.
The band opened with their song “Cookie Jar,” off of the band’s lesser-known album “The Quilt,” released in 2009. The group continued to play songs off “The Quilt,” as well as material from the album released last November, “The Papercut Chronicles II.”
Most of the audience seemed to not know the songs the band was playing, but the fact that the band was so enthusiastic hyped up the crowd.
Many of the songs played were as upbeat and quirky as the band, including the cleverly-named “Solo Discotheque,” which, in the words of lead singer Travie McCoy, is “about masturbation; don’t pretend you don’t do it!”
Not all of the songs played were as raunchy as “Discotheque,” but the band also didn’t hesitate to bring their mildly rebellious attitude front and center. One of the first songs of the show, entitled “Peace Sign/Index Down,” had the audience acting out the song’s namesake — a hand gesture that’s not exactly acceptable in polite company.
The band also encouraged the audience to stand up for what they believed in and to stay strong in the face of adversity, playing another song off of their new album “The Fighter.” It was encouraging to see that the band could have a serious aspect to their demeanor and music in addition to the fun music released on the radio.
As to be expected, the band played “Cupid’s Chokehold,” their latest single “Ass Back Home” and closed the show with “Stereo Hearts,” their biggest hit off of “The Papercut Chronicles II,” which also features studio vocals from Adam Levine of Maroon 5.
One of the most enjoyable portions of the show, however, was when lead singer Travie McCoy sang his smash solo hit “Billionaire,” complete with a chorus sing-along with the crowd.
In a way, it was sad to see that the audience’s most enjoyed performances of the show were songs with heavy airplay on Top 40 radio, rather than songs the band was excited to play.
However, since McCoy had officially deemed the whole crowd “members of his family,” it’s just like family to bob along and laugh when McCoy made his signature funny faces, while the other band members laughed along with his jokes and played along with his antics.
