Live Review: Gym Class Heroes (USA)

8 August 2007 | 9:10 am | Staff Writer
Originally Appeared In

Gym Class Heroes (USA) @ Billboards w/ Capeside

In the last six months, Gym Class Heroes have exploded. Whereas once their records were found alongside releases from Fall Out Boy etc… GCH are all over radio and MTV. That kind of crossover appeal attracted a mixed crowd to Billboards tonight but regardless of your musical background everyone seemed to agree on one thing… that a good time was to be had!

Sole support act for the evening was Melbourne’s own Capeisde. Having only starting playing shows a few months ago, Capeside have an onstage chemistry that most bands would kill for. Obviously various members being from other well known groups helps, but these guys (and girl) know how to work a stage and ensured the night was off to a great start.

Considering GCH had opened Gwen Stefani’s massive arena shows a couple of nights earlier, I wasn’t expecting much of a crowd for tonight’s gig, but by the time Gym Class Heroes hit the stage the room had filled out pretty well.

A lot of bands claim they don’t care about the size of a crowd, and that they put on the same show regardless of how many people are there – GCH are one group who certainly live up to this.

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From the get go, their set was energetic, upbeat and a hell of a lot of fun. Front man Travis McCoy was clearly born for the stage and did a fantastic job of holding his audience’s attention for an hour plus set.

Every member of Gym Class Heroes had a smile on their face throughout their set and they all proved they are talented musicians in their own right. The live instrumentation sounded great and gave GCH set a vibe that is often lacking from hip hop performances.

The show was over by 9:45pm which was great because we could stop spending on beers, but apart from the drink prices, I think you’d be hard pressed to find an audience member that didn’t have a good time!

Given the response for their maiden voyage to Australia, I think it’s safe to say that we’ll be seeing Gym Class Heroes again in the near future.