All-American Rejects, Boys Like Girls Rock Out the Wiltern - 11/3
The American pop-rock band, most well known for its popular hits “Move Along,” “Dirty Little Secrets” and “It Ends Tonight,” came back with a nostalgic performance of their time-tested songs, beginning with their early tracks to songs from their most recent album.
Band front man and lead vocalist Tyson Ritter told the crowd “We’ve got ten years of fans in the room tonight,” eliciting cheers from the audience.
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Ritter, wearing a bowler hat, a leather-denim jacket paired with jeans and Converse shoes, strutted around the stage, flipping his signature unruly hair and entrancing audience members with his jerky, exaggerated movements.
Drummer Chris Gaylor and guitarists Nick Wheeler and Mike Kennerty energized the crowd, but Ritter stole the show with his spastic movements, rolling on the ground and convulsing to the beat of the music. He cooed to the crowd with a sassy, slightly raspy voice and told stories behind the birth of several of the band’s first songs.
People of all ages crowded the decks of the Wiltern, some as young as the pre-teens while some were older than the band members themselves. Many of them were international fans waving signs in the crowd, from places all around the world like Korea.
“I’ve been a fan of [the All-American Rejects] for so long because you can relate to their music… you can just hear the passion in their music,” explains Ariel Lamb, a 20-year old student from El Monte. “You can listen to them when you want to rock out in your car of even when you’re sad and you want a pick-me-up,” she adds.
Parachute and Boys Like Girls opened for the headliners, each contributing to the concert with their own unique performing style.
Massachusetts-based Boys Like Girls lead vocalist Martin Johnson engaged the crowd and expertly utilized the intimacy of the Wiltern, picking guests out of the crowd to join him onstage to pump up the energy.
For the fourth song “Two is Better Than One,” a collaboration with Taylor Swift, off their album "Love Drunk," Johnson held impromptu auditions among the screaming crowd for one lucky girl to sing the duet with him.
“Both Boys Like Girls and Parachute were amazing,” said Gohar Grigorian, an 18 year-old student from North Hollywood. “They really knew how to use the stage well, and interacted with us more than a lot of performers would, having us to sing along and bringing us up to the stage. It really exceeded my expectations.”
Boys Like Girls will be releasing their new album come December 11th. The All-American Rejects will be continuing their US continental tour with stops in Arizona, Arkansas and Alabama and will conclude the tour in mid-November.
Read more of NT's show reviews here.
Reach Staff Reporter Tiffanie Cheng here.