STREETS OF GOLD TOUR - LIVE REVIEW
Since releasing their third full length album under the Photo Finish record label titled “Streets of Gold” in late June, 3OH!3 has kept busy by traveling across the United States and Canada on a headlining tour with Down With Webster and HelloGoodbye, which started on October 14th and recently concluded on November 24th. With the huge success of their previous album “Want” under their belts, members Sean Foreman and Nathaniel Motte take the stage night after night to prove to fans all around how much of a good time they can put on once they hit the stage. They did just this, night after night.
Down With Webster, the seven-piece band from Toronto, Canada started out the show with music that was packed with more energy than I have ever seen at a live show. Each member ran jumping up and down onto the stage as they began their set with their song “Time to Win” in order to get the crowd pumped up and on their feet. In between songs, red cups with the DWW logo on them were thrown out to audience members while they explained that each individual was to have the time of his/her lives, creating a party in the Majestic Ventura Theater. This is exactly what happened. As the crowd got wild, wilder than I have ever seen at a show myself, cups were thrown everywhere as people of all ages were jumping up and down to the beat of the music, not stopping for one second. They did this while Down With Webster sang their “Bounce Bounce” intermission piece, with the goal to pump the crowd up as much as possible. After the crowd was all riled up, rapper Cam Hunter instructed the lights man to shut out all the lights for them to perform their next song “Light the Night”. During this song, crowd members in all locations of the theater were instructed to take out anything they had in their pockets that lit up, in order to create the feelings that are depicted in the song. It was an incredible sight to see as each person in the audience lifted up cell phones, glow sticks, or lighters in order to do exactly what
this band was telling them to do. When the song was over, Cam asked the crowd how many people had heard of their band or seen them live before. The lack in number of hands I saw was truly shocking because by the way they were acting it would appear that they had been fans since the start of the band. This proved to me just how strong of a band Down With Webster is because they can take a random group of kids and turn them into fans from the very first second they step on stage with their energy; energy that is very uncommon in the music industry when seeing a live performance. To end the set, each singer/rapper was given the opportunity to sing the song that they enjoy the most (or the song in which they have the biggest part) in order for the audience to truly get a feel for each member of the band and get a connection with them. From start to finish, Down With Webster put on a performance with more energy than I have ever witnessed before. They had unfamiliar faces partying around with them, enjoying the performance that was being put on because of the immense amount of energy that each member gave off. Down With Webster is truly one of the strongest, and most underrated, bands in the music industry. If you get the chance, this is one of those bands that you ought to see live just to witness the magical energy that they put on stage with them.
Providing feel good vibes while maintaining an incredible stage presence, HelloGoodbye was up next; a band that was much more known throughout the crowd, giving them more confidence as they stepped food on stage. Starting out their set with a song that was very well known throughout the crowd from the album “Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs!” titled “Here (In Your Arms)”, HelloGoodbye did an excellent job of reminding those who were not quite sure of their band exactly who they were by providing a song that 90% of the crowd could sing along with whole heartedly. Getting the crowd into their set starting out with the first song, HelloGoodbye was also able to maintain this connection throughout their set. This is because of the stage presence that they had during the entire half hour that they performed. Lead singer Forrest Kline provided a giddy feel while performing by dancing around in a way much like Owl City’s Adam Young. It invited the entire crowd to let loose and dance in any way that they wanted to, which is exactly what they did. Performing most songs off their newest album “Would It Kill You?” released earlier this month, HelloGoodbye took the opportunity to show those who have been following their band since 2001 how they have changed and taken a turn for the better. With lights going 
along with each beat they played, each crowd member was captivated in their performance the entire time, never taking their eyes off of the incredible performance that was being put on stage. Using a trombone and ukulele to give variety to a few of their songs, HelloGoodbye put on an excellent performance that was both intimate and spiritual. It was an excellent opener for the main act, and one that has me listening to their music ever since that night.
The recently popular band straight from Boulder, Colorado, 3OH!3 put on a performance so rock solid that males and females of all ages could be seen crowd surfing all throughout the theater. Starting out with slower songs that are not the most well known of theirs, I was honestly a bit worried at how their performance would be like at first. However, as usual, Nat Motte and Sean Foreman proved me wrong when they busted out hits off their new album “Streets of Gold” titled “My First Kiss” and “House Party”. I later realized that starting out with tracks such as “Touchin’ On My” gradually introduced the new sounds to the crowd full of people who had never heard this album live before. It was indeed a strategic move because by the time older songs such as “Punkbitchh” off their first album “Want” came around, the crowd was already going crazy by jumping up and down while others crowd surfed over their heads. With excellent stage props, Nat and Sean had a lot to work with when it came to stage presence. Using stuffed wolves with green laser beams as eyes from a previous tour with Cobra Starship, 3OH!3 proved to fans that although a change
in music had developed through the release of their new CD, the old performance and humor that Sean and Nat both possess is the same that it has always been. Taking up every square inch of stage space, Sean and Nat equally gave individuals in the crowd the attention that they were desperately seeking by making large quantities of eye contact and hand holding as each song on their set list was played. Putting on a performance with energy that worked very well with the energy that was previously put on stage by their opening band Down With Webster, 3OH!3 had the crowd at an all time high; they had more energy than they had in the beginning. As the set came to a close playing “Streets of Gold” and “Double Vision”, both very big crowd favorites of the night, Sean and Nat said their goodbyes before exiting the stage. However, the show was not nearly over yet. An uproar from the crowd occurred as each individual shrieked “three oh three!” at the top of their lungs, throwing up the well-known gang sign that appears on the cover of the new album. Coming out with their most popular single “Don’t Trust Me”, Sean and Nat came out with more energy than previously, proving to all that they wanted to leave with a bang. Getting up onto the barricade to interact with the crowd even more, they did just so. Not one individual that was in the theater could be seen standing still; everyone was giddy, jumping up and down higher
than they ever had before. Gang signs still thrown up in the air, the crowd showed just as much love for these two talented performers as they were receiving right back. As the song concluded, fans left with smiles plastered on their faces from ear to ear after an incredible performance that was put on by the two-man act that filled them with more energy than any Rockstar drink ever could. 3OH!3 concluded the night with a jaw dropping performance that fit along incredibly with their party/dance-along musical style. - {United States}