Forever The Sickest Kids @ Highline Ballroom 11/9 NYC

Concerts

Forever The Sickest Kids @ Highline Ballroom 11/9 NYC

By drainu182 ⋅ November 21, 2009 ⋅ Post a comment

Forever The Sickest Kids - Highline Ballroom. Nov. 9th (by Genevieve Jacko)

The stage was set with a backdrop of a messy high school hallway, lined with bright red lockers. As the all-ages crowd grew louder, a pre-recorded voice sounded over the loudspeaker. “This is the principal,” the voice called, “I need to see the following six students in my office now.” One by one, the “students”, otherwise known as the members of power pop/indie band Forever the Sickest Kids, graced us with their grungy yet brightly colored presence. The voice then demanded there were to be “no noise allowed” but the Highline Ballroom wasn’t having it.

The crowd instantly plunged into a wild frenzy, as if unexpectedly thrown off a steep ledge in a heart-in-your-throat rollercoaster ride. When lead singer Jonathan Cook began to belt out the opening song, “Believe Me, I‘m Lying“, their fans began to dance - and never stopped. It was almost as if they had been put under a trance by the passion in Cook’s voice and the madness only grew further when the band next played “Hey Brittany”, the track which made them famous back in 2008 with the release of their debut album “Underdog Alma Mater”. Mid song, Cook asked the crowd to jump as hard as they could and jump they did, so diligently I could feel the wooden floor shake below me. By the time Forever the Sickest Kids broke out “She Likes”, a brand new peppy tune, the show had been turned into a full-on dance party and even I, a usual fan of more mellow types, found myself bobbing my head and wishing I knew the words to sing along.

Throughout the show, Forever the Sickest Kids definitely kept fans entertained and gave them their money’s worth with a balanced mix of songs, crowd-interaction and seemingly all that they had in them, performing as if it were their last show of the tour. Turns out the band is even charitable. After rocking out to “Hip Hop Chick”, they announced that a bucket had been placed on their merch table to collect money. Each dollar given goes to building water towers and providing fresh H2O for the less fortunate children in Africa. For a bunch of “sick kids” who portray themselves as hooligans, they sure have good hearts and a bundle of talent.

Photos by Meimi Yeung (click to enlarge)