Forrest Kline of Hellogoodbye reaches out to his fans — who are only too happy to reach back — at the Marquis Theater on Tuesday. Photos by .
The show at the Tuesday night was totally awesome. The end.
That’s what I wanted to say, because that’s exactly how I felt. And in truth, it’s much harder to write reviews about well-executed concerts than crappy ones. It’s not that I revel in critiquing your favorite band, or live for bitching about shallow stage presence, a bad sound system or a band’s misbehaving fans. It’s just that when it comes to Hellogoodbye, it seems that they have read the book on how to do it, when to do it and how to make you feel really good while they do it.
Lead singer Forrest Kline bopped around the foyer of the Marquis pre-show, bending his thin, looming frame virtually in half to reach his petite fans, a goofy grin flashing for dozens point-and-shoot MySpace photo ops. He seemed genuinely excited to make silly faces with each girl, and he remained in this unflinchingly pleasant manner throughout HGB’s entire set.
Shortly after Hellogoodbye took the stage and opened with “All Time Lows,” I felt the venue floor begin to give as the crowd jumped in joyous unison. The kinetic energy spread from band to fan, wiping the suspicious smirk right off of my face as “Shimmy Shimmy Quarter Turn” shot me into the nostalgia of the innocent fun of Matt Sharp-era Weezer shows.
Kline joked that 99 percent of his audience was merely 12-years-old (which looked to be true), but the quip didn’t seem to bother the kids giggling away at his jokes about MySpace bulletins and copping a feel on your neighbor. Kline’s connection to the youngish audience proved genuine as he gave water to the mouths lining the front, pouring tiny sips into the cap and feeding them like a mamma bird while warning them of his possible backwash.
“Figures A and B (Means You and Me),” and “Dear Jaime… Sincerely Me,” were effortless for Hellogoodbye, Kline pushing his thick frames back up his sweaty face before taking them all the way off and diving into the happy pile of grabby kids. A mocked version of Third Eye Blind’s “Semi-Charmed Life” had the band and audience laughing and singing together as Kline stumbled through to the second verse before giving up to the giggles.
What seemed like minor technical difficulties created some mysterious crackling and echoing sounds, the ghostly noises leading Hellogoodbye to wonder if Antony and the Johnsons were haunting them. The sound problems were a brief, minor distraction and HGB finished out the set as X’ed hands swayed in the air for “Baby, it’s Fact,” an unnamed new song featuring Kline’s trademark ukulele and finally the heart-fluttering “Here in Your Arms.”
The encore was highlighted by a wonderful cover of Blink 182’s “Dammit,” temporarily suspending my neurosis over the age gap between me and the other HGB fans as we all jumped and screamed together in the thick haze of sweat and breath. Hellogoodbye closed with “Touchdown Turnaround (Don’t Give Up on Me),” Kline taking one last chance to crowd surf over the welcoming hands of his fans.
My adoration for nerds with Buddy Holly glasses singing songs of undying love is no secret, and I can’t deny that my starry-eyed attraction to Forrest Kline may have blurred my critical vision. But everyone around me seemed to be under the same geeky spell, so maybe it wasn’t just my other brain beneath my skinny jeans talking.
Hellogoodbye was totally awesome. The end.
is a Denver writer and regular Reverb contributor. Check out her and .
is a Denver freelance writer and regular Reverb contributor.
MORE PHOTOS:
