The Show Must Go On Tour

On Tuesday, June 12, Canopy Club, 708 S. Goodwin, hosted the kick-off of “The Show Must Go On Tour.” The lineup featured Chicago band Powerspace, who opened the concert, followed by Brighten, From First To Last, and ended with the post-hardcore and mainstream friendly Hawthorne Heights.

The main event, Hawthorne Heights, may be what brought the fans, but the introduction is what got the crowd excited. My experience at concerts may not be worldly but is cultured enough to say that opening bands are not what most people come for. For the stragglers who decided to attend this concert later than 7:30 p.m., you missed the show. Powerspace began their short set in a mad frenzy of excitement, and the energy of the small and timely crowd was only a mirror of their performance.

Powerspace is a lesser known band that has only just recently signed with indie record label Fueled By Ramen. Their first full length album, The Kicks Of Passion, is set to hit stores July 31. But for now, their claim to fame is still “Right On, Right Now,” a song featured on their last EP and likely to return on their new album. This song gained the crowd’s respect, but that’s not to say by any means that it was their only good song.

I asked the sometimes complicated question of how the band would describe their sound. What I got was a mixed and comic answer from a couple of happy-go-lucky boys just barely out of their teens.

Lead singer Alec Cyganowski began by saying, “Um, hmm … intergalactic …”

“Dino-core!” guitarist Tom Schleiter finished, an amused grin on his face.

While I’m not sure what they meant by their description, I can refer you to their MySpace page (myspace.com/powerspace), which portrays a rock/pop and new wave band.

For now, Powerspace is unsure of what tour they’ll be on next or what their future holds, but they are sure of one thing – where they want their first album to take them.

“Straight to the top!” said Cyganowski, who is hopeful. I am, too. Let’s face it. They won me over.

Powerspace finished their stretch, and, as if the element of surprise wasn’t existent enough, Cyganowski ended their last song with a backflip – an interesting way to conclude their set at a concert that really was completely backwards.

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