On a gloomy Sunday in downtown Orlando, FL Drive-Thru Records veterans and high school hipsters alike gathered for All-American cuisine and good music. This grill-out-rock-out caravan starred School Boy Humor, The Dangerous Summer, The Gay Blades, Person L, and Ace Enders & A Million Different People. Though the O-town venue didn’t allow the BBQ (which would have allowed fans to hang out and eat with the artists) to happen, the bands performed well enough to forget.
After the openers warmed up, well, almost fully tired out the crowd, Ace Enders & AMDP took to the stage. The crowd seemed somewhat exhausted until a revved up Sergio (along with the regularly quiet, but loved Ace) walked onto the stage. Most of the crowd was eager to see the two unforgettable The Early November members play under their new title. |
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The set included songs from all of Ace’s projects throughout the years, including the special treat of a couple TEN songs. Early in the set Ace & Sergio broke into a tale of the first time they played The Social. A trip down memory lane and chuckles about Ace falling off stage prefaced the nostalgic performance of “I Want To Hear You Sad.” After this song, it was clear that the guys were going to put on one killer show. In between songs, Ace and Sergio cracked jokes, that were far from lame (like most rock stars looking for fillers) and achieved many a belly laugh. A powerful performance of the newest album’s opener “Reintroduction” followed. All four band members put their hearts into this ballad, especially Ace whose emotion was the main event. A piano-less rock version of “When I Hit The Ground” kept the crowd singing along strong. Though the crowd fell shy when the guys ventured to incite pit square dancing, a few couples pulled through for the backwoods “The Best Happiness Money Can Buy” (An I Can Make A Mess fave). The set ended with a sing-a-long version of “Bring Back Love.” The inspirationally catchy chorus left even other band members still belting it aloud thirty minutes post show. After sticking around to chat with fans until the last fan got their praise in, the night came to a close.
With years of performing already under their young belts, still in their twenties Ace and Sergio were better than ever. Energetic, hilarious and best of all, humble, the two, along with 2/1,000,000 other people put on an intimate and unforgettable show. In the end, the non-existent hot dogs and hamburgers went unnoticed. |