Good Charlotte gets audience jumping

Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Nov 17, 2003 by Pat Reavy Deseret Morning News

GOOD CHARLOTTE, GOLDFINGER and EVE 6, Friday, E Center.

Three chords and songs about adolescent misfits not letting the jocks hold them down was the theme of the evening at the E Center Friday night. Good Charlotte, the poster boys of skater punks achieving great success, headlined more than three hours of pop-punk music before several thousand moshing and jumping fans.

The opening song, "The Anthem," appropriately set the mood, filled with catchy melodies and rebellious lyrics inspired from their days in high school, like "I don't ever want to be like you, I don't wanna do the things you do," and the chorus "Another loser anthem (whoa- oh)."

The members of Good Charlotte, four of whom are from Maryland and the fifth born and raised in Salt Lake City, wore all black as they moved around the stage with high energy all night. Twin brothers Joel and Benji Madden (Joel was the one with the red mohawk, Benji was the one with the guitar) led the band through songs like "Boys and Girls, a more pop-rock song than pop-punk and one that had so many fans jumping in unison you could almost feel the E Center shake. "My Bloody Valentine" and the anti-suicide song "Hold On" were among the night's other high points.

"We owe everything to you guys," the humble Maddens told the audience. And then addressing the fellow misfits in the arena, "Don't let anyone tell you you won't make it or won't go anywhere."

The show hit a slight lull when the group's on-stage energy turned into too much between-song banter. The "follow-your-dream" speeches and repetitive use of the words "Salt Lake City" and "Utah" for mindless applause got old. Good Charlotte recovered its energy, however, and ended strong with "Little Things" and "Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous."

Los Angeles-based ska-punkers Goldfinger hit the stage and literally didn't stop running until they were done. Sticking more to punk rock's core roots of addressing political and social issues, vegan lead singer John Feldmann had strong messages against J-Lo and her new leather fashionware and President Bush while singing favorites like "Here in Your Bedroom" and a remake of Nena's "99 Red Balloons."

Eve 6 opened the show with the least punk-like performance of the evening. Although "Inside Out" was a crowd pleasure, Max Collins continues to make his bid as one of modern-rock's oddest lead singers.

E-MAIL: preavy@desnews.com