Good Charlotte better than good

Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Nov 5, 2004 by Scott D. Pierce Deseret Morning News

GOOD CHARLOTTE, SUM 41, McKay Events Center, Wednesday.

OREM -- Good Charlotte was worth the wait on Wednesday -- the three-hour wait, that is.

By the time the punk-pop band made it onstage at 10:08 p.m., the crowd at the McKay Events Center was somewhat restless. But the band's energy set the place on fire.

That these were fans was obvious. All lead singer Joel Madden had to do was sing, "Oh, my love . . ." and turn his mike toward the teens and twentysomethings in the audience, and they sang, ". . . please don't cry. I'll wash my bloody hands, and we'll start a new life."

And it wasn't just "Bloody Valentine" -- there didn't appear to be much of anybody in attendance who wasn't singing along with "Anthem," "Girls and Boys," "The World is Black," "Young and Hopeless," "Lifestyles of the Rich and the Famous" and eight other songs in Good Charlotte's fast-paced, energetic and highly entertaining 69-minute set.

Appearing in front of a cemetery set complete with gargoyles, gravestones and a gate emblazoned "Nevermore" -- and sporting all those tattoos, the guys also demonstrated they're perhaps the most polite punkers out there. The only one of the four groups on the bill to eschew the F-word, Joel repeatedly expressed his appreciation for the fans. "You guys have made everything happen for us, and we just want to thank you for that," he said.

Back onstage with the band was drummer Chris Wilson, a native of nearby Provo, who met Joel and Benji Madden in a Utah 7-Eleven. Wilson had missed part of the current tour because of a drumming- related injury. (Really.)

While Good Charlotte and Sum 41 were billed as co-headliners, the former was obviously the greater of the equals, what with its higher profile, its position in the lineup and the reaction from the fans. Which is not to say that Sum 41 didn't draw a huge, positive reaction from the crowd, but the crowd was obviously less familiar with that band.

Like when lead singer Deryck Whibley announced that they were dedicating a song to George W. Bush and a good portion of the Utah County crowd cheered the president -- obviously unaware that Sum 41 has been hugely and publicly anti-Bush, and they were about to pillory him in song.

But, with the charismatic Whibley leading the way, the Canadian punkers had the crowd in a frenzy through their own 15-song, 58- minute set.

Opening acts LoLa Rey and Hazen St. did their best to whip up the crowd with shorter appearances, but tried a bit too hard to be cool - - and were less cool as a result.

But the night's only real flaw was the delays -- an hour and 15 minutes of nothing, including an interminable 41 minutes between the headliners.

E-mail: piercet@desnews.com