16 Again

I headed up to Grand Rapids to check out Metro Station and Mayday Parade. I had never seen either of these bands live but had listened to them both. I first got to the Intersection and noticed not only were there "Sold Out" signs everywhere, but there was also a huge line. After getting into the place I was amazed to see the number of people there.

Mitchell Musso took the stage in full effect. I instantly felt like I was a teenager again. The music was full of energy and a very nice bubblegum touch. It was such a nice change from the screaming angry bands that I have seen so much of recently. Musso stars in Hannah Montana as Oliver. His brother is also fronts Metro Station.

After the opening band came Mayday Parade, whose front man (Derek Sanders) had not been feeling well came out and gave as much as he could. He even played "Miserable at Best" a song he plays keyboard and sings with the drummer. However they played a shorter than anticipated set. Mayday Parade was also shooting music video footage for a new song. A stage man came out and threw streamers into the crowd that were used to throw at the stage during a designated time in the song.

Finally the headliner, Metro Station came to stage with the crowd screaming for lead guitar player and co-frontman Trace Cyrus, whose younger sister is Miley Cyrus. The synth/keyboardist is a west Michigan native, hailing from Ludington. Its set included their love song "Seventeen Forever", "Kelsey" and billboard hit "Shake it". The whole night was filled with fun and excitement taking me back to a time when I was a younger girl and begging my parents to take me to shows.

Story and photo by Melinda Wilcox