Review: Boyce Avenue At Revolution

Photo Credit: ALEXANDRA MADAR

BY HAILEE YAEGER

It was time. Screams erupted from the dark club as everyone on the floor squished together to get the best view as possible. Adrenaline rushed as the guitars blasted from the speakers, iPhones flew up into the air, fighting to get the best pictures and videos. This is how a concert is supposed to feel; crammed, loud, and completely worth it.

Youtube sensation Boyce Avenue kicked off their first headlining tour in the U.S. on March 1st, 2012 at Revolution Live in Ft. Lauderdale. The band consists of three brothers, Alejandro Manzano; who plays guitar, piano and sings lead vocals, Fabian Manzano; who plays guitar, bass, keyboards, and sings backing vocals and Daniel Manzano; who plays percussion, bass, violin and sings backing vocals. Their friend, Jason Burrows, plays drums and percussion while they tour.

As the music blared, time stood still for the audience all that mattered was the fact that a band they admired was just a few feet away, playing their favorite songs. Boyce Avenue opened with their original “Tonight”, which included a bit of their instrumental “Daylight” at the beginning. Watching them on a computer screen can’t compare to seeing them live, this was so up close and personal that it almost didn’t seem real.

During the concert the band played every song off most recent album All We Have Left, making the experience better than a true fan could imagine. Along with their originals the band also played some of their popular cover songs. The set list included “Dynamite”, “Rolling in the Deep”, “Fast Car”, “Fix You”, and “We Found Love” with everyone singing along in perfect harmony.

Before two of their most emotional songs, the band took the time to explain what inspired them to write them. While the opening to their song “Briane” played softly in the background, Alejandro explained that they wrote the song about a young couple where the wife committed suicide. They wrote the song to express what she would say to her husband if she could speak to him one last time. Discovering the meaning behind that song changed the outlook of the lyrics, and instead of sounding dark it became endearing and comforting.

The other song, “Broken Angel”, is about a friend of Alejandro’s who didn’t have a good relationship with her father and is now stronger because of it, explaining that she uses her past to help young girls who are experiencing what she went through.

These emotional moments counter-balanced the unbridled fun of the covers and showed a depth to the band that was unnoticed before seeing them live. Boyce Avenue is phenomenal in person and now simply listening to them through headphones will never feel the same again.