On March 25th, 2014 We the Kings stopped by Starland Ballroom in Sayerville, NJ on their ‘The Art of Tour’ along with opening acts Crash The Party, This Century, and adding a local flare for the evening, The New Royalty. Amped and ready to go, this large audience was ready for an entertaining evening of fun rock music.
The night started off with central New Jersey band The New Royalty. This band features the very enigmatic lead singer Bree Lafelice, twin brother Nick Lafelice on guitar, Kyle Davis on bass, and Ricky Joyce on drums. While relatively green in the eyes of North American audiences, this band has built quite a big name for themselves in South America. Their set was filled with catchy tunes, stage presence, and fan interaction throughout. Feeling right at home at Starland Ballroom, the band even invited fans over to their merchandise booth for a meet and greet upon the conclusion of their performance. With professionalism and pure song-writing talent to go along with great musicianship at such a young age, The New Royalty is a band to look out for. Check out their full-length album When Poets Dream (2010) featuring their single “Here I Go”.
Next was pop rock act Crash The Party. If you are not familiar with the band, check out their Art of Tour w/We The Kings YouTube video which gives you a behind the scenes look at never before seen footage of the bands shenanigans on the current tour. The three-piece band consists of Ian Reibeisen (vocals), Christopher Swane (lead guitar/vocals), and Crick Butcher (drums). Their set was full of energy and bright sounds, showing off mature and well-crafted skills. Perhaps what was most impressive about Crash the Party’s set was a very magical cover of “Let It Go” from the Disney movie Frozen, which certainly belongs on the new Punk Goes Pop CD whenever that releases. Also be sure to check out Crash The Party’s recently released EP Radiate.
Speaking of Pop Goes Punk, the next band This Century was featured on Pop Goes Punk Vol. 3 with a cover of “Paper Planes” by MIA. This Century, once a small band from Phoenix, AZ, has been seen with acts such as Good Charlotte and Forever the Sickest Kids on the Cardiology Tour in 2011. With the release of their sophomore album Biography of Heartbreak and successful run with Nick Santino and Northern Wind in 2013, the new year looks to be even brighter while on tour with We The Kings. The bands pop rock sound glimmered bright with textures, potency, and excitement. Lead singer Joel Kanitz kept things fast and loose exclaiming to the crowd, “I’m about to puke rainbows right now… is anyone thirsty?” He then proceeded to soak the front row with his water bottle. There is no doubt these guys brought a fun attitude to the stage and had a lot to offer the audience.
Following the solid list of opening bands, We The Kings burst onto the stage with an agenda to melt the crowd’s faces off with rock. After opening with “Queen of Hearts”, “Skyway Avenue”, “Any Other Way”, and “We’ll Be A Dream”; fans were going so crazy. Lead singer Travis Clark enamored to the crowd, “If I was in high school I would throw a house party here, you guys go nuts!” The statement was then followed by the song “I Feel Alive” where he suggested the crowd should do such dance moves such as the Sorority Squat, which involved squatting in a manner difficult to describe. It was also mentioned by the band that if you noticed any members on stage wearing Google Glass, not be alarmed they were just using the goggles to shoot footage for one of their new music videos.
The set moved on mixing new and old tunes including “She Takes Me High”, “Just Keep Breathing”, and “Sad Song”. Each song was delivered with the same level of enthusiasm which carried on to the floor with everyone moving consistently. The set then concluded with fan favorites “Say You Like Me” and “Check Yes Juliet” which saw everyone erupting even further into pandemonium.
As the evening concluded, the youthful audience of Starland Ballroom was excited with smiles and the impressions of a night that soon would not be forgotten. As for We The Kings, they continue their tireless touring after a short break in April, only to head to Japan in May before returning to play Vans Warped Tour for what will be a spectacular summer.
Photography by Vanessa Carlucci
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