The show started promptly at 7PM, with I Hate Kate taking the stage. Contrary to most opening bands, I Hate Kate was particularly good. I was surprised that I had never heard of the band, which hailed from Huntington Beach, before. If I had more than $2 in my pocket, it cost me $8 for parking in Downtown San Diego, I would have definitely bought a CD. The lead singer encouraged audience participation and sing-a-longs, which on the most part was unsuccessful since only the lead singers mother and two girls to the right of the stage owned the band's EP. I Hate Kate was a good punk rock and roll band, complementing the later two bands that were to take the stage.

The six-member band The Lashes took the stage on time at 8PM. I had a couple sampler songs sent from the band, so I was especially excited to see them. However, maybe I was a little tired, they were not as good as I expected. That is not to say that the band didn't put on a good performance. The Lashes for some reason reminded me of a mesh between the Killers and the Ramones. The band lay low on the between song dialogue and let the strength of their musical performance carry the show.

Finally, the moment that everyone was waiting for ' The Living End took the stage. Magically, the House of Blues was filled, it had been half full for the Lashes and near empty for I Hate Kate. I had seen the Aussie band two times this summer already, and I was wondering if they could keep up the same stage energy they had for the short 30 minute sets on the Warped Tour.

The Living End was even more amazing than I had expected. I used to believe that there wasn't that much talent in today's music. Most of the popular bands are catchy, but have no substance. The Living End showed that they had talent through their 'less talk more rock performance.' It's hard to believe that this band hasn't exploded over in the United States, when in Australia this band's debut CD has become 5 times platinum. Along with playing their own songs, they played 50s cover songs which made the audience want to dance/skank/shake their bootay. Scott even stood on his bass and played a couple times, to the roar of an appreciating crowd. The Living End took the stage for an encore, which they played 4 songs. During the encore, Chris stood on Scott's bass and both members played. Andy kept the beats steady the entire night ' not an easy feat since the band doesn't play the simplest melodies. Even people who had never heard of the band enjoyed themselves, realizing the talent of the trio.

The Living End