Good Charlotte rocks SoFla
Concert Review By: Carmen Corea

       I think that out of all my birthdays, my 18th has probably been the best. My friend Cynthia surprised me with a Good Charlotte ticket for the concert held at the UM Convocation Center for their last tour of this year, The Young and The Hopeless. Even though we got lost, interestingly enough we were 6 hours and 30 minutes shy of the opening bands. I was somewhat cranky due to morning stress (I had just taken the SATs), but I have to admit that regardless of all the chaos and time spent waiting in line, it was worth it. Anything for my boys!

       The opening bands featured in the impressive event were Eve 6 and Goldfinger. All of a sudden, from my left I heard loud screams from diehard fans begging for Good Charlotte's drummer, Chris, to come over. He kindly waved at them and in less than 15 seconds was convinced to sign autographs on fans' entrance tickets and on a girl's shoe; she almost fainted afterwards. After Eve 6 and Goldfinger played some of their earlier hits from their previous albums, I almost got hit with a sign that stated "Billy Martin will you marry me?" from a crazed fan standing behind me who's obviously obsessed with Good Charlotte's lead guitarist. Nonetheless, I didn't care; I was rather happy that we had floor seats and we were only standing seven feet away from the stage.

       When the Pop-Punk Rock band Good Charlotte made their entrance, performing "The Anthem" from The Young and Hopeless album, fans went crazy and for a moment I was glad that the girl with the "Billy" sign wasn't near me. As soon as the energetic guitar vibes surrounded the theatre and lead singer, Joel, sang with his smooth voice, the crowd went crazy. Lights flashed even though the curtains were still going up. You could hear the great bass that Chris made while he played his drums. Benji, (Joel's twin brother), Billy and Paul added to the music with their electric guitars. The crowd went wild.

       After they performed two of their hits, "Boys and Girls" and "The Anthem," they slowed it down and sang "Emotionless," which is based on brothers, Joel and Benji. Their father left their mother when they were just kids, so it was a song they could relate to. "Emotionless" is about a person whose father abandoned a family and left the mother in charge and about the struggle with adolescence and survival. When "Emotionless" was played it was like you could feel the pain of the song: Fans waved their cell phones with the lights on and cigarette lighters in the air. Fans sang the lyrics along with Good Charlotte and some even cried. They sang all the songs from their second album and some of the hits from their first self-titled album. At the end of the performance, Good Charlotte sang "Lifestyles of the Rich and the Famous" and cheers continued until all the lights came back on and the curtains were removed. It was definitely a show to remember.