Although I had heard a great deal of different responses about whether or not this show was happening, I decided to stop out by it during a break from studying. A crowd had already started to mass around the stage, and Cheap Sticker started playing a few minutes after they were supposed to start. The atmosphere in which the show was held was a little odd. Since this concert happened at the Relay For Life, there were continually people walking around the crowd that had assembled, and people tried to be a little more restrained than they usually are at a Cheap Sticker show. Don’t get me wrong, they still moshed, but it wasn’t as crazy as it could be, and it stopped early when the fucker emcee started pulling people away from each other. The band didn’t have much more in the way of space than to just stand stationary throughout the entire set, so the entire show was just muted in the sense that the band couldn’t fully express themselves.
Tying together Blink 182 and other similar-era pop-punk, Cheap Sticker starts off their set with minor issues with their sound – specifically that Glenn’s bass had a continually off quality to it, due to the sound system used. Mixing in an Atreyu sound to later tracks, Cheap Sticker ensured that their diverse collection of influences had proper outlets through their music. In “’Kenzieâ€, Ryan has a few minor glitches with eir’s guitar, and the lack of space really comes into play during this song, where anemic stage presence really lessens the impact of the song. Making a big deal about the fact that they were not very familiar with the track, their song was still one in which they sounded solid and well-rehearsed. While not able to go absolutely insane during their set, Cheap Sticker had that inherent charisma to whip their crowd into a frenzy. The intimacy that they shared with their crowd is at a level previously unachievable to any Greencastle-area band.
What really seemed more of a whimper than a bang was their rendition of The Darkness’ “I Believe In A Thing Called Loveâ€. While there was incredible energy and fanfare during their version of it during Ides II, there was aural stuttering and a lack of power during this time. This is most definitely due to their syncopated set, as they were given the hook at the half-hour mark, instead of the hour that they were previously promised. Still, the band has established itself again as one of the most innovative bands locally as well as one of the most well-liked. Here’s to hoping they get something recorded in the studio that reflects their incredible energy during their normal set.