BITE ME! Die Trying and Hoobastank Live

Die Trying & Hoobastank @ The Roxy

Hollywood, CA. June 18, 2003

When the incredibly awesome Rey Roldan rolls into town you drop what you’re doing and go where he tells you because wherever Rey is, there is a party, and tonight it was exactly that.

Those who received the “call” showed up at the infamous Rainbow. Sitting right next to us was Judd Nelson with some skanky ho, Dominic the self-proclaimed S&M King, and some aspiring young band with bad do’s. Trey Parker also waltzed in looking a little confused, and some bad G’N’R cover band was playing in the back. Aside from the cover band, not much has changed at the ‘Bow.

The darling members of Die Trying—Jassen (v), Jack (g), Steve (b), & Matt (d)—hung with us before their show. Talk about cuties. Too young for me, but perfect for teen-aged girls. After about an hour of good conversation we headed over to The Roxy a few minutes before Die Trying were due to take the stage. I bumped into a few fine folks from Hits (John “the scenester” Lenac and the adorable Ms. Erika Strada) en route to the bar. The mentioned something about the R & R convention party upstairs at On the Rox and I made a mental note to check it out after Die Trying’s set.

The Sacramento based band played to a packed house. Of course, lots of industry folks were there, but there were plenty of fans in the audience as well and both groups were having an equally good time. Die Trying are loud, hungry, and aggressive. I always love watching a band that is full of energy and enthusiasm because even if you don’t know their songs, you get caught up in the excitement and end up having loads of fun. These boys are dynamic and visually energetic and let me tell ya -- they know how to put on a show. Die Trying played select tunes from their recently released self-titled Island records debut. My favorites were “Oxygen’s Gone” and “Dirty Dirty”.

In between sets I crashed the R&R party at On the Rox. Can’t pass up an opportunity to party. I ended up hanging with some cool dudes who were sitting at the bar. They looked too young and relaxed to be industry big wigs. Turns out they were the members of Hoobastank. Who knew? As luck would have it, The ‘Stank were the surprise headliners for the night and any fans that were lucky enough to score tickets for this show were in for a real treat as Hoobastank unveiled some new tracks and played a number of their radio hits. Hoobastank is one of the few bands that are as comfortable on a small stage as they are in a big arena. Their live show is polished and their delivery is smooth, which made for a top-notch performance.

After the show the party continued upstairs. Many thanks Rey for a good time!! It was exactly what I needed after a stressful eight weeks of classes. Now it’s back to the books. -NIN