Emo not dead...Yet.

Although many say the Emo/Pop-Punk scene is dying, the House of Blues hosted a sold-out show last night featuring Hawthorne Heights, From First To Last, Secondhand Serenade, Brighten, and Powerspace. I think anyone there last night would have something to say about Pop-Punk's rumored death rattle; This music is not dead yet, and from the look of the crowd last night, it's still kicking your ass.

The show started out lukewarm with a band from Illinois. Powerspace opened with their rock looks and pop sound. They sounded clean, but the vocalist needed to iron out his performance a bit. He had a ton of flat notes, and it was a little jarring to sit through.

Thank God for Brighten. They absolutely shined, setting the tone for the rest of the night. They opened with the sickly-sweet tune "More Vacations." Sounding crisp like the brightest new linen, their lyrics and live presentation evoked feelings not unlike the purest of teen love anthems reminiscent of The Swiss Army Romance era of Dashboard Confessional. This is the kind of sweet sensitivity that I was hoping for last night. Brighten is what good Emo is supposed to sound like. When a band you've never heard makes your heart feel sick, you know it's working.

Secondhand Serenade was a tasty little treat in between Brighten and FFTL. John's crooning voice and heartfelt lyrics left me craving more after his short set. I know there are folks out there that blame him for sounding like a cheap version of early Dashboard, but I don't care. He rocked last night. What he does is genuine and from a real place, whether he chooses to express himself through the very narrow and overdone genre of "guy-with-a-guitar."

The next act was definitely a crowd favorite. From First To Last's metal attitude ripped the pit a new a-hole. Kids were churning like wicked butter during their entire set. They presented the audience with the perfect blend of Emo-angst and frustrated violence. Their sound was definitely different from everything else we had heard already that night, and it was a delicious twenty minutes for everyone.

By the time Hawthorne Heights took the stage, the crowd was more than warmed up. It was a little odd transitioning into their set since they are a much mellower brand of Pop-Punk than From First To Last. But once they got cooking, we were ready for what they had to dish out. Their sound was the tightest of all the bands. You could tell that they were the seasoned professionals of the night.

All in all, this is a great tour to see. All the bands believe in what they are selling, and it seems that the crowd was buying.