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Hellogoodbye

Hellogoodbye and Hanson Co-Headlining Tour

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Use Your Sole TourHellogoodbye and Hanson are heading out on a US tour at the end of September, continuing the tour all throughout October, and then into November also. It’s being called the ‘Use Your Sole Tour’, and as well as Hellogoodbye and Hanson; you’ll also be able to catch Steel Train and Sherwood on the tour.

‘Use Your Sole’ looks set to be a pretty interesting tour, and if you’re a fan of any of these four bands then it may well be worth heading along to one of the shows.

The following are the ‘Use Your Sole’ tour dates, and all shows will feature both headlining bands unless otherwise stated:

September
30 – Tulsa, OK @ Coins Ballroom

October
1 – St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant
2 – Kansas City, MO @ Beaumont
3 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
5 – Milwaukee, WI @ The Rave
6 – Cleveland, OH @ HOB
7 – Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall
9 – Indianapolis, IN @ Egyptian theatre
10 – Detroit, MI @ The Fillmore
11 – Chicago, IL @ HOB
12 – Chicago, IL @ HOB
14 – Boston, MA @ HOB
15 – New York, NY @ Nokia Theatre
16 – Albany, NY @ Northern Lights
19 – Baltimore, MD @ Rams Head Live
20 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
22 – Charlotte, NC @ Amos Southern
23 – Myrtle Beach, SC @ HOB
24 – Orlando, FL @ HOB
26 – Birmingham, AL @ Workplay Soundstage (no Hellogoodbye)
27 – Nashville, TN @ Wildhorse Saloon
28 – Atlanta, GA @ Tabernacle
31 – Houston, TX @HOB

November
1 – Dallas, TX @ HOB
3 – Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre
5 – San Francisco, CA @ Regency Ballroom
7 – Los Angeles, CA @ Club Nokia
8 – San Diego, CA @ HOB
11 – Anaheim, CA @ HOB (Hanson only)

Hellogoodbye, Furthest Drive Home, and Forward Is The Farewell @ The Garage, London 28.05.06

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I had been looking forward to this gig for a long time as I am a big fan of hellogoodbye and was excited to hear the two support bands – Furthest Drive Home and Forward Is The Farewell as I had not heard them before, but The Garage idiotic policy of IDing everyone meant that I missed the first band Forward Is The Farewell, which I was quite annoyed about. Hopefully I will get a chance to see this band in the future, but as it stands I have no idea what they sound like so cant report back on what they were like on the night, but from the songs I’ve listened to since on their MySpace – they seem like a pretty decent band.

So, the first band I actually saw were Furthest Drive Home – a UK band with a smooth Pop Punk sound. They put in a good set and blasted through a number of their songs, seeming to impress their audience at The Garage. At one stage the singer got hit in the face with a beach ball which was being launched around this excitable crowd, the singer seemed to take this in good humour and carried on the set with a smile on his face. The band currently have an EP out which is available for download off of iTunes, so go and check it out if you like – at 79p a track, you cant go far wrong! Their performance at The Garage seemed pretty tight, and they were definitely a good support band, warming the crowd up nicely for hellogoodbye to come on stage and finish off the gig in style.

After what seemed like an eternity after Furthest Drive Home, hellogoodbye took to the stage with their usual fun time aura, getting the party well and truly started. They played a number of crowd pleasing favourites including the awesome ‘Shimmy Shimmy Quarter Turn,’ the epic ‘Dear Jamie…Sincerely Me,’ and the excellent ‘Bonnie Taylor Shakedown,’ closing their set with superbly with ‘Touchdown Turnaround’ – one of the most truly exciting set finishers I have ever seen. Everyone went absolutely mad to ‘Touchdown Turnaround,’ with everyone in attendance singing along and really getting into this final blast of hellogoodbye goodness. Hopefully the band will be back over these shores in the not too distant future, as their live show is something that is really not to be missed. I don’t think there was a single person at The Garage that didn’t leave with a smile on their face, or in fact leave without ‘Touchdown Turnaround’ stuck well and truly in their head, in fact most people left obliviously singing and humming it.

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Hellogoodbye – Hellogoodbye EP

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Hellogoodbye are actually an amazing band – I wasn’t sure whether they were going to be up to much, having read a variety of reviews and finding a fairly mixed reaction to this EP. Hellogoodbye are a band that heavily emphasise the keyboards in there music. This is great as it makes them sound like a cross between 80s synth pop and modern day Pop Punk/Emo. This is a genius mix and in doing this, the band have produced an EP that oozes fun and energy, with a truly exciting feel to it.

Hellogoodbye are unashamedly cheesy and are a band that is showing clear signs of living for the moment and having fun while they can. This EP consists of 6 of the greatest songs that I have heard for a long time and the band really do impress with this debut EP. It pushes all the right buttons and I can assure you – if you played this at a party, everyone would be up and dancing, it really is that amazingly fun and effortlessly catchy. There is never a dull moment on this EP, with tracks especially pleasing me being the amazing opener ‘Shimmy Shimmy Quarter Turn,’ and EP closer ‘Bonnie Taylor Shakedown…2K4’ The band starts on a high, so I guess they felt they had to end on a high as well. ‘Shimmy Shimmy Quarter Turn’ is definitely one of the greatest songs that I have heard for a long time now. It is amazingly catchy, and superbly written with awesome guitar work, some demon drum beats, and truly astounding bass lines. The vocals are spot on and really do finish the track off nicely, creating an exciting, energetic and entertaining pop classic.

This band really do have a fine talent for penning a good tune, and that is clearly evident on this EP where they have created 6 tracks of pure brilliance. If you have not yet heard this band then I suggest you go out there and listen to them – they may well become one of your new favourite bands. It certainly worked for me, after hearing this EP I was hooked on this band and will definitely be looking out for them in the future. Such a fun, energetic and exciting band is always worth a listen – this CD is likely to be in my changer for some time to come.

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