I've already reviewed Cobra Starship once on this blog, yet I can't help but review them again. The outdoor pavilion show last night was a vastly different atmosphere than the club show they headlined this fall, so it is completely fair to review them again.
Cobra was the second of five acts to perform at the Believers Never Die Part Deux show in Columbus, Ohio, but they definitely did not perform like a traditional opening act. I'm completely biased towards Fall Out Boy, but were I not, I might argue that Cobra actually upstaged them last night. Considering Pete Wentz's worship of lead singer Gabe Saporta and his former band, Midtown, I'm fairly certain that Pete would agree with me on that point. Because if there is one thing that Gabe has, it's stage presence. From the moment he stepped on stage, downing a red Solo cup full of Red Bull and vodka, to the moment he introduced Metro Station, dove into the crowd, and then dashed backstage, the audience was intoxicated. (I know what he was drinking because not only is it all he ever drinks, but he threw the cup into the audience and I found myself covered in Gabe's drink of choice.)
They started the show the way they always do, with their strongest, fastest, and most popular song, "City Is At War." Rarely does a crowd sing along with an opening act, but the audience last night knew every word of every Cobra Starship song, including a song that is barely a month old, "Pete Wentz Is The Only Reason We're Famous." This was especially surprising when Fall Out Boy took the stage and played a few songs that the majority of the audience did not know. Granted, Fall Out Boy has five albums and Cobra has only two, but it was still supposed to be Fall Out Boy's tour.
When Cobra started playing my personal favorite song, "Kiss My Sass," it was clear that Gabe was overflowing with exactly that: sass. If Gabe ever stops playing music, I suggest that he become a motivational speaker. Despite the fact that Gabe is incredibly nerdy, he has so much attitude and is so unique that the audience rallies behind him as if he held the cure to cancer. Gabe is known for his dance skills, and there is no doubt that the boy can move, but I enjoyed being one of the few in the crowd who realized that he was copying Carlton's famous dance from the Fresh Prince of Bel Air. At the after-concert party, I decided that Gabe could also definitely make a living as a DJ. Because no one else could go into a club and play everything from D.J. Assault to Journey and have the crowd dancing and singing along.
Due to the extremely short set, the other members of the band were not able to shine as much as they had when Cobra headlined, but they nonetheless remain the best live band I've seen to date.
Gabe's energy is difficult to describe, so I included a video of him singing "Kiss My Sass." Sorry the sound quality isn't the best:
Photos and video by Sarah Maloy in Columbus, Ohio on May 13, 2009.
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