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Stella Cho

Mrs. Nava

English 1A

November 3, 2008

Oh, It is Love

In search of 200 W. 2nd Street, one passes under a rusty metal arch with individual letters

spelling out Arts Colony. The venue is finally found in the midst of art galleries, vintage clothing

stores, and skate shops. It’s distinguishable by a line full of people, half a block long,

barricading a dusty record store and a tattoo parlor. The venue would have been easy to miss if

not for the gigantic wooden structure jutting out the side of the building. This is the Glass

House, an all ages music venue that has housed numerous and memorable concerts including

those of the White Stripes, No Doubt, and tonight, Hellogoodbye. It is only 5:30 and yet the line

is steadily growing longer. The line is an interesting mix of personas, including the typical scene

kids- big, puffy hair either black or bleached blonde with neon streaks, skinny jeans, and

eyeliner; this style went for both guys and girls. There also is, as expected, a large amount of

fourteen to sixteen year old girls, some even accompanied by their parents, but what is surprising

is the abundant amount of the opposite gender. After all, Hellogoodbye is not known as the most

masculine band in rock history.

During the wait in line, a tanned girl with black hair and a nose piercing approaches the

waiting concert-goers with a clipboard. Her name was Sherry, and she represented Peta2, an

animal rights organization that Hellogoodbye supported. On the clipboard is her organization’s

petition requesting that all factory meats come with a label stating that the number one cause of
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global warming was in fact, meat factories, so that consumers could make an informed decision

about their eating habits. While this was all very interesting, what was even more interesting

was the small crowd of girls that was forming across the street next to a U-haul truck. On the off-

chance it was someone from Hellogoodbye., relinquishing the prime spots in line was necessary

to run across the street to see what all the commotion was about. Lo, and behold, it was

Hellogoodbye’s very own lead singer, Forrest Kline.

In his awkward, yet classic style, he was wearing a tiny white button-up shirt and a black

tie under a navy sweater-shirt, with grey slacks he cut off just above his knees. To top it all off,

he wears a small backpack. With this and his black rimmed glasses, he looks exactly like the

high school nerd stereotype, except this nerd had twenty girls begging for autographs and

pictures. Forrest started this band back in 2001, during his senior year at Huntington Beach High

School, “We made a band, made some songs, and people liked it.” This was a major

understatement. Two years later in 2003, the power-pop indie band, Hellogoodbye, signed to

Drive-thru records and released their self-titled debut EP which has sold 400,000 records to date.

Yet, here they are as normal as ever, playing at the same local venues with their infectious pop

beats. However, Forrest has no favorites about the music industry, the hardest parts being eating

and sleeping out on the road, which is an average of four weeks- “but I’ve gotten the mindset

that it is what it is and I’m enjoying the things I enjoy”. The Glass House concert is actually the

first stop of their current five week tour, the BBQ tour. “We were going to try cooking up hot

dogs and hamburgers and stuff for everyone, and just chill out”. Unfortunately their cooking van

broke down, so there was no barbeque for the night’s Hellogoodbye fans. “We cooked hotdogs

in the coffee maker in the back though, VIP only.” Forrest laughs.
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The line had now grown twice as long, but it was well worth it to meet the voice behind

the feel good songs teenagers had been dancing in their underwear to for the last five years. Just

as it seemed like it couldn’t get any better, the waiting concert-goers were handed bookmark-

sized flyers with the Glass House’s concerts this season. On October 23, along with

Hellogoodbye, are listed the opening bands which just happened to be two favorites, Ace Enders

and Never Shout Never!. The doors finally open at 6:30 p.m., and allowing the fans to step into

the Glass House with excitement burning in their veins.

The lobby leads into a dimly lit concert area the size of a movie theater. The wooden roof

is covered with dozens of rectangular sound isolators and multi-colored stage lights, and in the

very center hangs a small sparkling disco ball. A good-sized crowd is already formed behind a

barricade two feet away from the stage, and it’s difficult to snakes through to the second row.

From here, the stage is prominent with its glistening instrument set ups. There are two drum

sets, one on a part of the stage that is raised higher in the back, and two microphones stand tall

towards the front of the stage. A teal guitar is leaning back against one of the complicated-

looking equipment that are stacked up on top of each other which to the naked eye could seem

like a background to the stage. Amongst these are random yellow and white cubes which seem

situated to just serve as mere decorations. The chatter of excitement grows as the crowd waits

for the opening acts, and at exactly 7:15, the lights dim and Never Shout Never! begins to play

their acoustic melodies that could warm any person’s heart and get any foot tapping. Two and

half hours pass, and Ace Enders step off the stage for Hellogoodbye to set up their equipment.

The audience was definitely pleased with the amazing quality of the two opening bands, but still,

they’re hungry for the main course. The crowd is getting impatient with random surges from
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aggressive scene kids in the back pushing everyone forward, causing loud cursing and threats of

violence. Finally at ten minutes to 10:00, Forrest, Travis, Chris and Joseph, step onto the stage

and applause erupts.

Forrest has taken off his sweater-shirt from before, and his tie is hanging loose as he

speaks into the microphone, “Hi. We’re Hellogoodbye” as the music for “All of your Love”

begins. The purpose of the yellow and white cubes become delightfully clear as they start

flashing in sync with the song. Forrest’s voice drives the crowd wild while he plays his guitar.

With Travis on bass, Chris on drums, and Joseph on the keyboard, it’s impossible to keep still

with the energy that came from their music. In fact, the band members are just as entertaining as

their music. Forrest’s dancing can only be compared to tiny seizures or style incorporated by

Napoleon Dynamite. Travis gets mischievous frequently, making faces above the intimidating

bearded security man’s head. The crowd loves it. Throughout every song, they never stop

cheering, jumping, dancing, or singing along, and this goes on for a little more than an hour.

Forrest finally announces, “This our final song of the night” and Hellogoodbye’s their platinum

single “Here in your Arms” from their second full-length album, “Zombies! Aliens! Vampires!

Dinosaurs!” comes on, driving the energy in the room to a level not even thought possible.

With the last notes played, and the band gone off stage, the crowd begins to chant, “One

more song! One more song!” The stage remains dark, and just when all are about to lose hope,

Forrest and his band members run back onto the stage to play another one of their hit songs “Oh,

It is Love.” The melody starts off slow with a ukulele playing in the background. Gradually, it

becomes more and more upbeat, until once again the crowd is jumping up and down, screaming

their hearts out. Travis climbs over the barricade and into the crowd of girls trying to grab onto
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him, while Forrest jumps over him to crowd surf comfortably over his fans. They return to the

stage only to start wrestling, and have Chris and Travis join in the fun. Once the band members

regain their composure, Forrest and the rest of Hellogoodbye finally say goodnight.