Hot Chelle Rae

I have been graced with opportunities to attend a Hot Chelle Rae show twice in 2012. Both times, I have been blown away by their performances. I will admit, the first time I saw them, I only knew the hits “Tonight Tonight” and “I Like It Like That” but as soon as I got home from that sold out night at the House of Blues Chicago, I quickly bought the album Whatever on iTunes completely convinced it would constantly be playing through my car stereo all summer. I was right. So, how could I deny the chance to see them perform live another time? That’s right, I couldn’t.

Heading up to Rams Head Live in Baltimore, MD on August 17th, I could see that there was a chance for a potential summer storm. I didn’t let the weather put a damper on the fun I was about to have though. Prepared to have a fun night and be, once again, blown away by their live performance, I slung my camera over my shoulder and made my way into the venue. Hot Chelle Rae, made up of brothers Ryan (lead vocals, rhythm guitar) and Jamie Follese (drums), Ian Keaggy (bass, vocals) and Nash Overstreet (lead guitar, vocals) took to the stage at 9:15 sharp to an anxious crowd who were trying to guess the set-list minutes before.

Opening with “Beautiful Freaks”, a song that caused the entire venue to sing at the top of their lungs and dance along to the beat, put their performance off to a great start. Hot Chelle Rae played through most of Whatever as well as a song that was only released in Japan but was widely accepted by all the attendees. Although they have been touring the world pretty much non-stop in 2012, they performed with the same energy as they did the first time I saw them. The performance was packed with clean vocals and sounds, as well as a flawless light show (major props to the lighting guy/ gal!). I’m positive everyone who watched their set will remember it for a long time. Take my word on it, everyone should go see Hot Chelle Rae live. To make sure you don’t miss their next performance in your town, check out their tour dates on their website.

Photos and Review by: Cara Bahniuk