Phillyist Reviews... The Honorary Title

As far as I'm concerned, The Honorary Title should be headlining their own tour, but Friday night at the Theatre of Living Arts they fronted Butch Walker. Obviously most of the audience was there to see Butch Walker. This simple fact had a huge impact on The Honorary Title's performance and attitude.

There were several issues with the concert, but most of them were due to circumstance, and weren't the band's fault. They played six or seven songs; some old some new. They were great songs with great energy, but the audience zapped the life out of them. It seemed the audience didn't know how to respond to the music and therefore The Honorary Title didn't know how to react. The band seemed apologetic and uncomfortable. Not good when you are promoting your new CD.

Jarrod Gorbel's vocals were rocking, but because the sound levels weren't right, they did not mix well with the rest of the band. The back-up vocals weren't loud enough so there wasn't a good mix between the two. Clearly this problem would have been fixed in sound-check if The Honorary Title was the headline band.

"Stuck at Sea," their new single, was the highlight of the evening. The song has a touch of U2 and Coldplay, while Gorbel's vocals are a throwback to the 80's, reminiscent of Robert Smith of The Cure. The crowd went wild - not because Gorbel was singing his heart out, but because Butch Walker came on stage and sang back-up vocals in the chorus of the song. Finally the crowd had the energy that The Honorary Title deserved.

So, yes, I was a bit disappointed, but overall I was still entertained. I'll be looking for them to headline a tour after their second album, Scream and Light up the Sky, gets release in June. That's when The Honorary Title will shine.