Set Your Goals, Restraining Order, and Stateside

I admit that when I first heard of Set Your Goals, I was bored by their generic blend of hardcore and pop-punk. I had been listening to a lot of Lifetime, Saves the Day, the Tossers, and A Day To Remember and couldn't help but feel like Set Your Goals was nothing more than a dull cover band from my second home, the San Francisco Bay Area. I decided to forget about them, and was successful, until I saw them play a show with Comeback Kid.

While I can't say that I immediately fell in love, two songs, namely Echoes and This Song is Definitely NOT About a girl did manage to stick with me and earned spots in my ipod.

What was the show like? The pros: it was energetic and got the pop-punk crowd clapping over their heads, moshing so enthusiastically I began to thank every god I've ever heard of that I have health insurance, and scream-singing along to admittedly catchy hooks; Jordan Brown and Matt Wilson showed off impressively strong vocals. The cons: while the shot of vodka I'd enjoyed made the show even more fun-filled, the performance was not particularly original or memorable. I would attend another show, but I wouldn't be willing to cough up very much money for it.