Toting a sweet Southern sound that's catchier than the clap, Georgia pop-rockers Cartel made their debut visit to Rochester, with a healthy amount of UB students sprinkled throughout the Flower City's Water Street Music Hall.
Sticking true to their roots, Cartel began the night with the purely "Chromatic" tunes "Luckie St." and "If I Fail." Painfully off-key screams and lyrical accompaniment were belted back at singer Will Pugh, whose voice was as pleasant as his beloved Georgia summer afternoon.
Upping the already fast-paced set was "Say Anything(else)," easily one of the band's catchiest tunes. To be able unload a song of "Say Anything" caliber at the beginning of their set and still have a double disc worth of material to control the adoring crowd with was impressive, to say the very least.
Finally shifting to something off their latest, self-titled effort, the band played the proclamation "This is Who We Are." The newer music didn't last long, as Cartel went right back to Chroma, playing the anthematic "Matter of Time."
Showcasing a few stronger tracks off of Cartel, the band played "Tonight" and "Georgia," amidst a sea of cheers and dangerously young-looking females.
"How many of you bought our new record on iTunes?" inquired Pugh. When only one girl screamed, a slightly befuddled Pugh notified the crowd of what was about to go down. "Just that one girl? Well this is the iTunes bonus track, so get ready to hear a song you've never heard before."
After playing the forewarned "Get Away," the Georgia boys slid smoothly into Chroma favorites "Burn This City," which despite what readers might be thinking, wasn't written about Greece, and the foot-stomper "Runaway."
As the set neared its end, Drummer Kevin Sanders teased the crowd with the intro to their epic ballad "Wasted," but stopped there, as he went into the Bon Joviesque intro to the band's soon to be, sure-fire hit "The Fortunate."
Playing off the huge crowd reaction, Pugh offered his mic to a crazed fan in the front row, allowing her to sing the opening lines "hey don't pay no mind/ we are the second you're minutes behind/ so you say yeah I'm alright/ you are the fortunate all the time."
As her vocals shot horribly off key and a grimace emerged on the all-too-kind singer's face, his mic was retrieved from the seemingly tone-deaf fan and he belted away the rest of the tune.
After an expanded, rocked-out ending to "The Fortunate," Cartel played their insanely catchy hit "Honestly," exiting the stage to what they said was the last song of the night.
Fortunately enough, they weren't being honest, as they returned to play a few more tracks to the adoring masses.
After the goose bump-raising "Minstrels Prayer," they launched into their impressive rendition of the Oasis classic "Wonderwall," which has become a staple of their live show. Their current single "Lose It" was the conclusion track, as the chorus of "go on and lose it/ go on and lose it all" echoed throughout the venue as the band exited the stage.
Despite their drastically increased publicity and scrutiny, Cartel still played into their fans' hearts, unleashing all of their classics, and showcasing their newer efforts as well. With pitch-perfect vocals, energy to spare, and an impressive set list, Cartel did not disappoint. And that, that's being honest.
"How many of y'all enjoyed the openers as much as we did," asked Pugh. "Our hometown boys Holiday Parade actually flew here on the wings of Eagles."
The aforementioned paraders followed the small-timers Weatherbox and prepped the crowed for the poppy fun that was later to come. As strong as their performance was, the best opener award goes Brooklyn's The Honorary Title.
Singer Jarrod Gorbel exuded sexuality with his sleeveless Poison shirt and his impressive take on a Fu' Manchu. At one point Gorbel actually stated that he just wanted to spoon with the audience. And they were not complaining.
Gorbel's sultry voice and sexual stage persona won over the crowd, who gave a hearty reaction to the indie rockers' 30 minute set.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
