How to throw a party as if the world is ending

Thursday night must have been busy for the hospitals, as they had to treat a few hundred for fevers and bites after the "Really, Really Ridiculously Good Looking Tour" hit the Mohawk place.

Granted, most of those fevers were of the dance kind, and the bites were the result of Cobra Starship bringing their influx of fun dance-pop to the masses on their first major headlining tour, making sure to show fans it wasn't amateur night at the Apollo.

Kicking off the night in a peculiar manner was The Cab. Battling an illness that sidelined the band during the tour's three previous dates, singer Alex Deleon muscled his way through a set of songs that consisted of their only known track "I'll Run," and a collection of covers ranging from Panic at the Disco's "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" to Edwin McCain's hit "I'll Be." They even included the theme from Aladdin.

Despite Deleon's voice being far from healthy, he and his band have a seemingly endless amount of potential. With their debut release scheduled for April 29th and but one song to judge them by, it is still quite difficult to gauge who this band really is.

"I hope everybody doesn't just judge us off the demo," said bassist Cash Colligon. " 'I'll Run' is not the sound that will define The Cab."

Following The Cab were generic pop punksters We the Kings. While their infectious pop melodies seemed to draw approval from the audience, it was hard to notice a difference between them and any other bland pop-punk band.

Bringing the party back was the main support, Metro Station. Blasting through such synth-heavy tracks like "Kelsey," "Control," and "Shake It;" guitarist Tracy Cyrus led the crowds into a frenzy although his "singing" during many of the songs left something to be desired as the real lead singer showed off his fantastic voice albeit in a limited role. Throughout their set, Metro Station kept energy levels up high, making them a perfect introduction to the main attraction.

From as early as 2 p.m., there were people wrapped up in blankets waiting outside the Mohawk Place in hopes to catch an early glimpse of the members of the Starship. Luckily enough The Spectrum was granted an interview with Cobra lead guitarist Ryland Blackington, who is also a blue steel perfectionist, and owner of "Pleasure Ryland,"

Anyone who has followed the band from their beginning realizes what a sudden surge in popularity Cobra received, from not being able to sell out Icon a year ago to selling out Mohawk Place in mere hours. While outsiders might point to their recent MTV exposure as an active part in their success, Blackington doesn't quite agree.

"We've been touring nonstop. We took a couple of weeks off for breaks but that's it," he said.

Pounding drums marked the introduction to "The City is At War," awakening the crowd while lead singer Gabe Saporta morphed into full pop idol mode with a pinch of Justin Timberlake thrown in.

"Send My Love to the Dance Floor, I'll See You in Hell" was up next on the set list, bringing even more energy to the Mohawk with Saporta getting so pumped up he hung from some metal poles at the top of the building as the band ended the song with a slick breakdown that was sick as is, but even sicker with the strobe lights blasting at full speed.

"We get to do some cool stuff on this tour. We have more lights, and more room," Blackington said. "We're even playing synthesizers; we want to bring as many elements from the record into our live show."

Doused in what he called "liquid sex," Blackington and Saporta bantered with the crowd before showing how much soul they have by playing "Kiss My Sass" featuring not only a keytar, but also two dueling synths. One problem with the live translation of this track was the lack of emphasis on the synths, which are heavier on the record, but were drowned out slightly by the drumming.

Cobra fans latched on to the newer material while showing a little less knowledge of the band's first CD, While the City Sleeps, We Rule the Streets.

"I think it has to do with the newer stuff being more cohesive. There are a few more levels," Blackington said.

That didn't stop Cobra from playing a set of older material though, including "The Church of Hot Addiction," known mostly from its appearance on numerous T.G.I Friday's commercials.

"I was really pissed we didn't [get free food]. We made a couple of calls, but I just wanted free appetizers. Not the whole meal, just some appetizers," Blackington said. "We went in one time, and the lady there had no idea what we were talking about."

Being popular at restaurant chains mean nothing, though, if a meeting with Samuel L. Jackson has yet to occur.

"Actually, I didn't meet him for the Snakes On A Plane song, Gabe did," Blackington said. "But I actually did meet him in Las Vegas when I was seven for a completely different reason."

Like every Cobra show, they ended their set with "Bring It," the track that started it all for the band. One lucky fan even got to come up on stage and rap Gym Class Hero star Travis McCoy's part.

Following a short break, Cobra came back on for their encore, featuring two acoustic songs including "Being from New Jersey Means Never Having to Say You're Sorry." Unfortunately something sounded off in the acoustic set, lacking the energy they bring with a full band.

Luckily, keytarist Vicky T rejoined the band onstage and the Starship ended their set with "Guilty Pleasure," with Saporta even doing the band's special dance from the music video.

His moves may be white hot, but Saporta and crew proved to know how to throw a party as if the world was ending, since everyone in the Mohawk Place certainly sent some love to the dance floor. For the people who seem to not understand or get it, Blackington seems to sum it up best.

"If you can't dig it, you don't got no shovel baby."