From the South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Openers set the stage for Plain White T's

Culture Room on June 23

By Sara Garner
Pine Crest School

"Quiet is the new loud," said Marc Walloch, Company of Thieves guitarist.

Opening bands Days Difference and Company of Thieves followed this adage at the Plain White T’s concert at the Culture Room June 23, singing meaningful songs without the blaring sounds that usually accompany a rock concert.

The concert started with a performance by Days Difference, two sets of brothers from Virginia Beach. Lead singer Jeremy Smith was the main attraction in this enthusiastic act.

Smith was versatile and went from making a melody on the keyboard to reaching out into the audience and doing jumping twists around the stage. Smith, along with other members of Days Difference, came across as a real person and connected well with the audience.

The band even took the time to sing to a birthday girl in the audience.

Its music was a mix of Cute Is What We Aim For's excellent beats and the Hush Sound’s gentle tone and interesting lyrics. Even if the audience didn’t know all the words to the songs, Days Difference kept them interested.

Days Difference definitely has the potential to hit it big; one fan even said it could be the next Fall Out Boy.

The concert took a different turn with the set change to Company of Thieves, a band from the Plain White T’s hometown of Chicago. While Company of Thieves did have a stage presence, its dramatic and strange behavior made it difficult to appeal to a large audience.

The voice of Genevieve Schatz, the lead singer of Company of Thieves, was powerful and interesting, but the songs were slow and seemed to go on forever. The band’s songs would have been excellent in a more intimate environment, but they proved an odd match for the audience of the Plain White T's.

While Company of Thieves did not leave as big of an impact on the audience as Days Difference, it gave a valiant effort and was in a difficult position of playing right before the main attraction.

Even though both opening bands had moments when the audience was wondering when the Plain White T's would finally take to the stage, Days Difference and Company of Thieves did their job of putting the audience in a place where the Plain White T's could blow them away.