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Biography
The band originally came together as a power trio with high school friends Tom Higgenson as singer and guitarist, Ken Fletcher on the bass guitar and Dave Tirio on the drums. The band made their live debut while playing local shows on the thriving Chicago punk scene, but soon after their live debut they had graduated to playing famed rock clubs like the Chicago’s Metro. As their shows got bigger and they started developing a real life fan-base, the band recruited Steve Mast to play lead guitar and sing backup vocals to give them a fuller live sound. However, the band were nearly kneecapped before they could truly begin when Higgenson broke several vertebrae in his back in a car crash while driving the bands van.
Higgenson was in a brace for three months, and needed to learn how to walk again, but the whole sorry situation changed him in the best way it could. Higgenson realized that life was short, precious and could stop at any moment. Moreover, he assessed what was going on in his life and found that the band was the most important part of it, and that he was fronting an outfit with enough talent to hit the big time in the near future. With that at the forefront of his mind, he started writing songs that carried more of himself in them than ever before, and the whole band started taking their career more seriously as a result. The band released their debut album “Come On Over” in 2000 but it was their second effort, 2002’s self-financed and released effort “Stop” that got the band their first record deal with Fearless Records.
Unfortunately, this lead to another pothole in the bands road to stardom, as while they toured “Stop” in 2003, their first tour with a label backing them, Mast and Fletcher both decided to leave the band. The band had far too much momentum going their way however, and Tirio switched from Drums to rhythm guitar while they recruited Tim Lopez to play lead guitar, Mike Retondo to play bass and De’Mar Hamilton to take the newly vacated drum stool. This is the line-up that Plain White T’s play with to this day, and as if it wasn’t clear enough that they’d made the right choice, they would follow this up by briefly becoming one of the hottest bands in the world.
In 2006 they released their single “Hey There Delilah”, and over a year after its release it hit the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks in July 2007. The track was nominated for two Grammy awards and the album it came from “Every Second Counts” was certified Gold. The band found themselves playing shows alongside Panic! At The Disco and Dashboard Confessional, along with headline shows all over the world on the back of the success of “Hey There Delilah”. Ever since then the band have been one of the most beloved cult acts in American rock, with their songs appearing in everything from iCarly to Hollyoaks, and for that, along with their impeccable live show, they come highly recommended.
Live reviews
During the mid-00's Britain experienced a huge boom of melodic indie pop with a relatively similar sounding vocal, often consisting of a group of angsty guys. It gave the likes of Scouting For Girls, The View and Pigeon Detectives their respective fifteen minutes of fame. During this wave we were also invaded by an American outfit capitalising on the trend, the Plain White T's with their infectious hit 'Hey There Delilah'.
Years later and the group are still performing as a unit and despite the wave of indie having well and truly dispersed, the group continues to book shows and delight fans with their easy listening sounds. Lead singer Tom Higgenson is a warm personality onstage and is impassioned for the likes of '1,2,3,4' despite having played them an impossible amount of times. They do showcase some new tracks from 'American Nights' which show slight progression but the formula in general remains pretty unaltered over the years. The energy levels of course hit their heights during 'Hey There Delilah' and the crowds sing along in real force for the first time tonight.
sean-ward
This was an awesome show. The opening band was Hear now from pittsburgh, they were young & pretty good. The second band was ok,but not good enough for me to remember their name. The lady guitarist & the guy keyboardist had the most energy of all of them & made it worth watching. The male lead singer was not to bad, but when the lady singer sang you could not understand her. not real impressed with them. The 3rd band Ocean Park standoff was super fantastic. The lead singer was extremely full of energy. Their songs really popped. Wanted to buy their cd, but missed them at the merch table. Love. Love them & was so shocked that I knew their songs & cant wait to get the CD. Plain White T's, they were what I expected. They played stuff off of the Cd that will be coming out soon & that was cool. They did play alot of their big hits, but I wanted to hear more of them. I just didn't get my fill of them & left wanting more. This show should drop the 1st or 2nd (my pick) & the T's should play longer!!
tina-albert
Although they were third on the bill, the T's did an outstanding job and were my favorites for the night. Their sound crew was amazing, every song was mixed perfectly and they had the crowd singing along for many of their tunes. From the popular Hey There Delilah, to the addictive Rhythm of Love and through rockers like Down The Road, this group makes every minute count while they're on stage. I could have listened to them all night and the only disappointment was that they had to stop to let the next group on stage.
Mstrwks
The show last night at Epcot was amazing! This was our first time seeing them play but it won't be the last. We stayed for all shows! and we'll be back when they come to the Food and Wine Festival. The highlight for me was when proud daddy brought his son on stage to sing with him. We were watching this little guy dancing away on the side of the stage during the shows not realizing he was a band members son (he has some dance moves!). If you get a chance to see this band don't pass it up.
bonnie-moran-patrick
Loved it! First timer at Sculky's and it was easy to get to, find a place to park, simple process for will call and we had a great view of the stage by the bar. Plain White Ts interacted with the crowd, were really friendly and personable and treated everyone like close friends. Lots of great music and positive, energetic atmosphere. Had a fabulous time watching a great band. Just the way to breakup the work week.
Mpbondra
Awesome concert! The band did a great job and had an awesome set list. The only thing I wish was different was that they didn't sell merchandise. I really would have like to buy a shirt. Other than that it was amazing!
rachelmbom
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