Hundreds have packed House of Blues in West Hollywood for this year’s installment of the AP (Alternative Press) Tour featuring a number of popular bands. The tour travels the country, but I would guess that no other stop on the tour’s itinerary gives a band quite the rush that this locale must. Think about it – they are not just appearing in West Hollywood…they are not just playing the House of Blues…they are performing on the legendary Sunset Strip.

As if the music isn’t enough to get the audience excited, two of the tour's sponsors are Rockstar Energy Drink and Wonka Candy. Free samples of each are plentiful, so it’s really difficult to tell where the sugar and caffeine buzz ends and where the genuine enthusiasm for the event begins. Hey, who cares, at least no one will fall asleep here tonight. This is definitely a younger concert crowd. I have a feeling that if they were not here tonight, many of them would either be at Chuck E. Cheese playing skee ball or chilling at home with friends watching an episode of iCarly.
 

Hey Monday has the House rockin'

Pop punk band All Time Low is a crowd favorite

Among the bands participating in tonight's event are the pop rockers The Summer Set, pop punk bands Every Avenue, Hey Monday, and All Time Low, as well as Las Vegas rock band The Cab. Kudos to the tour organizers - this is a great lineup. This is clearly not a situation in which people are killing time waiting for a specific band. The crowd appears to be enjoying each group, as is evidenced by the screaming, clapping, jumping, and non-stop cell phone photo taking.

Headlining this year’s tour is Never Shout Never (Christofer Drew Ingle). At 19 years of age, he has a youthful, energetic voice and a positive vibe. If you've never heard of Never Shout Never, you're not alone. Several of the people that I mentioned this event to hadn't either and, to be honest, I wasn't aware of NSN until a few months ago. While attending a non-music-related press event in Oregon last year, I was given an Mp3 player containing media releases and pre-loaded with songs of various music genres to keep me entertained during my visit to Portland. One of the songs was the NSN single Big City Dreams. The song had a fresh, unique sound that made me want to hear more.

Christofer first started to build a fan base through his presence on MySpace. Later, an appearance on MTV's Total Request Live (aka TRL) helped propel the young singer's career. When it came down to a choice between a music career and school, he dropped out of high school and took his act on the road, touring with such bands as Hellogoodbye and Forever the Sickest Kids.

NSN released several popular EPs and singles throughout 2008 and 2009. Earlier this year, his debut full-length album What Is Love? was released and, of course, he is performing some of the popular songs from the album tonight. The crowd is singing along to Jane Doe, California, and I Love You 5, just to name a few. And, while I may have a few years on most of the people at this event, I find myself singing along too.
 

Christofer admires an item thrown on stage by a fan

He tours with his band The Shout

In addition to singing and maintaining a lively interaction with the audience, Christofer plays a variety of guitars during the performance as well as - believe it or not - a ukulele. He conveys a sense of 'family' and 'community' and underlines the point by tossing individual bottles of spring water into the crowd, instructing his 'family' of fans to take one sip and pass the bottles along. 

The 2010 AP Tour featuring Never Shout Never continued across America, and concluded at House of Blues in Cleveland, Ohio, on Saturday May 8th. 

On the web: http://www.nevershoutnever.com