Because it was Sept. 11, the Friday night show was more than a typical Rock For Reason concert. Cameron Murray, the constructor of all such events, asked the audience to join him in a moment of silence. The moment was completely respectful and extraordinarily moving. All of these people gathered together to listen to music while donating money to a great cause and honoring those that were lost. Although they may not have known each other, every single person in that room could sympathize for those who lost their lives that day.

In addition there was a video that played throughout the evening of Murray in Bamboi, Ghana testing one of the five water wells that had been put in during a trip. He was with just a few of the 125,000 people the organization has set out to help bring clean water.

First up to bat was Stranger Than You and they struck out. Their outfits were odd, starting the show off with an abnormal vibe, coconut bra’s and what not. The bands music was not horrible, however, there was nothing that grabbed a hold of you and screamed, “This a great band!” Transitions throughout songs were not up to stuff; the band was simply just forgettable. There are tons and tons of new bands out there today and if they have a dream of going somewhere they have to have something unique something special about them.

Sam Howell, Austin Woodhead, Max Johnson and Barret Ware, of the band AfterWords, were solely successful for bringing the show back from a dead snooze. Howell with vocals, keyboard and guitar was a comic relief when he entered the stage. Only a selective audience can enjoy his voice, just as some prefer screamo vocals to country vocals. It would be recommended that he stay away from longer higher pitch notes. In the beginning of Halfway Dead, Howell’s vocals were excellent. However throughout the song it gets to be an annoyance when he tries to stretch his vocals where it cannot go.

As for Ware, his instrumental skills on bass were superb, at times he seemed shy on the stage. Through most of the performance he spent it looking at drummer Austin Woodhead. Woodhead was outstanding on drums, such a focused and determined look upon his face the entire performance. As for keyboard and guitarist Johnson his end of the deal was just as stupendous, adding to the bands saving graces. During the bands performance there were a few hints, with the instrumental aspect, of Blink-182 inspiration. AfterWords as well as Goodnight Sunrise are playing a show Saturday at Club Impact

Just as the audience had recovered from the impromptu snooze they had taken, Sirens Sister steps up on stage. Although the band itself is actually quite delightful, the lead vocalist brings them down a few notches. Interacting with the audience gave him a few extra granny points, however his vocals are obnoxious, yelling and frankly it gets absurdly annoying.

There to save the night and clean up the show was, A leaf. The band consists of three members, all of who play the guitar, but only two at one time while the third plays the tambourine. All three members sing, but there is one lead vocal throughout the entire show. A leaf was by far the most outstanding band of the night. They come close in likability to If Bears Were Bees, another Maple Valley band that seems to be the Rock For Reason follower’s favorite. Many members of the audience referred to A leaf as resembling the Beatles. The band had a hint of Jet in their music, which is relaxing and incredibly enjoyable folk rock. Check them out on Tuesday at the El Corazone.

Cameron Murray putting on, once again, a successful Rock For Reason concert. The next concert is Friday, Feb. 13 featuring We Move Mountains, Striking The Nations and Le Attempts. Entry fee is $5 and doors open at 6 p.m. Music starts at 7 p.m.