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I was pretty much shocked when I found out that Copeland and Lovedrug were going to play in Memphis. They came to Skate Park of Memphis, an all ages venue in the suburbs. Thanks to a high population of junior high and high schoolers, the show drew a pretty good sized crowd. I wasn't sure if these kids had actually heard the bands before or if they just loved the idea of a rock band being there. A couple of local bands opened the show, but I didn't make it to the venue in time to see them.

Lovedrug took almost 30 minutes setting up their equipment before they launched into the set opener "Candy." This was my third time to see Lovedrug and definitely the weakest performance I have seen them give. Part of this can be attributed to the sound mix, which absolutely killed the experience on "Pandamoranda" (one guitar just doesn't work for that song). To the band's credit, songs like "Down Toward the Healing" and "Pretend You're Alive" soared and made the set worthwhile. Surprisingly the band closed with "The Narcoleptic" from the Rock and Roll EP. They definitely gave the song worthy treatment. I was disappointed that Lovedrug didn't play longer, but such is life. I'm sure we'll see them on their own headlining tour before too long.

Lovedrug Set List
1. Candy
2. Radiology
3. Down Toward the Healing
4. Rock and Roll
5. Pandamoranda
6. Pretend You're Alive
7. The Narcoleptic

Copeland easily made the show worthwhile. With each song the band got progressively better. By the time they got to "There Cannot Be a Close Second," Copeland was undeniably in their groove. It was nice to hear a song from the new covers EP "Another Day in Paradise." I was half hoping we'd hear "Part Time Lover," but this one worked just fine. "Priceless" and "Coffee" were sung with incredible conviction and found everyone in the crowd singing along. We were delivered a new song in "Speak" which will be found on the new full length. Undoubtedly the set highlight was the last three songs. Copeland pulled off an incredible version of "Take Care" before launching into the even more enthused "When Paula Sparks." And finally the live version of "California" was simply amazing. The song built to an emotional breaking point and ended with only the vocals of Aaron Marsh.

Copeland Set List
1. Testing the Strong Ones
2. Walking Downtown
3. That Awful Memory of Yours
4. There Cannot Be a Close Second
5. Another Day in Paradise
6. Priceless
7. Coffee
8. Brightest
9. Sleep
10. Take Care
11. When Paula Sparks
12. California

I'm quite grateful that we picked up a show like this in Memphis. Be sure to catch Copeland and Lovedrug at every opportunity you get because both bands make very worthwhile music.