City Lives have joined The All-American Rejects as a tour opener and eager students of sold-out shows and international audiences.
The Oklahoma City five-piece will return with the Rejects for Friday's Diamond Ballroom show with Jet Lag Gemini and local rockers Aranda.
Drummer Eric Pennell said audience response has been "way better" than the band anticipated, particularly at Canadian shows.
"Those were, by far, the best shows on the tour," Pennell said on the phone Nov. 20, as the band unloaded equipment at Boston's Paradise Rock Club. "They were through the roof, loud and responsive. Canada was the shit."
EMERGENCY CDS
Success comes with a price, it seems, as enthusiastic crowds nearly exhausted the group's supply of merchandise, Pennell said, prompting an emergency order of new CDs to sell on the road.
A "blizzardy blanket of snow" also caused delays while en route to New York from Detroit, he said.
Pennell said he and the rest of the act " singer Chase Kerby, bassist Shaun Brown and guitarists Josh McClesky and Sammy Mitchell " are looking forward to a few days off for Thanksgiving, and are excited about Friday's hometown show.
"We can not wait to get back," he said. "The Diamond Ballroom show, for us, is definitely on the career checklist. (Our) friends and family have been really supportive, so we're excited to come back and show them how we're doing."
The City Lives will return to the road with the Rejects for a Sunday show in Dallas, and West Coast dates slated for early December. "Joe Wertz
