I recently had a conversation with someone about the word revolutionary and music last week and it was agreed upon that the term "revolutionary" couldn't be applied to cool bands like the MC5 or even the Velvet Underground…but to something that shook the music industry to its core. Elvis, the Beatles, Michael Jackson's Thriller, the iPod, Napster and just in the last few years; Guitar Hero and Rock Band which have become imperative to rock n' rolls past, present and future over the last few years. These two games have done more for rock n' roll since MTV erupted on the landscape a quarter of a century ago. It's more important than any radio station, music video or concert tour in recent memory. There's a primal sexual force and energy about rock n' roll and is far more real than the sugar coated pop the major labels try and shove down your throat. Even though one may not know how to play an instrument, the game has awoken the appreciation in the youth of today and in my mind, anything that furthers the case of rock n' roll can't be bad.

In honor of "Rock Band 2", a tour is in full swing promoting the tour with The Cab, the Plain White T's, Dashboard Confessional and Panic At The Disco. Surprisingly the show was light on fluff and heavy on doses of good old time rock n' roll as it made it's way to Rosemont, IL (just outside Chicago) at the Allstate Arena. The Cab offered a too brief but solid set, but the biggest surprise of the evening would prove to be hometown heroes the Plain White T's. I saw them in the very same building a year ago opening for Fall Out Boy. Hot on the success of "Hey There Delilah", the band was competent and showcased a glimmering tease that beneath the power pop sensibilities are a band with real chops. On this particular evening, they all but stole the show. It doesn't hurt that they are out in support of a rather excellent new disc, Big Bad World, a throw back to the joyous exuberating 50's and 60's rock n' roll. In today's day and age bands often don't stand a chance of making decent albums, let alone one that top to bottom is triumphant in its melodies. The Plain White T's are carrying the baton of rock n' roll and expose it to another generation. While it's not revolutionary, it doesn't have to be, its drenched in core elements that made rock n' roll a vital art form in the mid 20th Century.

Big Bad World has its roots in a time when there were only a few choice instruments. The charm of this new record is that anyone from the ages of ten to seventy could indulge in its aural harmonics and its simple, yet charming, lyrics. As the band hit the stage inside the Allstate with "Natural Disaster" the band seduced those in attendance as they flexed arena rock muscle. They didn't come off as an opening act, but a band ready to headline large crowds. Over the course of their excitable and all too brief 35-minute set the band glided across the stage and engaged the crowd with the ease of a veteran band. "Our Time Now" struck a defiant chord while new songs "Big Bad World", "1,2,3,4" featured their best Brian Wilson imitation with enchanting melodies. There wasn't a single unconvincing chord hit over the course of their set. Then of course there's the B-side that gave them mainstream appeal "Hey There Delilah"; a perfect pop ballad that even my father (who grew up on the vintage 50's rock n' roll) asked me not too long ago who sang that song as it reminded him of the music he grew up with. Instead of trying to fit into a genre or a model, the Plain White T's are proving to pave their own path with vintage riffs and incandescent lyrics (much like the Fountains of Wayne) that may not be revolutionary but strike a chord in the heart…and that's really what music is all about.

In between sets were competitions from groups within the audience as they tried their hands at delivering their own renditions of classics from Paramore, Alanis Morissette, Bon Jovi and Jimmy Eat World. In a day and age where advertising has been taken to a new grotesque level, I actually found the whole evening refreshing. Yes, I was well aware that the evening was all about plugging product, but this was one of the few concerts I've been to where there was a marriage of art and commerce that melded together. The time in between sets was short largely due to the interaction from the competitions. Few left their seats as they wanted to see who could master the game and sing-a-long with current and classic hits. The evening was a brilliant convergence of art and commerce.

Dashboard Confessional is a band who has been floating between the mainstream and indie worlds of music for the better part of this decade. Never having seen them live, their fans proved their devout allegiance. The definition of emo has a picture of Chris Carrabba next to it; his emotions pour out of your speakers whenever you hear his visceral and heart wrenching lyrics. Over the last few years, I have come to have an immense appreciation for his over-the-top yet poignant lyrics. While they paint vivid yet adolescent stories, they provide a gut walloping punch that doesn't leave you anytime soon. The first time I saw one of their videos on MTV2 (back when they played videos earlier this decade); I was taken with Carrabba's sense of melody and ability to evoke emotions. Dozens of musicians write visceral lyrics but few can convey the emotions. We believe so few of them that it often comes off as insensitive, but not Carrabba . If you don't believe me, look no further than their Unplugged performance in 2002 where I knew I was witnessing something much more powerfully relevant than I even wanted to admit. If you haven't seen this performance, do yourself a favor and check it out. Released in December 2002, the album part of the performance is a difficult listen, but the visual counterpart DVD is pure eye candy. The audience was made with fervent fans who sung along to every last word. While it was tedious to listen to on an iPod, you can't take your eyes off the television when it's on. Anytime an artist connects this potently with a fan, one must stand back and take notice and give the art a second look. Even if you are too old to remember how love and heartache were the basis of our existence in our teens and early twenties, you have to appreciate the power of the performance, and as the band tore through "Don't Wait" on the stage in Chicago, I knew I was seeing an extension of that Unplugged performance.

Opening with "Don't Wait", it became immediately clear that their intensity on record can't be faked as you literally believe and feel every pained lyric no matter how clichéd they may be. Over the next hour, the band churned out numbers from their two most recent releases; Dusk and Summer and The Shade of Poison Trees in all their emotive power. "These Bones", inspired by the novel Twilight, was speedy and ferocious proving that the expressive four piece can indeed rock with the best of them while the restrained piano ballad "The Widow's Peak" found them at their most subdued with Carrabba alone on the piano. The band switched gears with ease. "Screaming Infidelities" was a cell phone in the air moment as the broken hearted anthem for anyone under the age of 22. "Vindicated" has verses that are spoken with a hush and but the chorus howls with its razor-edged pleading lyrics and in concert it was just as devastating. "Hands Down" illustrated the emotional connection an artist can have with an audience further exemplified by the roaring cover of Pink's "So What" (with members of Pain White T's and The Cab joining in). Their finale was "Stolen" a perfect pop song if there ever was one featuring wailing crescendos, aching lyrics and an agonizing vocal delivery that left the crowd with a sense wonder. As over-the-top as Dashboard's music may be, it's hard to deny when it's sincere, genuine, charming and indelible it is as well. Dashboard Confessional is not a group to be underestimated. The passion they bring to their art is enough to create a following on any level, but add talent and drive to the mix and you have a hefty equation whose answer is still being calculated.

Panic At The Disco headlined the event and brought their brand of jangly theatrical rock. For a band with only a pair of records, they maneuvered the stage with ease like veterans. There was nary a hint of being overwhelmed or lost amidst the setting of the arena. Their over-the-top arrangements suit a vast audience and from the looks of the crowd, these songs resonate proving the band to be more than a flavor of the week or just an MTV darling. In some ways, their music is a throwback to the 50's where simplicity ruled. There is something to admire in the unpretentious arrangements and themes of Panic's songs. Their show, while a bit too brief (only 55-minutes), was wildly appealing with magnificent screens and lush lighting. I was expecting a bit more theatricality to their stage show, but I was most likely misled by their music videos. Regardless, they delivered a set chock full of good old time rock n' roll, something I wasn't expecting. This is a band that certainly has more to them than meets the eye. "Nine In the Afternoon" is a power-pop rocker drenched in an intoxicating melody that could very easily slip into your long term memory. "Time To Dance" and "When the Day Met the Night" elicited a physical response from the crowd that was picturesque. For a youthful band still in the early phase of their career, they will only further their cause with every performance and record.

The band proved to be affable and engaging with the crowd and even those all the way back on the floor reacted voraciously to each performance. Two main highlights were "That Green Gentleman (Things Have Changed)", "Mad As Rabbits" and "Camisado", which was chosen by the crowd in lieu of a new song. Each song was an improvement over its studio counterpart. The five-piece band roamed the stage like headliners and was not intimidated by the vastness of the arena and even had a few songs that found the crowd stirring and shaking with their getaway chorus'. My only criticism of Panic's set is that it was far too short and there wasn't enough pizzazz to truly impress upon that they were indeed the headliners. When I saw Fall Out Boy in the same building a year before, as spectacular as the three opening acts were, there was no doubt who the headliner was, whereas on this evening, Plain White T's, Dashboard Confessional and Panic At The Disco appeared to be more equals, of which I take no issue with. Panic At The Disco quashed the naysayers with a high octane set full of no nonsense rock n' roll which ended with an exuberant and jubilant performance of the Isley Brothers "Shout" which left the crowd on a high on the nostalgic jolt their music provides.

Every generation has a genre of music they love and whether its emo, hip-hop, alternative, disco or metal, it doesn't matter. What's vital is that those artists understand their influences and are fully aware of what has come before and try and create music that speaks to the current generation and as long as acts like Panic At The Disco and Dashboard Confessional do this, rock n' roll will remain a vital and driving life force.