Click here to view a picture slide show of the concert.

Story of the Year, along with the Deftones, Thrice, Atreyu and the rest of Rockstar Energy Drink’s Taste of Chaos tour performed to a practically sold out arena full of teenagers and adults of all ages this past Wednesday night at Arco Arena.

The show began at 5 p.m. and although it started early, the partying didn’t stop until around 11 p.m. when the headlining Deftones ended the night with their much-anticipated performance.

Story of the Year, a band who takes pride in its live performances, came on stage around 8 p.m. As promised by lead guitarist Ryan Phillips, they gave a powerful performance that seemed contagious to the attendees watching their every move.

Once they stepped onstage, their energy began to spread into the audience. Fans began to push into the middle of the crowd and screamed each time the band sang songs from their old album.

They opened up with “Stereo” which is a new song from their latest second album entitled “In the Wake of Determination.”

Throughout their performance, the band incorporated synchronized moves consisting of jumping and head banging that looked planned, but not at all cheesy. Instead, it showed their ability to perform together on the same hyped level.

“Our live show is more aggressive,” Phillips said in a phone interview before the show. “We rock out really hard.”

Phillips even jumped off stage and walked into the crowd with such spontaneity that he surprised some people by kissing a random male concertgoer on the cheek. When Phillips walked away, the stunned fan exclaimed, “fuckin’ weird!” The guy then wiped off his cheek with his hand and went on nodding his head to the music.

Other songs performed from the new album were “Our Time is Now” and “Take Me Back.”

The band did a great job tending to their audience, some of which sang, danced and sweated to the extreme throughout the whole set. Drummer Josh Wills even paraded around with a horse mask on, encouraging their fans to go just as crazy off stage as they were doing onstage.

After their performance, the band sat at a table in the breezeway of the arena to sign autographs and take pictures with fans. As expected, the line was extremely long but the band’s organizers promised the fans that each of them would get a turn.

Sac State students Trish Marshall and Rosie Donahue were among the many that were standing in line and had nothing bad to say about the band’s performance.

“They were one of the reasons why we came,” Marshall said. “They kicked ass. It was awesome.”

Donahue agreed and said the best part of the night was meeting the band.

As it goes for any rock/metal/alternative concert, mosh-pits were taking place left and right, with as many as three active pits on the huge concert floor.

John Blackwell was one of the many who participated in the “moshing” during Story of the Year’s performance and got punched in the face. When asked if it was worth it, Blackwell gave an up roaring “hell yeah!” and did not show any feelings of doubt.

“It was an organized pit,” Blackwell shouted over the loud musical stylings of Thrice, fellow Taste of Chaos Tour band, performing in the background.

By saying “organized pit,” Blackwell was referring to front man Dan Marsala’s request for the crowd to form one big mosh-pit.

Standing and looking down at the mosh-pits from a high and safe view, it was no surprise there were already a few guys sitting, with black eyes, early on in the show. In the women’s restroom, some were looking at themselves in the mirror to check out their scratched up red arms. Moshing was definitely the thing to do at the concert, as it is for any show with this type of music.

Said best by Atreyu’s Alex Varkatzas, “Remember, we’re all friends. So if your friends fall, pick them up. Other than that, let’s rock the fuck out!”

The whole night was like one crazy party. True, if moshing isn’t exactly your cup of tea, then the aggressiveness of the crowd might bother you.

From experience, if you can’t beat them, join them. Lead guitarist Ryan Phillips passed along a simple bit of advice with fans and concert attendees in a phone interview, “just have fun.” These three words seemed to accurately describe what everyone that attended the Taste of Chaos Tour at Arco arena seemed to be doing, just having fun.

To find out more about Story of the Year, click here.

Aleesa Camagong can be reached at [email protected].

Click here to read a music review of the band’s second album “In the Wake of Determination.”