Extremely bad behavior equals an extremely good concert

"It's our first first show in the nation's capital," yelled the lead singer, Austin Winkler, making the crowd scream their loudest. A tall, skinny man wearing a black tank and vest, he followed with a string of profanities in total rock and roll form. Thus began Hinder's performance, the last on the 2006 Extreme Behavior tour. The concert on November 30 at the 9:30 Club was sold out, with people packed into the building from the top to the bottom.

Opening for Hinder was Lynam, a three man band of brothers from Alabama. Headed by lead singer Jacob Lynam, the largely unknown Lynam still succeeded in pumping up the crowd. Highly charismatic, they gained many new fans with their crazy antics and loud music.

Next came Eighteen Visions, a California based alternative band with its own set of devoted followers. A relatively well-known band signed to Epic Records, Eighteen Visions, also known as 18V, played an impressive set that was suited for a more hard core audience than Lynam.

The lights came up signifying the end of 18V's set, and the audience began to get pumped for the headliners, Hinder. Hailing from Oklahoma City, Hinder became widely popular with their song "Lips of an Angel," which still maintains its popular status on the radio stations. But this wasn't a concert for the faux-fans of their disgustingly overplayed single; this performance was for the hardcore Hinder fans who had the album continuously playing in their cars, bedrooms and workplaces.

The backdrop changed to their symbol, that of a large and elaborate "H" behind the band name. Equipment was set up, including the notorious microphone, adorned with a decorative display of bras. That seemed to be their chosen motif, as they were hung multiple places on the stage, including on the drum set. Then the lights went down, and the crowd began to scream louder than they had at any point during the night.

"How the [expletive] are you feeling tonight?" yelled Winkler to the crowd. Parents at the show with their children cringed at the vulgar language (which continued at a steady stream throughout the show), but none of the fans cared. They were pumped up, lined around the upper floor of the club, as well as pushing and screaming as a single unit on the ground level. Adrenaline was high, and the feeling lasted the whole night, as the band played its album "Extreme Behavior" in its entirety, plus a previously unreleased track and an Eddie Money cover of "Take Me Home Tonight."
Hinder began with the lesser known songs from their album, such as "How Long," a song about a bad breakup, and "Homecoming Queen," detailing a young girl overcome by pressure. Vocals were a little above average — rough yet expressive — even if they were slightly pitchy at times. With an apparently infallible throat, Winkler did his songs justice by screaming the songs in a voice that would have made any other man hoarse. People were raising their cigarettes and beverages while the band stood atop speakers and received undergarments as presents from the crowd.

Then they proceed to walk off the stage.

Some people in the audience were puzzled, ready to cry foul by such a short performance. Others had hope that there'd be more to come, chanting the band's name with authority. "Hinder! Hinder!" they yelled, a few of which had a slight slur to their words.

"Hinder would never leave you guys hangin' like that!" came Winkler's voice as he walked back on stage. He then sat down, and began a new song, one that had been passed over for the album, but that he loved nevertheless.
It was during this acoustic track that the members of Lynam made another appearance. Donning only tighty-whities and his violin, lead singer Jacob Lynam emerged from backstage with his band mates and joined Winkler in his song. While their presence took away from the song itself, their vulgarity was at least somewhat entertaining for the first few minutes, after which they began to seem like the antics of a prepubescent child.

During this second round of music, the band finally performed their hit "Lips of An Angel." Winkler asked the audience to take out their lighters and cell phones and wave them around throughout the song. Many called their friends despite the late hour and told them to listen to the song, which was a passable rendition of the radio version.

"Get Stoned," Winkler's favorite, was among the next songs, and proved to be a crowd favorite as the crowd sang louder than ever before. "You wear me out/But it's all right now/Let's go home and get stoned/ We could end up making love instead of misery," cried adults and children alike. At this point, parents in the audience sighed at the sexual references, but this late into the concert, it was a lost cause, since the majority of the night's songs dealt with sex, drugs or dubious mixtures of the two.

When the concert was over, Hinder fans left more than entertained by the music and the bands' antics. Much of this entertainment was the result of the smaller venue, the 9:30 Club, which was a more intimate experience. Holding a smaller population than popular stadiums such as the Verizon and Patriot Centers allowed those who bought Hinder's "Extreme Behavior" album at the gift shop to meet the band at the end of the show. At the end of the night — or rather, morning — Hinder left a very fulfilled fan base in Washington D.C. It may have been their first time in the area, but they will certainly be back again.