Tim SchumannHoobastank makes its return to Speaking Rock
First and foremost, let me say what a pleasure it was this past Saturday night to be back at Speaking Rock Entertainment Center. I love this venue, production and staff are second to none. A special thanks to Karl and Matt, it’s always a pleasure working with you. When I said it was great to be back, what I meant was this was the first rock show of the year and what a show it was as Hoobastank made its return after two years. In direct support was none other than Lit, oh yeah, we were all about to get hit with some Southern California classic hits from the late 80s, early 90s, needless to say the crowd of 5k plus were ready to rock!! Here’s a little fun fact, I knew I had seen both of these band’s years ago, then it came to me, I saw them both on the same day at a festival in Clearwater, Florida like 25 years ago, Staind was the headliner. Well, 25 years later, both are still going strong and still put on a fantastic live show. 
These shows at Speaking Rock are outdoor shows, which are free by the way, and they have two stages side by side, really separated by the VIP section, but on this evening, we have Lit on the right stage and Hoobastank on the left stage which is a bit larger. I love this idea because it cuts the changeover to next to nothing, so with said, Lit at 8:30 and Hoobstank at 9:30, you can set your watch by this, another reason I love this venue, on time!!
Lit has been around since 1988 straight out of Orange County. The band consists of A Jay Popoff, Jeremy Popoff, Kevin Baldes and Taylor Carroll who has been with the band since 2018, everyone else are original members. 7 releases in 25 years, labeled Alternative/Punk Pop. With the release of their second album in 99, A Place in the Sun which had their mega hit My Own worst Enemy, that song blew them outa the water, straight to stardom. They toured the World, did Warped and Woodstock 99 and still together after all these years, that speaks volumes. The boys hit the stage at 8:30 sharp and got the crowd worked up into a lather with songs like Lipstick and Bruises, Ziplock, Miserable and of course finished up with My Own Worst Enemy. I loved watching the brothers interact, a special bond if you will. They played one cover, Let’s Go by The Cars, which for me was a huge treat, saw The Cars 3 times back in the day and they knocked it outa the park. I was really impressed by this band, full of energy and fun, hopefully they come back around.
Hoobastank strolled out onto the stage at 9;30 to a deafening roar from this West Texas crowd, some of these people had been holding onto that rail for the past three and a half hours, oh yeah, the time had come, we were ready to rock. Another Cailfornia band that has endured the test of time, Doug Robb, Dan Estrin, Chris Hesse and Jesse Charland who been with the band since 2010, but Doug, Dan and Chris, all original members. When these guys when they were making a name for themselves in the early 90s, playing local clubs and whatnot, there were a couple of other bands they shared the stage with, you may have heard of them, Linkin Park and Incubus, just a couple of locals. Well over the past 25 years, they have produced 7 albums, won multiple awards between 04 and 07, toured to no end and have stayed together, both of these bands share that chemistry, certainly rare these days. Doug cut right into Same Direction and never took his foot off the gas, hits like Running Away, Out of Control, The Reason and the crowd favorite, Crawling in the Dark. A 13-song set list was over before it started, but by the look on the faces I could see, they were thrilled to death to have witnessed one hell of a show. If any of these two-bands come close to you on tour and you’re looking for a good time, its Hoobastank and Lit, take my word and of course, I’ll see you at the next rock show.
Story and Photography by Tim Schumann
Set List-
Same Direction
Remember Me
Born to Lead
No Destination
Running Away
Never There
If I Were You
Inside of You
Up and Gone
Pieces
Out of Control
The Reason
Crawling in the Dark
