First time I saw Kill Hannah was when they toured with HIM. They were a band I hadn't heard of back then, but their mesmerizing sound and powerful words were hard to ignore. This time, on January 13th, 2007, they were headlining 5 blocks away from my house at Trocadero, Philadelphia.

Philly is known for its insane crowds, so I got in line 5 hours before the show. Among the stares of the Asian population passing by with their shopping bags, everyone in line was complaining about how the time couldn't pass fast enough. Then, on the corner of Arch Street appeared the boys of Kill Hannah, grabbing big boxes from a cab, which they then carried inside the venue. A sight of the band before a show: always a good sign.

The good didn't feel too well for me once the doors opened and I entered the venue: the only people who were older than me were the parents who were watching over their kids. I usually prefer being in the front, hungry for a dip of sweat that might land in my face, but this felt like a high school dance I didn't belong to. Therefore, I sucked it up and went up to the balcony, where I just sat back with my roommate, thankful for the fact that we were old enough to get drinks.

I never would have thought it would be a great view.

First band was Action Reaction, 4 boys and a girl from New Jersey. They looked like they didn't belong together: the tattooed singer in tight jeans, a man on African drums with big, puffy hair, the chick with the see-through shirt on keyboards, the guitarist with a top hat, the drummer I couldn't see too well and the "very-Jersey-looking" bass player. They had an interesting sound and the energy to make the crowd jump and scream and cheer before they left the stage to Love Arcade.

Love Arcade: rock 'n roll gone POSH. Polka-dot shirts, glittery guitars, and a sound everyone danced to. I wasn't crazy about them, but I must admit that they were fun.

The Pink Spiders collected the most cheers before Kill Hannah. They played their hit songs, such as Teenage Graffiti and Knock Knock. Their sound was much heavier than it is in Hot Pink, which was joined by the stage lights wrapped around their microphones.

After a wait which felt like forever, the stage lights went down, and Life In The Arctic came on. The crowd's screams were increased by the boys' lasers on their guitars, and it just kept going higher when Mat took his place on stage.

Lips Like Morphine, Believer, 10 More Minutes With You, Black Poison Blood, Love You To Death and Crazy Angel were among the songs they played. The crowd just went crazier as Mat stage-dived, and actually climbed up to the balcony after jumping on to the stage speakers.

"You have two choices, " he said when it was time for the last song, "Welcome To Chicago, Motherfucker, or Cherub Rock." The applause was to decide which one they played, and I could swear none of those kids downstairs knew what the hell Cherub Rock was, but the result ended up being very close. Mat broke into Cherub Rock, which is officially the best Smashing Pumpkins I've heard to this day. "For anyone under 20, that was the history of alternative rock," he said, and decided they play Welcome to Chicago, Motherfucker anyway.

After the show, the band hung out with fans out in the lobby. They gave out autographs and stickers, talked to everyone and let them take pictures. This for me is the first time meeting a band without freezing my ass off until 4 in the morning behind the venue.

Seriously, Hannah, keep running and don't let them get you.