LFO - Honor The Boys
Date: February 2nd, 2025
Location: Boston, MA
On a freezing winter day in February, Brad Fischetti honored his bandmates, Rich Cronin, Devin Lima, and Brian Gillis in their hometown of Boston with a special concert. He was joined by Trevor Penick of O-Town and the boyband, HeartBreaker.
Last time I saw Brad and Trevor was the O-Town’s Lines and Circles 10th anniversary tour.
The Venue
The show took place at City Winery in their Haymarket Lounge. The Lounge is significantly smaller than their main stage room. This provides a more intimate close-knit atmosphere. And the acoustics still sound amazing.
VIP with Brad and Trevor
Prior to the show, Brad and Trevor hosted a VIP event with a small group of fans. VIP events are a constant feature of LFO and O-Town shows. I always recommend their VIPs because they are worth every penny! Unlike other bands, LFO and O-Town VIPs are not just a two minute photo opp and leave. You get to spend actual quality time with Brad and Trevor for almost two hours.
This time around, Brad and Trevor conducted an ice breaker where we played the name game. Then we played a numbers and dice game. Somewhat stressful, but super fun. After finishing the game, we took photos with Brad and Trevor. Joel, the tour manager, used the camera on my phone to take the picture. I much rather prefer this method as opposed to a professional camera. Joel can take multiple photos. Also, I can control the quality/outcome of the photos with my own editing. We also got signed photos from Trevor and Brad.
Later, we watched Brad and Trevor do soundcheck with the band. The soundcheck is an actual run through of the show. The guys are testing the sound on the stereo system, practicing songs, the bands’ instruments align with the vocals and their microphones are amplified. During soundcheck, they sang “Westside Story” and “Baby Be Mine”.
HeartBreaker
The show started at 7:30 pm. HeartBreaker, a new and upcoming boyband, opened the show with three songs including “HeartBreaker” and “Blink Twice”. HeartBreaker was founded by Mike Caputo who also managed LFO. Before the show, Mike introduced the HeartBreaker boys to me and my friends at our table. HeartBreaker consists of Arman, Dresito and Asa. They all play guitars. I was surprised at how young they were, 13-15 years old. Their parents actually came to the show. The Boston show was their second show. During their performance, I could tell HeartBreaker were still finding their groove onstage. They definitely need some work on group chemistry and stage presence and confidence.But, they still sounded great. Since we were sitting at the front table, my friends and I tried our best to cheer for HeartBreaker and hype them up.
Trevor Penick
Next up is Trevor. He kicked off his set, covering DJ Khlaed’s “All I Do Is Win”. His setlist was a mixture of R&B, country and pop covers. At first glance, I thought Trevor’s setlist was all over the place. But once Trevor started conveying his life story and journey through the songs, the setlist made so much sense. His setlist included Miley Cyrus’s “Party in the USA”and Mary J. Blige’s “Real Love” and Marc Cohn’s “Walking in Memphis”. Trevor also sang his own song, “Grown Man”. The biggest highlight for me was definitely Trevor’s performance of “Sin City”. Trevor got me and my friends up on our feet and dancing and singing along.
This was my first time seeing Trevor perform a full solo show. He clearly can handle the stage on his own. Trevor brings a tremendous amount of energy and charisma. Moreover, Trevor proved himself to be a great showman who excites and engages the crowd.
LFO
Finally, Brad entered the stage with “Baby Be Mine”. Perfect song to reignite the crowd’s enthusiasm after Trevor’s performance. Brad is accompanied by his band composed of his friends from church: Alan Binau and David Cassese on guitar, Floyd McColium on drums, Craig Wilson on keys, and Wayne Carter on bass. Brad’s friendships and bonds with his band carried throughout the show as they constantly bantered and joked with each other.
During the show, Brad curated a setlist of specific songs to narrate the story of LFO. The setlist included “Can’t Have You”, “Alayna”, “Life Is Good”and “Perfect 10”. He also performed a 70s medley to commemorate the years the boys were born.In addition, Brad sang “La Bamba” which is the first song he, Devin and Rich sang together as a group.
Later in the show, Trevor and Joel, the tour manager, joins Brad to sing “Westside Story”, which definitely hyped the crowd with its uptempo beats. Trevor also joined Brad to sing a couple more LFO songs including “Every Other Time”, and “Dandelion”.
Without question, my favorite performance was “Girl on TV”. The song always brings the early 2000s nostalgia. I also really enjoyed Brad’s performance of “Ode to Harold”, a song dedicated to Devon. Brad clearly showed a lot of vulnerability and emotion during the song. It was the first time I saw Brad explicitly express his grief over the loss of Devin and Rich. I absolutely felt his pain.
Appropriately, the concert closed with “Summer Girls”, the song that put LFO on the map. I thought it was pretty sweet and special of Brad to invite the Heartbreak to join him and Trevor onstage to sing along. After the show, Brad and Trevor came out and took photos with fans.
Verdict
Overall, I enjoyed the Honor The Boys tour. Brad did a wonderful job in delivering a show that celebrates the legacy of Rich and Devin. It was also great to meet other fans. I hope Brad does more stand alone LFO shows in the future.
I get constantly asked why I always go to the same shows with the same artists singing the same songs.And here is what I say. The concerts make me happy and take me back to a comforting place and time. The guys are genuinely friendly and kind. They appreciate the dedicated fans like me always showing up. And I’m guaranteed a fun time.
I am planning to see Trevor and Brad again on the Pop2K summer tour.
