School House Roxx With Matt Austin & Anthony August Bands

Dakota School House Roxx With Matt Austin & Anthony August Bands

The DR2 crew found themselves in unfamiliar surroundings Friday Night having caught wind of Dakota High School's School House Roxx show featuring 4 bands and 3 acoustic acts comprised of present and former students of the school as well as special guests,  the Matt Austin Band and the Anthony August Band!  I am not kidding, these Pro's were there volunteering their talents to try to help a fundraiser for the instrumental program at Dakota!  It was an interesting night as we witnessed some strong talent from the homegrown groups, including emo-rockers Beyond Hope, punk/garage thrashers A City Warning, metal screamo's Tower, and Hindsight 20/20 who featured a very talented young rock/blues guitarist.  These bands, along with intermission acoustic duo's P.S.I, and 7:13 showed us the future of music is in good hands in Macomb.  The night got weird at the point the locals finished, as sirens sounded weather warnings and many fans had to head home as soon as all was clear.  This did not stop The Anthony August band as they plowed ahead into a set that featured some awesome music, including a couple "first time we played them" originals they had prepped just for that night.  Featuring the guitar licks and vocals of, bandleader, August and the jaw-dropping drums and vocal skills of 12-year-old, Angelo Coppola.  That's right he plays drums AND sings, and he's 12 Years Old!! You really can't appreciate it til you see it, absolutely incredible!  Finally, the night was capped by an unbelievable performance by The Matt Austin Band.  Matt and his crew, Rob and Adam brought their act through the storms from as far as the great white north just to help out the kids of Dakota!  In fact, their inclusion was Matt's own idea, no one called him, he heard about the show and offered to help out! During the load in Matt started out with an impromptu cover of Hinder during his warm up/tune up, which gathered the kids around the stage while the rest of the band was still setting up, and when he abruptly ended he was showered with screams of applause. A surprised Matt continued into a solo of Bon Jovi's "Dead or Alive" much to the approval of the Dakota students! Revved up by the unexpected enthusiasm, The Matt Austin Band ripped through all our favorite Austin tunes as well as some old-school Hendrix and Lynyrd Skynyrd!  Amongst the flurry of camera flashes from the kids in the crowd, they drew another win when they "Rocked the Gymnasium" with their new original, With You. These guys really showed us at DR2 something as they played a show that literally rocked the School! All-in-All we enjoyed the change-of-pace and the music! Kudos to all the student performers and both Anthony August Band and The Matt Austin Band for a great night!