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I was recently invited by Chris Black and Cartel to attend a show as a follow-up to the interview I did with them not too long ago to help promote their new album. This concert was held in the Newport music hall in Columbus Ohio and the guys did not disappoint.

They played to a packed house of all ages, somehow managing to keep the energy up for the duration of the concert–which lasted over three hours. Upon arriving, I was invited to come aboard the tour bus to sit with Will and the rest of the guys while they played Xbox 360 and traded war stories. As you can see, it’s a small space, but they didn’t let the cramped quarters get in their way of having a good time. A little known fact that I got from our conversation is that the guys like to unwind with a round of golf first thing in the morning.

Honorary Title opened for Cartel, and proved themselves to be a solid band from Brooklyn NY. Prior to the show, I wasn’t familiar with them or their music, but was soon impressed by their up-tempo pace and audience interaction. Then about an hour and a half after the doors opened, Cartel hit the stage. They started off their set with some of their older songs, with the crowd of fans singing along to the tried-and-true crowd-pleasers. They also threw a few covers in the mix, delivering a flawless rendition of Wonderwall originally by Oasis.

More on the Cartel and Honorary Title Concert after the jump.

It was around this point that I noticed the variety of faces in the audience. Throughout the course of the evening, I saw parents with their middle-school-aged daughters, Ohio State fratboys, and 20-somethings like myself each swaying to the refrains of Cartel’s live performance of their entire song catalogue. Much to my personal delight, Will heeded my advice, asking if there were Buckeyes in the audience. He gave out a shout of “O-H” and was rewarded with a loud “I-O” back from the locals for his troubles.

They were unpretentious and engaging in person, delivering performances worthy of much larger venues than the small clubs currently on their tour roster. I highly recommend checking out this band, while they’re still performing in intimate venues. I wouldn’t be surprised to find them selling out arenas one of these days. So, make sure to check out their purevolume, or Cartelrocks.com now before they do.