UIC Pavilion
Chicago  April 10, 2003

Story by  Anita Lande / Photos by  Niva Bringas

    Good Charlotte could possibly be one of the best pop-punk bands currently on tour at this moment.  At least the largely teenage crowd at their sold-out Chicago show would testify to this assumption.  The Madden twins –– Joel and
Benji –– who are the founding members, enegerize the band from within, with Joel providing the edgy vocals and Benji providing the power guitar licks.

    For eight years, Good Charlotte has grinded away getting better and better as time passed. Promoting their latest platinum album, "The Young And The Hopeless,"  Good Charlotte hit the stage leading off the night with their mega-hit "Lifestyles of the

Rich and Famous" which kept the crowd on their feet jumping and moshing which 
continued during their entire set.

   The twins write a fair amount of their songs about typical youth problems including, being made fun of at school and not being accepted in the popular clique.  Through their lyrics and actions on stage they release their anger about being a high school outsider, however 

they surprisingly don't revel in the irony that many of their high school tormentors are now working the 9-5 shift jobs.  Benji said, "There's no room for rock stars in this band." 

    Joel made a point to thank the band's fans for their years of support, while Benji wanted to know how many punk girls were in the audience. Needless to say, his question was met with screams as the female fans went wild. The show ended with their major radio hit, "The Anthem," another huge crowd pleaser.

    The Madden twins from Waldorf, Maryland, were inspired to start a band after seeing a live performance by the Beastie Boys.  They finally received commercial success just like similar bands Blink-182 and Sum 41.

                                             Good Charlotte is currently on tour with New Found Glory.