Cobra Starship puts on high energy performance at The Chance

Many new bands fall into the trap of taking themselves and their respective music scenes too seriously, but Cobra Starship emerged ready to poke fun at themselves and the MySpace generation that made them popular. The New York-based band brought their unique blend of dance-pop along with their fun and carefree attitude to The Chance Theater on Jan. 16 as the second stop on their Really Really Ridiculously Good Looking Tour, playing a 16 song set full of tongue-in-cheek lyrics and songs that got even the most serious of audience members to dance.

Formed by former Midtown front man Gabe Saporta, Cobra Starship began as a vehicle for the infectious single "(Bring It) Snakes on a Plane," from the 2006 film "Snakes on a Plane." Some were quick to dismiss the band as a novelty act, but the release of two critically acclaimed albums, as well as a large and loyal fan following, proved that assumption to be wrong.

Cobra Starship opened their set with current single "The City is at War," from 2007's "¡Viva La Cobra!" Saporta, wearing his signature purple hoodie, used every inch of the small stage to jump off Nate Novarro's drum set, sing with keytarist Victoria Asher and bassist Alex Suarez, or trade jokes with guitarist Ryland Blackington between songs.

There is no denying that Cobra Starship performs entertaining and high-energy songs. "Kiss My Sass" and "Send My Love to the Dancefloor, I'll See You in Hell (Hey Mr. DJ)" had both Saporta and the crowd dancing. However, underneath the synth-pop beats often lie mature topics such as prostitution, dealing with fame, and creating a religion based on sex. Given that most of Cobra Starship's fans are still in high school, one has to wonder if their young fans really understand when they sing along to lyrics such as "Prostitution is revolution/You can hate me after you pay me/My submission is your addiction."

Based on the screams that greeted Saporta upon his entrance, it was evident that he has become something of a sex symbol. He seems to be an unlikely heartthrob with his spastic dance moves, skintight jeans and a penchant for wearing purple, but more than a few bras were thrown onstage during Cobra Starship's set. This was slightly disturbing, given that a majority of the females in the audience still had their learner's permits.

After leading the audience in a rowdy rendition of "(Bring It) Snakes on a Plane," Cobra Starship's encore contrasted heavily with their power-pop set. Blackington and Suarez joined Saporta onstage for acoustic versions of their songs "Pop Punk is Sooooo '05" and "Being From Jersey Means Never Having to Say You're Sorry."

Asher and Novarro joined them onstage for one final blast of Cobra Starship's signature sound with "Guilty Pleasure," a song that sums up the band's mentality. "And I came here to make you dance tonight/I don't care if I'm a guilty pleasure for you," Saporta sang, dancing just as wildly as he did 15 songs ago.

The opening acts of the tour were the night's only misstep. The Cab, who recently joined Cobra Starship as part of Fueled By Ramen Records, played a set of decent, yet mostly unremarkable power-pop songs. We the Kings had the same radio-friendly feel to their music as The Cab, but they also lacked any distinguishing qualities. Final opening act Metro Station, a favorite of the crowd, played a seemingly endless set of bland electro-pop songs, making the wait for Cobra Starship's set unbearably long.