With the exception of the boldly-patterned tattoos that adorned the arms of frontman Jordan Pundik and guitarist Chad Gilbert, as well as a few years age difference, there was little to distinguish New Found Glory [ tickets ] from their legions of jam-packed fans at the Sunset Strip House of Blues Tuesday night (10/24). In all fairness to the band, that's a large part of their success.

Delivering solid--even if derivative--bubble gum-flavored punk songs chiseled from a pop aesthetic, New Found Glory's glossy, color-by-numbers escapades were far from the stuff legends are made of, but what's a legacy if there's no one there to enjoy it? While the 75-minute, 20-song set did little to set the Coral Gables, FL-based band apart from their pop-punk peers, it made even less effort to distance them from their predominantly teenage audience, who--as was evidenced by their mania throughout the show--felt a connection to the oft-times awkward onstage personas before them.

From the opening melee of "It's All Downhill From Here," to the closing barrage of "My Friends Over You," the band tore through highlights from its four latest releases with the reckless abandon of a Red Bull-induced sugar rush. Pundik played the part of ringleader, bouncing and flailing amidst guitarists Gilbert and Steve Klein and bassist Ian Grushka. While the onstage antics were more shiny and happy than snarling punk rock, that didn't stop the crowd from letting loose, partitioning off into mosh pits during the faster-paced, frenetic meltdown of "Something I Call Personality," and jumping up and down with energy to spare throughout, from the raucous "Better Off Dead" to the band's breakthrough "Hit or Miss," which closed the main set.

The songs often blended together into a cacophony of punk riffing, but when colored by their pop aptitude, memorable moments arose. From the recently released "Coming Home," "Hold My Hand" featured airy keyboards that floated to the forefront of the mix and "Too Good to Be" echoed with the quaint, disarming charm of Green Day's mega-hit "Time of Our Lives." From 2004's "Catalyst," "Failure's Not Flattering" featured a return of the tinkling keyboards, and "I Don't Want to Know"--the band's self-professed "sway song"--had all the trappings of a traditional power ballad; had the crowd's haircuts been slightly more askew, one might have thought they'd stumbled into an emo show.

But the surprising standout was a fast-pitch cover of Chicago frontman Peter Cetera's soundtrack hit from "The Karate Kid II," "The Glory of Love." Originally covered on the band's "From the Screen to Your Stereo" cover album in 2000 (which also featured rambunctious takes on hit singles from movies including "Goonies," "Titanic," "Robin Hood" and "Armageddon"), the track was a shining example of the spunk that notably transcended the same-sounding "punk" that ran rampant through the night.

What New Found Glory may have lacked in originality and flair, they made up for with personality. While they may not have looked the part of rock stars on the House of Blues stage, their common-man feel helped them make a crowd connection that too many of their contemporaries could only long for. That said, they may not have reinvented the wheel at their Los Angeles show, but they kept it rolling rather admirably.

Setlist:

"All Downhill From Here"
"Understatement"
"Better Off Dead"
"Hold My Hand"
"Something I Call Personality"
"Sucker"
"Head On Collision"
"On My Mind"
"Forget My Name"
"Boy Crazy"
"I Don't Wanna Know"
"Coming Home"
"Sincerely Me"
"The Glory of Love"
"It’s Not Your Fault"
"Hit or Miss"
"Too Good to Be"
"Failure's Not Flattering"
"Dressed to Kill"
"My Friends Over You"