“Hello my name is Martin,” said bassist of 3-piece band The Dares as he mingled with the girls in the front row of their set Sunday night at the Troubadour. If they're new to you, the Whittier-based trio landed a major label contract with Jive records before they even finished high school and scored a gig at the Winter Olympics Torch Event in 2002. 

They even hold a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records for the first concert to take place simultaneously in two places at the same time. After Sunday night's Troub performance, it’s easy to see why they're still around: Their traditional pop-punk is actually refreshing from the genre's takeover of whiny vocals from the past decade. The Dares are energy, but more so on the live side than in their canned recordings. -Kimberly Brown

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