After seeing Blink-182 on Wednesday night and then Taking Back Sunday Thursday night, I’m really starting to question what year it is. As someone who is a complete sucker for nostalgia and with my taste in music not quite maturing with my age, the past two days have been nothing short of a dream come true.
Thursday night’s show started with my favorite up and coming band out there right now- All Get Out. I was lucky enough to catch AGO back in February when they came to town with You Blew It! and to say that I’ve been hooked since then would be an understatement. The last time I saw them, it was in the very intimate 7th Street Entry (the basement-type venue at First Avenue). Last night was in the mainroom of First Avenue. I was definitely nervous that AGO’s live show wouldn’t translate perfectly to a bigger room and, after talking them up to my two friends that came with me, I was starting to wonder if I would be taking all of the praise back. Thankfully, I can stand by everything I said to my friends and tell you that, not only did their live show translate perfectly into the bigger room, I was able to see progression in this band already and it makes me absolutely ecstatic for their future.
Their sound and presence in general just screams genuine. I don’t quite know how to explain that but, when watching AGO live, you get a sense that they truly love what they’re doing on stage and you can definitely feel the passion rolling off the stage. Even though it has been under a year since the last time I saw them, it was easy to see that they have already improved and that makes me so happy. It’s clear that they have been grinding and that grind is obviously paying off very quickly for them. With an almost emo-revivalist sound and an undeniable sense of energy that energizes even the sleepiest of people, AGO powered through their quick set and seemed to catch majority of the crowd off guard. The chatter regarding how great they were resonated throughout the venue following their set.
As much as AGO seemed to catch the crowd off guard, the next act- Every Time I Die- clearly knocked some of the crowd straight onto their asses. After just a couple of songs, singer Keith Buckley addressed the crowd saying he would go ahead and call out the elephant in the room. Yes, ETID was easily the heaviest act on the bill last night and, yeah, it could have been a shock to some of the pop-punk kings and queens that had come out for Taking Back Sunday but I absolutely loved the fact that I was able to see these two bands on the same show. Keith put it best when he explained that they are the onion ring in your bag of fries. You know exactly what I mean– You get an order of fries and there’s that one random onion ring in it– it’s always a bit surprising but it’s also a great surprise. ETID was definitely the onion ring of last night’s show for majority of the crowd. Thankfully, I’m a huge fan of onion rings and ETID so everything was perfect,
The crowd erupted within the first song. The pop-punk kings and queens were quickly overthrown in the pit by the metalheads that had come out to play. Even with the contrast in the crowd, there was not a single person without a smile on their face. Even the guy being dragged out of the pit with an arm that wasn’t moving and stuck in a weird angle had a smile on his face (I hope he’s okay!). You could literally feel the heat rising from the massive pit that opened up and could feel intensity not only from the stage, but from the crowd. I feel bad for the people that had never heard of ETID prior to the show because last night’s set would have been completely overwhelming.
You could classify ETID’s music as metalcore, metal, hardcore, post-hardcore or many other genres. Regardless of how you want to classify them, there’s no denying the power this band has. Guitarist Jordan Buckley is always fun to watch as he literally runs in small circles in his section of the stage with a smile on his face. Although Jordan tends to steal the spotlight with his endless energy and multiple stage dives. It’s impossible to ignore what the rest of the band is doing. Each member of this five piece seems to have a different style of stage presence which gives their live show a whole new layer that some bands miss out on. I feel like I got so wrapped up in ETID’s live show that I had completely forgotten that there was still another band coming up after them.
Finishing off the night was Taking Back Sunday. TBS is one of the few bands that has truly stood the test of time for me. Back when I was in high school, they were putting out music that truly hit me right in the feels. It seemed like every song they had fit what was happening in my life perfectly. Now, nearly fifteen years later, they are still putting out music that somehow still fits my life perfectly. It’s easy for me to say that I grew up with this band and that makes seeing them live that much more meaningful.
Singer Adam Lazzara definitely put the charm on last night making the majority female crowd swoon over his heartbreakingly good looks and his adorable personality. The vocal power Adam has is a thing of beauty. It wouldn’t be a stretch to call his voice beautiful but there’s something about it that gives it a bit of an edge. Maybe that edge comes from the somewhat dark lyrics that don’t quite match the iconic pop-punk sound or maybe it’s just the way that Adam’s energy is. Regardless, it’s perfect and seeing him sing songs that have been with me for years was definitely a treat.
Their seventeen song set, followed by two song encore, covered almost everything that I wanted to hear. With seven albums, it would be impossibly for them to play everything for everyone but I feel like they did a great job of mixing new and old songs along with hits and songs that didn’t quite get the popularity of others but still hold a special place in many fans’ hearts. The power of the crowd was jaw dropping. It seemed like everyone knew every word and they were screaming the lyrics as loud as they could. I definitely found myself screaming along with everyone else all the while with a cheesy smile on my face and stars in my eyes. Even though I got to hear nearly twenty songs, it wasn’t enough and when the final note was ringing out from “MakeDamnSure” (their last song) I couldn’t help but be a bit bummed out that my night was done.
Thursday night was yet another great night of listening to the music that has truly made me who I am today while hanging out with the absolute best of friends. I wouldn’t trade this job for anything else on the planet.
