New Found Glory Prove Pop Punk is Alive and Well in the Twin Cities

The last time I had ventured into The Fillmore, the newest Twin Cities live music venue that opened in early 2020, was March of 2020, right before everything shut down. Over 18 months away brought a few notable changes: mobile ticket entry, COVID safety protocols, and a stacked fall concert lineup, including the Pop Punk’s Still Not Dead Tour. Even with a lineup change from Simple Plan to Less Than Jake, the lure of finally seeing this tour after too long of a wait brought a good sized crowd out to The Fillmore.

Up first for the night was LØLØ, a name I recognized on paper but not yet in sound.  Rounded out with a full band, LØLØ sauntered onto the stage a couple minutes before 7:30. Wasting no time, LØLØ got right into her first set in Minneapolis, starting the night off with a couple of singles and strong instrumental performances from the band. It wasn’t long before LØLØ got chummy with the crowd, talking about their trip to the coveted Mall of America and buying a Vikings shirt to fit in with the local Minnesotans. LØLØ continued their set with a crowd pleasing cover of “Teenage Dirtbag,” exclaiming to the crowd before getting into it “We’re going to play a song you all know.” LØLØ’s efforts to work the crowd were not fruitless; the more she interacted the more the crowd responded, keeping up the energy in their short but sweet set.

After LØLØ finished her set, Less Than Jake took the stage. Unfortunately, Hot Mulligan was unable to perform due to a positive COVID case in their touring party, but will be back to Minnesota soon at Amsterdam on November 13th.  Starting their set off with a bang, Leas Than Jake jumped right into their eleven song setlist, each member seemingly competing with one another to see who could bring the most energy to their performance. Honestly, some of the best parts of their set were the constant bantering in between songs, self deprecating jokes about their own skills, and overtly blunt and straightforward engagement with the crowd. Unlike their self proclaimed sentiment of “My mom said the best part of a Less Than Jake song is the end,” the band brought a huge wave of ska energy that the crowd ate up.  What kept the crowd going on Less Than Jake was the relentless passion they put into putting on a fun live set; each member of the band taking turns making faces at the crowd and jumping around the stage, all in part to make their set a genuinely fun part of the night to be a part of.

Last but certainly not least, New Found Glory took the stage to a loud reception from the rowdy crowd. Without skipping a beat, New Found Glory ripped into their 20 song set with a cathartic fervor, starting things off with “Understatement” and “Truth Of My Youth.” Fresh off of a slot at Riot Fest over the past weekend, the band brought their festival A-game and turned it into an explosive club show, nearly every lyric of every song sung by the crowd back to the stage. With an extensive catalog and new album “Forever and Ever x Infinity…And Beyond!” to showcase, New Found Glory curated a perfect balance of new and old to their set that showcased the best of their career, even with the addition of a handful of covers. With the pent up energy from the last two years of not touring coming out full force, the band kept the energy high throughout their set, even during all four cover songs, proving that pop punk is very much alive in the Twin Cities.

Setlist:

“Understatement”/ “Truth of My Youth” / “King of Wishful Thinking” / “Greatest of All Time” / “All Downhill From Here” / “Something I Call Personality” / “Selfless” / “This Is Me” / “Vicious Love” / “Dressed to Kill” / “Kiss Me” / “Failures Not Flattering” / “Nothing To Say” / “Listen to Your Friends” / “Forget My Name” / “Stay Awhile” / “Hit or Miss” / “Let It Go” / “Head On Collision” / “My Friends Over You”