Show Review

Many years ago, when Brand New and Taking Back Sunday’s hot drama was still fresh, and it seems, the culture of the scene was a bit different—a bit more “embracing,” if you will, I saw Taking Back Sunday and Brand New play a show in Boulder, CO. Taking Back Sunday at that time were just beginning to take over the independent areas of the music scene—and had not yet escaped into the mainstream.

It’s been a few years since I last saw Taking Back Sunday. They have since released an incredible full-length, felt lineup changes, and revamped their already incredible style. With their debut major-label release of “Louder Now” on the heels of all their fans, Taking Back Sunday have proven to contain the stay-power of any band to embrace and eventually break out of the independent music scene.

That night at the House Of Blues, we were all getting a bit saucy with energy and anticipation. Would Taking Back Sunday show their love for their roots and blast the jams most of us loved from the “good old days?” Would their new material be presented in top form? The seemingly exhausting “Spin” or the almost ballad-like “Make Damn Sure” expose renewed vocal ranges for the already cunning Adam Lazzara that might be a bit difficult to manage live.

Within moments, “A Decade Under The Influence” came blasting from the stage and simultaneously the pit and what felt like thousands of kids began chanting every word. The band’s ability to embrace the crowd was, as expected, unreal. Lazzara bounced happily across the stage as Fred Mascherino sang strikingly brilliantly, even taking a few moments to point to us as we sang along. I was even more avidly stunned by the nature of the new songs than the old ones—with a renewed sense of vocal styles and range, it was obvious to witness the band’s recognizable improvement. A few years back, Lazzara, while the same charismatic frontman, spent more time flipping the microphone around and handing it to the crowd than actually singing into it—and this night there was still some antics, but mostly straight up rock from the singer. “Spin,” the implausible sonic rock jam, was undoubtedly the highlight of the night—followed closely by the impeccable encore of “One Eighty By Summer.” The band played a diverse set spanning all of their releases, including crowd favorite “Cute Without The ‘E’” and even “Great Romances…”

Taking Back Sunday have undoubtedly improved their live performance, taking it up quite a few notches—Lazzara and Mascherino were especially spectacular vocally. If this band doesn’t blow up this year, I’d be really surprised—and if you’re a fan of their old stuff, new stuff, or even not a fan—you would love their live performance.

review by Andrew Martin