Taking Back Sunday hit the Big Apple on Wednesday (3/18), selling out the Best Buy Theater with supporting acts letlive and The Menzingers.
letlive (Jason Aalon Butler, Jean Nascimento, Ryan Jay Johnson, Jeff Sahyoun, Loniel Robinson) kicked off the show with a bang, with a raging post-hardcore sound that ripped through the venue. The Los Angeles natives were the most energetic of the night and sure made an impact on the NYC crowd. Lead singer Jason Aalon Butler’s screaming vocals controlled the crowd and within a few minutes had a hurricane like moshpit at the center of the venue. Shortly after he encouraged fans to come closer to the front, while warning others not to because he didn’t “want to hurt them.” With the entire venue holding their breath, he preceded to stage dive into the crowd while everyone watched on. I don’t think NYC was prepared for what was let live, though they instantly became a crowd favorite of the night.
The Menzingers (Greg Barnett, Tom May, Eric Keen, Joe Godino) were the second band of the night, with a completely different sound than that of letlive. The indie/punk rockers hail from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and had the crowd dancing and singing along to their lyrics as oppsed to moshing. Catchy guitar riffs and contagious choruses make up the bands songs. A sort of angst underlying the bands sound is also extremely appealing to their fans, as seen in their song “Good Things.” What might’ve been the crowd favorite, had everyone singing back to lead singers Greg Bartnett and Tom May, with connection to the frustration their music exudes.
The band everyone had been waiting for finally made their way to the stage. Taking Back Sunday (Adam Lazzara, Eddie Reyes, John Nolan, Mark O’Connell, Shaun Cooper) came out and played the emotion filled “Flicker, Fade” off of their latest album Happiness Is. The venue was beyond sold out, with the floor completely covered with fans. The band played some of their best-known hits such as “Liar (It Takes One To Know One)”, “Cute Without The E” and “Stood a Chance.” The crowds energy was at an all time high and their singing overpowered that of singer Adam Lazzara. Many of them were risky enough to crowd surf up to the stage to get a closer look of the band. Lazzara as always was the main entertainment throughout the entire set, swinging his mic around and catching it in mid air while never missing a beat.
When the bands set came to an end, fans were determined to make the band come out for an encore. The band couldn’t turn away from the screaming fans and came out to play “MakeDamnSure”, which had everyone giving it their all and was the best way the band could’ve ended the show.
letlive:
The Menzingers:
Taking Back Sunday:
, selling out The Best Buy Theatre with supporting acts letlive and The Menzingers.){kind=link}