Wednesday, March 4th, 2015: the line outside of The Summit Music Hall on Blake Street in Denver was looking pretty bleak, even 15 minutes before doors were expected to open. Granted, it felt like it was about ten degrees, but a longer line was expected for a sold out show. Everyone in line seemed relaxed, giving an impression that this show might not actually be that rowdy… I couldn’t have been more wrong in my anticipations.
Doors opened about ten minutes later than originally announced. At 6:10, we got X’s scratched onto our hands by a black Sharpie and continued to a comfortable standing position as close to the stage as we could manage for the time being. There was one weird thing that stood out yet again, we were actually comfortable standing there. We weren’t constricted or standing shoulder to shoulder, we had space. After standing there for about an hour, the lights went down.
7:00pm: The Menzingers walked out and surprised everyone with their contagious energy and awesome talent. As a smaller punk-rock band from Scranton, Pennsylvania, it didn’t seem like a bunch of people were familiar with their music, but they gave it their all, regardless. They introduced us to songs including “Nice Things,” “Good Things,” and “Bad Things.” When they played their popular song, “I Don’t Want To Be An A****** Anymore,” everyone came together for the first time of the night to really enjoy a song in unison. They were a band that had it all; they had passion, heart, angst, and hope.
8:09pm: the second band, letlive., walked onto the stage in a moment of calm before the imminent storm that was to come from their performance. Standing there, the sea of people was still as a few guitar chords were strummed. Somewhat confused as to why no one was really moving, it finally hit us, literally. The second that lead vocalist Jason Butler screamed, chaos was unleashed, sending us into waves of bodies fighting their way to the barrier. An eventual circle pit was established by Butler himself, not long after he climbed the balcony and screamed from directly above the heads of adoring fans. During “Renegade ‘86,” Butler invited the audience to sing for him, and rarely sang a line. He would point the microphone to various attendees that were crowd surfing and let them steal the show for as long as the crowd would support them. Before they performed “Muther,” Butler gave a moving speech about his own personal struggle, and the assurance that it would get better for anyone in the crowd who may be struggling with their own demons.
9:12: headliner Taking Back Sunday took the stage and opened with “Preface/Flicker, Fade,” the two opening tracks off of their most recent album, Happiness Is. Setting the ambiance immediately with “Preface,” an almost elegant violin lead-up to a violent intro in “Flicker, Fade,” they continued to play a collection of upbeat songs that bled energy and angst. Throughout the show, they played several tracks off of their debut album, Tell All Your Friends, which will be 13 years old on March 26. Guitarist and backing vocalist John Nolan was the primary lyricist for this album, as it was a response to a feud he was involved in with Brand New frontman, Jesse Lacey, and he would always light up and flash a smile when the crowd would sing along to his lyrics. From Tell All Your Friends they enthusiastically performed “Cute Without The ‘E’ (Cut From The Team),” “Great Romances of the 20th Century,” “Ghost Man On Third,” “Timberwolves At New Jersey,” and “You’re So Last Summer.”
I think that I killed my voice during “A Decade Under The Influence.” Adam Lazzara was casually walking around the stage, making hand gestures that calmly flowed with the lyrics and melody of the song, but were definitely made an impact. He did this throughout the show. How the entire band could be so casual on stage is something I don’t think I’d ever be able to do. The way they executed the performance made it feel more like a reunion between old friends rather than a clan of strangers coming together to scream to the sounds of the band in front of us.
And let’s talk about Adam Lazzara’s mic swinging. The way Adam Lazzara swings his mic is signature, no one else out there can swing a microphone quite like he does, and it’s something I dream about. Here’s 3 minutes and 26 seconds of mic swinging glory: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bd0gH3IOA8s
Overall, seeing Taking Back Sunday live is an experience that I wouldn’t trade for the world.
