Taking Back Sunday brought their latest tour to Philadelphia, not for just one night but for two nights on March 21 and March 22. I attended the sold out Saturday show of March 21 and to say I was impressed is an understatement. Unfortunately, due to miscommunication on set schedules, I wasn’t able to photograph letlive. I was a little upset about this because I hear letlive. gives an amazing live show. Hopefully I will catch this one day, lucky for others that were able to already.
However, I was able to catch The Menzingers’ set. I’ve posted this before, but I feel I have been following The Menzingers for quite some time. From small clubs to big venues to acoustic shows, I’ve managed to see The Menzingers countless time. Each time giving their all in their live performance and this show was no exception. Then again this was sort of a hometown show for them since they relocated to Philadelphia. Opening with “I Don’t Want to Be An Asshole Anymore”, The Menzingers went though a 12 song set at break neck speed with little to no talking in between. I did feel that for a band like The Menzingers, a venue like the Electric Factory takes away some of their energy. The stage is too high and too far from the crowd. The Menzingers feed off intimate shows in their live performance and as much as this was a great show by them, their true performance is at smaller venues.
If someone told me in the early 2000’s that Taking Back Sunday was going to be a timeless band, I may have not believed them. For a while, I thought Taking Back Sunday was going to call it quits, but they seemed to fight against all they’ve been dealt and become a better band each year. As for their fans, I’ve haven’t seen such die hard fans for band before, maybe New Found Glory, but Taking Back Sunday has some committed fans. It shows in the live show, their fans are part of the band. Taking Back Sunday played a 22 song set with a mix of everything. Not one song did anyone stand still, especially with a new album out. Taking Back Sunday’s fans sang along with every word. Again, there wasn’t much talk in between songs, but when there was Adam would thank the Philly fans for being amazing. I think that is what makes Taking Back Sunday timeless, they truly care for their fans and will do everything they can to satisfy them. Taking Back Sunday’s 3 song encore started slow with “Call Me In The Morning”, but then progressively got faster until “Makedamnsure”, which I thought was going to cause bodies fly on stage. When the show ended I think the fans were satisfied, and if they weren’t, they could’ve done it all over again on Sunday.
http://www.takingbacksunday.com/
Favorite Sights & Sounds 