Words and photos covered for New Noise Magazine. Original posting can be seen here complete photo gallery below.

As the tour cycle for Senses Fail’s latest album, Hell Is In Your Head, starts winding down, Senses Fail put together one more headline tour Buddy Nielsen is calling, “We never play these towns, so you better come out.” The cities for this tour aren’t your usual towns bands play in on their first time around, but instead tend to be played after, if at all. It’s a fair commentary on towns like Fayetteville, AR, but I can bet these towns will always be memorable shows for the band. Since not a lot of bands come through, when they do, the fans show up and make the show worth it.

For this leg of the tour, opening the show is fellow Pure Noise Records band Action/Adventure. Hailing from Chicago, Action/Adventure are the definition of pop-punk. This band have been together for many years, and they play straightforward, pop punk anthems that have sing-a-longs, melodies that cause jumping up and down, and, of course, moshing.

Not only did their set have everyone in the crowd jumping around, but Action/Adventure also takes pride in educating everyone on decades of stereotyping that they had to endure as a band of BIPOC.  The good news is, people are now more accepting, and Fayetteville took Action/Adventure in with open arms.

The next band on the bill, who got thunderous applause when they came on stage, was The Home Team. The crowd was extremely excited for them, and for each song, everyone was singing every single word. I wasn’t too familiar with the band, but I would say they sounded like the band The Higher. The Home Team’s energy was unmatched compared to the other bands on the tour. They were constantly in motion, and if the guitarist or bassist weren’t jumping, they were high kicking while playing.

As for the Home Team’s sound, they mix everything from pop punk, dance, and hardcore. This unique sound captivates the crowd and shows that there is no one type of formula for pop punk or hardcore, and that it is OK to mix genres as they do. Senses Fail definitely picked two unique and memorable bands for this tour.

The first time I saw Senses Fail was years ago in Allentown, PA at the now-demolished Crocodile Rock. It was 2004, and the openers were Midtown, Moneen and Paulson, and Senses Fail had just put out Let It Unfold You. It was a great show, but not as great as seeing Senses Fail now. Senses Fail now are more relaxed when playing, and Buddy doesn’t take himself too seriously. In all honestly, he could be a standup comic with his banter in-between songs.

This setlist catered to their older albums including Let It Unfold You, Still Searching, and From the Depths of Dreams. One thing is for sure, even though Senses Fail have gone through different lineups, the energy is constant. Buddy, of course, is still jumping, mic-swinging, rolling, and doing handstands on the drums, but the rest of the band are some of the best musicians out there.

Playing in Arkansas, Buddy explained he had no idea where he was in the state, but remembers when he was younger and playing in Little Rock, AR, that he got too high and ordered pizza on stage. This prompted him to say that the pizza joint across the street here says New York Pizza, and being from the mecca of pizza in the United States, having that proclamation is going to anger people. He added that he doubts a New Yorker is making that pizza, but he will try it.

As they played “Bite To Break Skin,” someone had pizza delivered to Buddy on stage. He said he doesn’t remember a lot of shows, but he is going to remember this show just for that. Senses Fail have come a long way since the first time I saw them in 2004. Even though that was my favorite show by them for the longest time, I think this show has now become my favorite from them.