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Alkaline Trio, New Found Glory, and H2O
Marquee Theatre
Monday, October 28, 2013
Last night’s line up was a dream come true for pop punk fans. New Found Glory and Alkaline Trio last embarked on a U.S. tour together in 1999 in support of Face to Face, so it was long overdue.
This time around, the pop punk behemoths took H2O on the road for what was all in all a great Monday night show.
See also: Alkaline Trio, New Found Glory, H2O at Marquee Theatre (Slideshow)
The crowd’s response to H2O made for great people watching, since the audience could more or less be divided into two camps–guys hardcore dancing and fans who could care less, since Alkaline Trio wasn’t on stage yet.
After seeing H2O play sold out shows at Nile Theater, it was strange to see them receive a lukewarm reception as an opening act, but the handful of fans that poured their hearts out and still tried to grab the mic during “Guilty by Association” made it worth it.
The band closed with “What Happened?” and brought Alkaline Trio’s Matt Skiba on stage for vocals, as he appears on Nothing to Prove.
Next was New Found Glory, who arguably put on the best set of the night. It’s remarkable not only that the band has been touring with the same line up for over 15 years (almost the “original” line up, depending on how technical you want to get about Cyrus Bolooki), but also that the band continues to have so much energy. Guitarist Chad Gilbert, the former singer of Shai Hulud, has not lost his hardcore edge–he did a great job of hyping the crowd. He sounded just like he did on New Found Glory’s new live album, Kill It Live.
I first saw New Found Glory open for Blink-182 in 2001, and can accurately say that the band has not slowed down at all. Vocalist Jordan Pundik doesn’t stand still for more than a few moments, always being sure to interact with the crowd. He jumped down to the barricade for “Hit or Miss,” handing off the microphone out to fans.
NFG’s set featured a good selection of songs, kicking off with the high energy “All Downhill From Here,” which transitioned nicely into “Don’t Let Her Pull You Down.” The set included two covers, including “I Don’t Want to Miss A Thing,” after which Pundik gave a shout out to “my boy, Bruce Willis.”
Jordan Pundik singing the Armageddon theme song in a Nicki Minaj shirt was one of the high points of last night’s show. It was also fun to hear songs from the self-titled album, which is now 13 years old, still remain fresh.
Alkaline Trio closed out the double headliner show with a diverse mix of songs. The first block of songs was great, as the crowd went nuts to “Cringe,” “Take Lots of Alcohol,” and “Warbrain.” 2000’s Maybe I’ll Catch Fire is a great album that tends to get overlooked in favor of “Radio.” The band took the stage in matching Alkaline Trio letterman jackets, which looked good, in spite of the band wearing its own merch.
Before this tour, Alkaline Trio polled its Facebook fans on which songs the band should play from each album. I think that may have contributed to some of the songs that didn’t quite feel right on last night’s set. “Help Me,” “Calling All Skeletons,” and “Young Lovers” all slowed things down a bit. The middle of Alkaline Trio’s set had its lulls, but the band pulled through with songs like “Queen of Pain” and “Sadie.”
Alkaline Trio’ set ended on a high note, as fans loudly sang along to “This Could Be Love.” It was pretty funny to hear a crowd of people sing “I shat the bed” and “I touch myself at thoughts of flames.” The band came back for a two song encore, including “Radio,” which was lacking from the band’s previous set at Marquee Theatre. Matt Skiba encouraged the crowd to dance for closing song, “My Friend Peter.”
Alkaline Trio Setlist:
Cringe
Take Lots With Alcohol
Warbrain
I Found A Way
I Wanna Be a Warhol
Standard Break From Life
Kiss You To Death
Help Me
Time to Waste
Queen of Pain
Every Thug Needs a Lady
Calling All Skeletons
Dead and Broken
Sadie
I Lied My Face Off
Young Lovers
This Could be Love
Encore:
Radio
My Friend Peter
New Found Glory Setlist:
All Downhill From Here
Don’t Let Her Pull You Down
It’s Not Your Fault
Understatement
The Truth of My Youth
Sucker
Radiosurgery
Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing (Aerosmith cover)
Connect the Dots
Hit or Miss
Listen to Your Friends
Anthem for the Unwanted
Failure’s Not Flattering
Dressed to Kill
Kiss Me (Sixpence None the Richer cover)
Forget My Name
Head On Collision
Hold my Hand
My Friends Over You
Critic’s Notebook:
Last Night: Alkaline Trio, New Found Glory, and H2O at Marquee Theatre.
Personal Bias: I can’t remember a time, if ever, that I so excited to see every band on the bill. I’m most likely going to buy a ticket to the Tucson show.
The Crowd: Late 20 somethings who remember the time they realized “Thriller” was their favorite song.
Overheard in the Crowd: This Facebook status is the best thing I heard or read- “I feel like I got hit by a train and roofied last night. All in the name of feeling 14 forever.”
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