Taking Back Sunday – March 4th – Summit Music Hall

Photo by Paul Harries

The Scene: The show last Wednesday at Summit Music Hall was “super sold-out” leaving some people who believed they were on the list scrambling to find tickets at the last minute. Many people came down to the theater that night expecting to make a purchase, and ended up leaving disappointed. The people who were fortunate enough to have tickets were for the most part young, leaving manageable lines for the bar for a crowd of such size. The rest of the crowd was a mix of Emo, Scenester, and Punk kids, all there to relive feelings of youth.

Opener: The Menzingers. A small percent of people at the show came solely to see The Menzingers, a Punk Rock band from Scranton, Pennsylvania. The band was energetic, despite the cold weather, and their performance was the best one of the night. The Menzingers are not a typical “Punk” band, but the typical Denver Punk crowd came out to see them, including Tim Browne from the semi-local (Fort Collins) band Elway, and The Menzingers dedicated the song “Nice Things” to the singer. They later dedicated the song “Casey” to the Colorado brewery Oskar Blues. Both Greg Barnett and Tom May’s voices were on point and May’s melodic yells were awesome, and drummer Joe Godino was fantastic. The Menzingers played a great forty-five minute set, including fan favorites “Obituaries,” “Good Things,” “Where Your Heartache Exists,” “I Don’t Wanna Be An Asshole Anymore,” “Gates,” and “In Remission.”

Opener: Let Live. The Los Angeles based, Progressive Rock band Let Live played next to a small but passionate group of fans. The band seemed very similar in style to Taking Back Sunday, but fueled by singer Jason Butler’s screams. If sheer talent was what determined the line-up, Let Live should have played first. Luckily the bands’ set was forty-five minutes as well, as the entire performance was painful.

Taking Back Sunday. Screams were heard all over the venue, and people crowded the front as the headlining band Taking Back Sunday began playing. The light show was amazing and singer Adam Lazzara wowed the audience with handstands and by swinging his microphone around as if it were a baton. These tricks were exactly what they seemed; tricks designed to distract the audience from the fact that Lazzara’s voice is not what it once was. Lazzara has gained a noticeable amount of weight over the years, and his performance is no longer filled with sweet dance moves.

The set list itself was awkward and unbalanced, starting with a new song (horrible), followed by an old song (great). The set continued like this for the majority of the show, leaving the feeling that one could not quite truly “get into” the experience. Most fans seemed to be tricked by the incredible light show and onstage antics (and perhaps liquor) and enjoyed the performance. The band played phenomenally instrumentally, and played all the top hits including “What’s It Feel Like To Be A Ghost,” “Number Five With A Bullet,” “Liar (It Takes One To Know One),” “Timberwolves At New Jersey,” “Ghost Man On Third,” “A Decade Under The Influence,” “Your So Last Summer,” “You Know How I Do,” “Cute Without The E (Cut From The Team),” and “Make Damn Sure,” as well as Lazzara’s favorite, “Call Me In The Morning.”

The band definitely has cut out their own slice of musical history with their first couple of albums, and their performance was entertaining and nostalgic. It should also be noted that the band did not do a prearranged encore, which has become almost an expected staple. However, vocal talent was not there and the band sounds better on Spotify than live.

Energy: C+
Musicianship: B-
Sound: C+
Stage Presence: B+
Set/Light Show: A+

Overall: B