It’s
been a few years since Taking Back Sunday where
last in the UK which was missed in the Tell All
Your Friends Anniversary tour, and it’s
been almost 10 years since I last saw them myself.
I’ve always been a huge fan so tonight I’m
excited to get to the relatively random venue
of the Coventry Kasbah (which is becoming more
popular with bands who do a few shows in the UK
and want to play a date outside of London). The
venue is a nice if not poorly designed one, with
no real sloping floor, making it hard to see the
stage from the back of the room. Unfortunately
I missed the support acts due to
confusion with getting in the venue, but I’m
all ready by the time the main act get on stage.
Taking Back Sunday blast onto the stage after
a short intro of The Circle Of Life music from
the Lion King, and then jump straight into A Decade
Under the Influence and take no prisoners in doing
so. Singer Adam Lazzara pounces around the stage
with his usual swagger and confidant demeanour,
as he swoops from one side of the stage to another
with the occasional jump and twirl and later in
the set he does his trademarked mic swing. The
band sound amazing with the guitars, bass and
drums all coming over the speakers clear and without
distortion, the backing vocals aren’t really
loud enough and is clearly noticeable in the second
song Liar (It Takes One To Know One), where there’s
a lovely overlap of vocals on the record but here
it’s muted, but its only really noticeable
in this song as all the rest mainly depend on
Adams amazing vocal range. The first 4 songs go
by in an instant with no pause for a break then,
Adam points to a guy in the crowd and says I saw
your photo on twitter, you’ve got an awesome
tattoo, as he fills the time whilst long time
drummer Mark O’Connell fixes a broken snare,
which broke away during Timberwolves at New Jersey.
This leads them into new track Flicker, Fade which
goes down huge, the crowd adore the slower tones
and wooshyness of the song, before Adam announces
that they’re a long way from home
but this gig is awesome, so here’s a song
that we haven’t played in England in a long
time, before jumping into Bonus Mosh Part 2. By
the end of the song Mark has broken yet another
snare and so Adam talks to the crowd a bit more,
in which people who weren’t paying attention
might have though he was having an argument with
a crowd member as Adam says “Call me a Mother
Fucker again and I’ll pop you over the head
with the mic” but it’s all in jest
as a crowd member keeps calling for a song to
be played over and over. Adam tells the crowd
how they were in France the other day, to which
the room erupts in boo’s, he says “don’t
boo it’s a beautiful place, check it out,
I mean where from Carolina so that’s allot
of flights and swollen ankles for me where as
it’s only
a short trip for you guys. They continue uninterrupted
then with What It Feels Like To Be A Ghost, Number
Five With A Bullet, Error: Operator and My Blue
Heaven before they invite a member of the crowd
on stage. Now people in attendance may have thought
what happened next was a rushed job, but in fact
it took 3 years for the audience member to sort
out what turns out to be a proposal for his long
term girlfriend, he takes to the mic “This
is for Sophie we've been together 8 years, this
bands been around 15 years and means allot to
the people here” before popping the question
she says yes and they leave the stage, it’s
something they won’t forget but something
that the audience is probably thinking just took
up time where another song could have been, Adam
comes back to the mic and
says “You two will get up to some crazy
shit tonight, this songs for you” before
playing You’re So Last Summer. The set continues
with Best Places To Be A Mom, One-Eighty By Summer
and Beat Up Car, before stopping again to announce
that it’s the 3rd snare drum of the night
that Mark has broken before getting chants of
Animal going. They wrap up the set with Cute Without
The E (Cut From The Team) before leaving for the
traditional encore, then coming back and playing
3 more; Call Me In The Morning, You Know How I
Do and Make Damn Sure.
Overall tonight’s setlist was a greatest
hits of sorts with songs covering all but 1 album,
it’s a shame for myself that they didn’t
do more off Tell All You’re Friends, but
I suppose that’s the 18 year old me wanting
more from a band that I love when allot of this
crowd probably are more interested in the newer
stuff than the old, but it’s still an awesome
night, with less stage antics that I remembered
but with great sounding songs and the same passion
and energy that I remember Taking Back Sunday
having. I look forward to them coming back soon
with their newest album and bigger venues as I’m
sure they can take their place at the top of modern
rock once more.
Taking Back Sunday 4/5
Review By James Daly
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