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.
TBS 4/5
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