Should I have spent last night recovering from Riot Fest so I don’t completely die when I head to Punk Rock Bowling this coming weekend? Probably but what’s the fun in that? New Found Glory and Less Than Jake were in town on Tuesday night and I surely wasn’t going to miss them.
Kicking things off was Canadian act LØLØ. Although I was unfamiliar with her name, as soon as LØLØ kicked off her set, I recognized her voice and music. I’ll be honest, it’s not for me. Although I love me a good pop song every now and then, I find her voice to be just a bit too poppy and it just never did it for me. Nothing about her set was was bad or anything– it just wasn’t for me but it was clear there were people in the audience who were all about it.
I was really looking forward to seeing Hot Mulligan but sadly, a positive Covid test in their crew meant that they had to drop off of the tour for a few dates including the Minneapolis show. I was honestly bummed about that because Hot Mulligan is such a solid band live and their new album is one of my top played albums right now but I get it and was just thankful that the entire show didn’t collapse. Also, that meant my wait to see the one and only Less Than Jake was much shorter than expected.
Where do I even begin with Less Than Jake? I’ve literally lost count of how many times I’ve seen this band but I will never not go see them. The second they took the stage on Tuesday night, all of my exhaustion and stress over back-to-back festivals was gone and a smile stretched from ear to ear. Although their set seemed far too short for my own personal liking, I woke up this morning with their horns ringing in my head. Their set packed a punch much like their music. It makes you want to move and groove to the infectious beats while screaming along to their addicting lyrics. Although I didn’t get to hear all of the songs I wanted to hear, I got to hear some of my favorites including “Plastic Cup Politics” and “All My Best Friends Are Metalheads”. From hearing those tracks to the self-deprecating humor, the toilet paper guns, and the smiles shining both on stage and off, Less Than Jake absolutely killed it on Tuesday night and I am already counting down the days before I can see them again.
Closing out the night was the almighty New Found Glory. Although they had been at Riot Fest over the weekend, I was unable to catch their set due to the fact that they were up against some amazing acts performing at the same time so I was more than thankful to have had the chance to catch them on Tuesday. Their nearly twenty-song set was a great mix of both new and old. Songs that evoked an undeniable sense of nostalgic teenage angst and other tracks that gave me a sense of life and purpose and I make a giant leap into doing music full time. Regardless of what track they were playing, the entire audience was singing, no, screaming, along to the words. The band was quick to point out that this is one of the main reasons that they have been able to keep on doing what they’re doing for over twenty years. New Found Glory fans are like a cult and that was put to the test on Tuesday night as the band powered through their set.
Confetti, an Elsa costume for New Found Glory’s stellar cover of “Let It Go”, Ian getting paid to take off his short, Terror guitarist Martin Stewart playing backup guitar for the band– there were a million amazing moments throughout New Found Glory’s set on Tuesday that stood out to me. I know this post is short and a bit scattered. I blame my head for being a bit all over the place. When it comes down to it, regardless of how out of it I feel or how exhausted I am, Tuesday night’s show was absolutely perfect and I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.
Line Up:
Venue: The Fillmore
Smell-O-Meter: Marijuana
Average Age of the Crowd: 31
Crowd Surfers- 17 Counted
Mosh-ability- 7 out of 10
Stage Divers- None
Broken Bones- None Witnessed
Spotted Flying Through The Air- Drinks; Bodies; Confetti; Money
Fights- None Witnessed
Pukers- None Witnessed
Idiots Taken Out By Security- None Witnessed
How Many Times I’ve Seen These Bands Before (or at least how many times I can remember)-
LØLØ- 0
Less Than Jake- at least 14
New Found Glory- At least 10
Celebrity Sightings-None
Overall Score- 9 out of 10
Show on Deck- Punk Rock Bowling
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