Concert Review: Taking Back Sunday

We were ready for a potent dose of nostalgia on 2 Mar when pop punk band Taking Back Sunday performed at The Ground Theatre, *SCAPE.

By Badron Adnan

Adam Lazarra — lead singer of Taking Back Sunday.
PHOTO: ALVIN HO/UPSURGE PRODUCTIONS

Rating:

The atmosphere was electric on the fully packed floors of The Ground Theatre at *SCAPE with the sound of Taking Back Sunday’s fans chanting “TBS! TBS! TBS!”. Many were pushing their way to the front of the stage, while the bolder ones perched on their friends’ shoulders to get a better view. One thing was clear: we were all ready for a potent dose of nostalgia, having followed the band since their early days in the late 90s.

Many had queued since 6.00pm to enter the concert space, though the doors only opened one-and-a-half hours later. The Cave, a four-piece local band, opened the show with an hour of rock music, and though they made sizable attempts to warm up the crowd, the mood seemed tepid. At 9.00pm, it was almost showtime. By now, the audience had warmed up, and it was evident that they could wait no longer. The chanting began.

The house lights dimmed, a bright purple glow filled the stage and the side speakers blared with the Lion King soundtrack, Circle of Life. This was the cue for the band members to appear onstage, with only their silhouettes visible. With the African song playing to humourous effect, Adam Lazarra, lead singer of the band, took the microphone and stood at the edge of the stage.

The Cave, a local band, warming up the crowd before the main event.
PHOTO: NOR ASYRAF

With the audience ready to witness a grand spectacle — Taking Back Sunday started off with their highly danceable pop-punk hit, A Decade Under the Influence, and the crowd went wild.

The band, famous for their high energy live rock performances, did not fail to deliver. Lazzara’s mic-spinning antics were no myth — he was constantly tossing his mic (secured with duct tape) back and forth and spinning it around his neck savagely. Like a true performer, he danced flamboyantly around his fellow band mates — John Nolan on lead guitar, Eddie Reyes on rhythm, Shaun Cooper rocking the bass guitar and Mark O’Connell driving the drums.

The band was clearly enjoying its time on stage as much as the crowd; Nolan occasionally played the guitar with his eyes closed and Lazarra emphasised how great the night was for him.

“We are so far from home and this is amazing,” he mused.

Covering various albums, they played alternative rock hits like Cute Without the E and Twenty-Twenty Surgery from albums Tell All Your Friends and Louder Now respectively, as well as slower ballads like My Blue Heaven, from the latter album.

The fans were clearly satisfied; security personnel were busy pulling crowd surfers from the mosh pit but even they could not contain the ever-bouncing and ever-singing crowd.

During songs like Timberwolves at New Jersey, which contained more aggressive breakdowns, the crowd opened up to form a circle pit, allowing brave souls to push their bodies against one another in a manic frenzy. However, through the majority of the hour-and-a-half concert, the crowd was swaying along amiably — with their hands in the air and their voices singing along to the anthem-like songs.

The massive banner, with Taking Back Sunday’s iconic black panther mascot, acting as the backdrop to the stage.
PHOTO: NOR ASYRAF

To promote their latest album, Happiness Is, the band performed two songs — Flicker, Fade and Beat Up Car — from the album. They were reminiscent of the sound they had in their 2002 album, Tell All your Friends. The band delighted older fans by sticking to their signature recipe amid huge sounding drums, double attacking guitar riffs and occasional screaming.

The silent understanding that their greatest single, Make Damn Sure, would be their encore song revved the crowd up even more towards the end. And when that last song was played, the night seemed to begin again.

Taking Back Sunday, an American band formed in 1999 in Amityville, New York, has released five studio albums so far with the sixth, Happiness Is, to be released on 18 Mar. This will be the second consecutive album to feature the band’s original lineup.