The scene was a beautiful one: a crazy long line of people all lined up for the Taking Back Sunday #TAYF10 tour! A lot of these people were wearing merch and some of them even had TBS shirts from "back in the day," showing that they had likely been around from when the album was first released. Many Bayside fans also showed up, some excited to see the bands for the first time, while some had been to many shows and had more of a relaxed vibe as they waited in line. I didn't see any Man Overboard shirts, but I know there were many loyal fans out there in the crowd once the band went on later.
Personally, I've seen Taking Back Sunday twice: The Next Big Thing 6 (Tampa Bay 2006) and Warped Tour 2012 (My first Warped Tour this year in Pomona) and Bayside once at the same Warped Tour this past summer. I was beyond excited to get to see them, even though I felt a little nervous about the venue size, crowd, and the VERY small pit that they had given "limited" access to. (Which really meant as many people as they could fit in there without killing someone.)
After waiting in line and getting our pit access, my friend and I squeezed as close to the front as possible and waited for the show to start. There were so many people who were excited for Man Overboard to open. Although I hadn't been as long-term of a fan of them as others in the crowd, it was great to see how much excitement there was for them. Many people knew the lyrics to their music as they started playing, but the crowd didn't go nearly as crazy as I would soon witness. Now, I've been to a LOT of shows. I've been to shows in all sorts of venues with all kinds of music and different crowds and I've been hit in places I had to think about later (how?! why?!) but never have I seen a crowd like the one that night.
Bayside played a solid set to a sea of singing fans who knew the lyrics very well and it almost sounded like a live recording of their album. I was very pleased and glad to be part of a crowd who knew and apparently loved Bayside as much as I do! (A few people, not surprisingly, screamed out their love for, and desire to have the babies of Anthony.) They put on an even better set than the smaller one at Warped Tour, which I had thought was amazing, so that's saying something.
The crowd started pushing some towards the end of Bayside's set and a couple people attempted to crowd surf, which is apparently their way of showing appreciation for the music. Nobody seemed amused. When Taking Back Sunday took the stage, the change was enormous. Not only did everyone start shoving and "moshing" (I put it in quotations because these individuals have clearly never been to a hardcore show and were trying to mosh/circle pit but don't know what they are doing.) but the voices got louder and the excitement was even more clear.
On the upside, a great show was had and they played a great set, comparable with the one I saw at Warped Tour (with a much smaller crowd at Club Nokia) but the downsides were the tight space and people kicking and throwing elbows everywhere (even in the parts of the crowd you usually would be safe in) and one guy who tried to crowd surf to the stage 12 or 13 times in a row and didn't get kicked out. I would put the downsides mostly on the venue/security, because that's not really on the band. But I did get punched in the face so hard I thought my nose was broken, and my glasses were ripped off my face a few times. (Not the first time it's happened... La Dispute...)
All in all, great show.
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