July 17 — When Taking Back Sunday announced that both Matt Rubano and Matt Fazzi would be leaving the band rather abruptly last summer, fans were confused — but when it was announced that original members John Nolan and Shaun Cooper would be returning, excitement escalated beyond measure. Flash forward almost a year later, and Taking Back Sunday released a new self-titled album, the original line-up’s first since the prolific Tell All Your Friends, and embarked on a U.S. tour. The band used this tour to bring together new and old fans of the band, and though they did make sure to play songs off their newest release, it was songs from the band’s 2003 debut that made the show one of the best of the summer.
It goes without saying that Taking Back Sunday is an extremely influential band for the music MTT covers, so being able to see the band live was an experience that I couldn’t pass up — when word got out that the band would be playing a lot of older songs, however, the deal was even sweeter. To be straight to the point, hearing songs like “You’re So Last Summer,” “Timberwolves at New Jersey” and “There’s No ‘I’ In Team” live while seeing a crowd buckle with emotion just can’t be described in words without gushing absolute praise.
The set was sprinkled with songs off the band’s new release, but it was easy to see that this tour was meant for fans of their older work. One noticeable standout was the cover of Straylight Run’s “Existentialism on Prom Night” — instead of Nolan, who headed the band before their hiatus, singing the indie staple it was Adam Lazzara that lent his pipes to the song.
Lazzara was a natural frontman. Though brandishing a brace on a recent ankle injury, he had no qualms dashing into the crowd to play near the rear of the movie theater turned concert venue. With massive pits encircling the singer as well as taking place in the front of the venue, it’s a safe assumption to say the audience was eating it up.
Taking Back Sunday’s performance set the bar high for concerts taking place during the rest of the summer.
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