Rainy weather didn’t stop Taking Back Sunday from lighting up the stage at Lifestyle Communities Pavilion on the Fourth of July.
Head Automatica and The Subways opened, with Angels & Airwaves taking the stage third, before headliners TBS. Though not sold out, the youthful crowd was energetic and an air of excitement pervaded the venue.
The skies opened up at 7:45 p.m., just as A&A came on stage, and between the lightning in the sky, the flashing lights on stage and the enthusiastic performers, the damp crowd was treated to a memorable evening of light and sound.
Angels & Airwaves is the newest project for former blink-182 frontman Tom DeLonge, and the expertise of all four band members showed through in their tight performance. A&A’s other members include former Distillers bassist Ryan Sinn, Offspring drummer Atom Willard and former Hazen Street and Box Car Racer guitarist David Kennedy (Box Car Racer was DeLonge’s previous side project).
DeLonge, known for his frequently immature behavior both on and off stage with blink-182, seemed to be taking himself and his new band much more seriously, even going so far as to wear pants that fit.
The band’s performance had a familiar feel, calling up comparisons to not only DeLonge’s previous bands, but also veteran rock groups like U2 and The Police, both groups that DeLonge listened to extensively while writing and recording the band’s debut record “We Don’t Need to Whisper.”
Though TBS was the evening’s headliner, the crowd responded enthusiastically to A&A’s performance and DeLonge’s requests to sing and clap along; at least part of the reason for this became apparent when DeLonge mentioned blink-182 by name and was rewarded with deafening cheers from the crowd.
In addition to a strong musical performance, the band also utilized lots of multi-colored strobe lights, some of which panned different designs along the stage’s backdrop.
Once TBS took the stage, however, it became clear what band the crowd had really come to see. The five-man rock ensemble hails from New York and has several years of performing under its belt, as evidenced by the members’ confident and energetic performance. Bassist Matt Rubano, drummer Mark O’Connell, guitarists Eddie Reyes and Fred Mascherino and vocalist Adam Lazzara whipped through a strong set of 16 songs, many of which came right off their newest album “Louder Now” was released on April 25.
Lazzara seemed to not mind the humidity or the diminishing rain as he cavorted around stage, swinging his microphone by the cord – one of his trademark moves while in concert – and inviting the crowd to get into the music. The audience responded eagerly despite the LC’s new rule of one crowd-surfing session per concert-goer. Moshing and crowd-surfing was rampant through TBS’s set. Also new were the water guns that the security guards used on the crowd members at various intervals throughout the evening.
Despite the rain, care was taken by venue staff to minimize injury and overheating of its guests.
Eyeliner and tight pants were as prevalent in the crowd as on stage, showcasing yet more evidence of the emo-punk movement in recent mainstream rock music.
Despite the emphasis on newer material – unsurprising considering the band’s current tour is promoting the new CD – TBS made sure to include lots of crowd favorites from past records, including “Cute Without the ‘E’ (Cut from the Team),” “You’re So Last Summer” and “Timberwolves at New Jersey.”
The band finished strong, coming back out to cap the evening with “Divine Intervention” and “A Decade Under the Influence,” sending the happily screaming crowd off with a bang.
