Even though the Bouncing Souls hail from New Jersey, they're still Yankees' fans. So, the Souls playing the night the Yankees win the World Series makes for a pretty cheery band. The close and cozy environs of the Riot Room helped a lot, too. Unfortunately, the show wasn't a sell-out, even moving from the Beaumont, and the show became 21 and up with the move, as well.
One can't help but wonder if the reason the Bouncing Souls were playing such a small venue was due to the fact that Paramore was right down the street at the Uptown. Paramore, despite their rather recent appearance in the pop-punk scene, are fucking HUGE, and probably poached the entire all-ages contingent that would have otherwise attended the Souls show, especially considering the all-ages appeal of Broadway Calls and Bayside.
Enthusiastic fans probably helped the band be in such a good mood, too -- standing in front meant that you were apt to get knocked horizontal, and possibly have your knees banged up and lacerated to the point of hobbling to your car and rueing everytime you have to work the clutch on the drive home. Look at that setlist, though: the Souls' first five songs alone were worth the knee damage.
The whole band was tight as hell. It was my third time seeing them this year, so I wasn't nearly as jazzed as I might have been. The set they played was pretty similar to their Warped Tour set, which was basically just a condensed version of the set I saw them play at Red 7 during SXSW back in March. The show's good, but I remember why it'd been 11 years since I saw them last.
When a band's been around as long as the Bouncing Souls, they get tight, and they put on a great show, but it's just a variation on a theme. With some exceptions, you know that the Bouncing Souls are going to play a similar show every time you see them. They'll come out to "Born to Run," do the acoustic version of "Hybrid Moments," and play the hits. You'll get a couple new ones, and then they're gone.
Bayside aren't my cup of emopop tea. I know they're fairly notable, and they've put out a ton of records, and they're one of Victory's name bands. However, lead singer Anthony Raneri's voice, despite being crystal clear, just reminds me just a little too much of performers like Maroon 5's Adam Levine to really get past. Besides covering "Louise" by NOFX, they didn't really offer much in the way of music I cared for. I hung back from the front during most of their set.
They had their fanbase that really enjoyed them, but Bayside the band is much like the show from which they took their name -- entertaining enough, but I can't take much more than half an hour, and I probably would have enjoyed it more when I was 13.
Broadway Calls had a small, devoted group of four girls and three guys who knew every word. Those seven people were singing along, fist-pumping, and totally into them. I've heard good things about the band's live set, which was what got me to the Riot Room early.
I'd not cared very much for any of their recorded output, as it was pretty run-of-the-mill pop-punk, but their live show might turn me into part of that group when they next come through. Broadway Calls live has a lot more than Broadway Calls in the studio. There's grit and intensity to their songs that sadly gets polished away when the band records. The spot-on cover they did of Jawbreaker's "Boxcar" was quite all right, as well.
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