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Taking Back Sunday headlines at EMU by Mike Caples
Some of punk rock’s biggest names recently hit the stage at Eastern Michigan University’s Convocation Center, with Taking Back Sunday bringing along friends Underoath and Armor For Sleep on their latest tour. I braved the cold and the drive to get some exciting pictures and perhaps give you some opinions on what I thought of the event. I had general admission seats with a friend; not exactly backstage passes, but I wasn’t in the nosebleeds either. The ‘general admission’ part of the ticket meant that if you wanted good seats, you better get in line early. Besides the fact that it was freezing cold outside, I liked the idea; you were allowed to park in the parking lot right in front of the Convocation Center, so if a certain someone needed to pee and wanted some McDonald’s, he was perfectly capable of running over to his car for a quick trip. The only upsetting part was that when the doors opened, everybody made a quick rush to get in, and the waiting in line act didn’t really matter anymore. Armor For Sleep started the party around 7:30 p.m., and they put on a great show. I liked how they stayed away from the flashy lights and backgrounds and such; they played their music and there were no distractions from it. Even more exciting, however, was that the band members had a ‘meet and greet’ after their performance. If they had set it up a little better, I would have been able to meet the band, but instead got stuck five feet away but a hundred people away. After 15 minutes of fighting of the mob they left, but I had seen enough: the lead singer must have only been 5’6”, which means he is my new hero. Once my friend and I got back to our seats, Underoath had taken the stage and began their performance. I’m not going to shy away from it, but I’m not a big fan of their music; screaming doesn’t mesh well with my musical taste. However, I’ve also got to give them some credit, and say that they put on a great live show. I assumed I would be so bored that I’d actually sit down during their set, but I found myself standing and even getting into the music a little bit. Underoath did a great job with their lighting, blending lots of flashes and colors with the beat to create a high-energy performance. Taking Back Sunday, the headlining band at the event, really stole the show, though. I had heard that they put on a great live show, and I wasn’t disappointed. Lead singer Adam Lazzara worked the crowd like a comic mixed with a rock star. From his crazy dance moves to his fascination with a belt that was thrown up to him in between songs, he kept us entertained for the hour or so they were on stage. What really caught my attention was when in the middle of one of their songs, he started singing “My Love” by Justin Timberlake, then later on sang part of “When You Were Young” by The Killers. I had never witnessed an artist singing other songs then his own at a concert before; I found it random and well, pretty sweet, at the same time. I also really enjoyed the backgrounds they used to enhance the performance; at one point, they had huge canvases of hand drawn speakers surrounding them, and then brought in a flashing sign that read “Taking Back Sunday, Louder Now” the name of their new album. I knew it was cheesy advertisement, but I couldn’t stop staring at the flashing lights, so apparently, it worked. All in all, I had a great time. I enjoyed the music and especially liked the set-up of not having to pay for parking and having access to your car while waiting in line. I came out with a new band to enjoy (Armor For Sleep), a couple new t-shirts and some neat pictures, even through the occasional screaming.
Links: Click here for the TBS Web site Click here for Armor for Sleep |
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