For a long time, I've referred to Bayside as the People's Champs of emo. They've seen it all and then some throughout their illustrious career, one that's creeping up on 25 years now, and have been a dependable and positive presence for the entire time. They've released albums at a steady clip throughout, and the quality of the band's sound has never been in doubt. Sure, there were some big swings, but those shifts were never so drastic that these swings didn't at least connect with some of their fans. er, cult. Don't mistake their consistency with complacency, though: they're still able to mix in some new elements, and they've started to experiment with how they get their songs into their fans' ears. We got our first glimpse of it when the band released Interrobang in October of 2019, after barely any buildup beforehand. What's followed has been a slow-burn of sorts, as the band released their newest effort There are Worst Things than Being Alive one two separate EPs (2022's Red and 2023's Blue) in hopes of building familiarity with the songs while the band maintained their whiplash-inducing touring schedule.
It's paid off in huge dividends, as "Good Advice" and "Go to Hell" appear to have already established themselves as setlist staples. Now that the rest of the album was released earlier this month, the band took to the road to promote the rest of yet another stellar Bayside release. When the band took the stage at Starland Ballroom on Thursday, April 4, the day be for Worse Things came out, they did so in a way that best suited them: the stage lights dimmed, the fog rolled in, and Frank Sinatra's "My Way" blasted through the venue. For a band that prides itself on its relentless and uncompromising pursuit on bettering itself, it's a perfect way to start a Bayside set.
Another time-proven tradition that Bayside fans will recall is that the band have done an excellent job identifying talent in young bands, and bringing those bands out on tour with them. This practice dates back as far as the band's 2014 tour in support of Cult, and has included bands like Sincere Engineer, Koyo, and and Anxious. On this tour, Winona Fighter added their name to that list, and proved quickly that they were a worthy inclusion. Whether it was vocalist Chloe Kinnon bounding effortlessly across the stage and sharing a moment with every other member of the band throughout, bassist balancing his instrument on his fingers, or guitarist Dan Fuson nailing each of his solos, the band's punk ethos shined brightly and loudly, a perfect way to kick off the show.
While Winona Fighter's set gained them plenty of new fans by the end of their set, the next openers--who, like Bayside, have already been added to emo's history books--were using this tour as a tune-up of sorts before When We Were Young Festival. The first of these bands was New Jersey's own Armor for Sleep. "We are, and will always be, a band from New Jersey," vocalist/guitarist Ben Jorgensen told the crowd who was getting noticeably more packed in. The band embarked on a 20-year anniversary tour for their landmark effort What to do When You are Dead in 2023, and seem to have no rust left to shake off before the band takes the stage in Las Vegas this fall to play the album again. The band bookended their set perfectly, opening with "Dream to Make Believe" and closing with their Hall of Fame-worthy "Car Underwater," causing the first of many shouts of euphoria from the crowd.
Where Armor for Sleep focused mostly on picking up the energy for the evening, they were followed by Finch, who perfectly set an eerie mood throughout their set. Performing with many of the lights onstage dimmed throughout and performing two ominous new tracks (one of which opened the set), Finch left little time to even address the crowd between songs. Vocalist Nate Barcalow finally broke his silence before the penultimate song, which was greeted by more of New Jersey's loudest shouts of approval. The band have had a quiet few years, so I hadn't seen Finch play in some time, but any doubts about the band's ability to sustain their high level of performance are extinguished when they ripped into "What it is to Burn," the title track of their own early-2000s head-turner. If every band played their fan-favorite song with the same fervor and passion that Finch played "Burn" with, there would simply never be a fan who went home disappointed again. That's a testament to the California five-piece who, like some other bands on the bill, have aged like a fine wine.
By the time Bayside bounded onstage to The Chairman's croons of "I did it my way," the People's Champs were greet by a crowd who were feverishly awaiting their arrival. It didn't take long into set-opener "Pigsty" for the sing-alongs to start, and there simply wasn't a lull for anyone to catch their breath throughout. Always known for being a finely-tuned live act, Bayside have continued to cement their status as a must-see act yet again. Many fans know and look forward to their seamless transition from "Already Gone" into "They're Not Horses, They're Unicorns," but this tour has now introduced another: early in the set, the band weaved from Blue EP single "How to Ruin Everything (Patience)" flawlessly into the title track of Interrobang. It was such a seamless segue that the photographers and security in front of the barricades were unsure if the band was still playing the same song. It's a maneuver that not many bands can pull off, but given the longevity and cohesion of Bayside, a band whose lineup has remained the same since 2006, the band are able to make it appear as if it's second nature.
Much like Finch and Armor for Sleep before them, Bayside have a unique challenge in creating their setlist: no matter how long their set is, there's going to always feel like a song or two were left out. It's a great problem to have, obviously, and Bayside have certainly toured enough that you probably won't miss out on your favorite song for too long. For a 90-minute(ish) set, though, Bayside found a way to cover most of the bases. While some albums only had one song played (the only Interrobang song was the title track; "Two Letters" was the lone pick from Vacancy; Cult only had one song selected despite "Pigsty" leading the set), while no songs from Shudder were played. This left a lot of room for the "big 3" albums--Killing Time, The Walking Wounded, and the band's self-titled album, which they're playing at When We Were Young--which garnered a lot of the night's biggest responses. However, the headline of the night should be that the songs that the crowd was treated two from Bayside's most recent album seem poised to become staples as well. After a brief exit from the stage, "The Devils" served as the band's final track before the inevitable set-ender "Devotion and Desire," proving that There are Worse Things than Being Alive has proven to be a work the band is proud of, and an album that's immediately resonating with fans. On a tour where they've assembled a raucous young punk act and two emo stalwarts, Bayside are proving that there's no band on earth operating at a higher level--and they're still doing it in their own way.
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