Photo Credit: Allen Halas
Taking Back Sunday
The current state of emo music is a peculiar one, as it lays at the intersection of nostalgia and a revival, thanks to new artists being influenced by the wave of bands that dominated the mid-‘00s. Taking Back Sunday rode that momentum to near-perfection, with a string of albums that defined their sound and cemented a legacy in the process. When the band opened their set at the Generac Power Stage on Saturday night with the title track of 2016’s Tidal Wave, it was a reminder to the multiple generations of fans that filed into the stage that they hadn’t gone anywhere or slowed down in-between heydays of the genre.
While certainly a mellower crowd than it would have been during those formative years, it didn’t deter frontman Adam Lazzara and company from delivering an energy-filled set that lasted the better part of 90 minutes on Saturday night. The band mixed new music with nostalgia trips expertly, knowing full well that anything too unfamiliar to a generation of fans might send them towards the exits. For every relatively newer track, there was a fan-favorite to follow, making sure the singalongs were plentiful throughout the night. It was also a way to wedge in tracks like the recently-released “Just Us Two,” written with EDM DJ and producer Steve Aoki, introducing it to a crowd that might scroll past it when going through the band’s discography. Aoki also played the recorded version of the song last week at the Miller Lite Oasis.
Photo Credit: Allen Halas
Taking Back Sunday
While two decades on the road might be enough to slow any band down, Taking Back Sunday played with the vigor of an act that never lost their stride, with frontman Adam Lazzara commanding much of the attention, swinging mics and joking with the crowd as much as he could. Speaking loudly to the crowd with the conviction of a southern preacher, he would check in with the crowd and his band periodically to make sure that everyone was doing fine, and then exclaim that the band is “still doing fantastic.” He would finish a lengthy amount of “Call Me In The Morning” by leaning on a roadie who had come onstage to tweak something, trapping him against the drum riser, both laughing while Lazzara sang out to the crowd. During the breakdown of “Bike Scene,” he would whisper an exchange with guitarist John Nolan into the microphone to say that he “thinks they’re killing it right now” before letting out triumphant vocals to close the song. It was the little elements that would win the crowd over, and show that the band is still having fun while turning out their classics while on tour.
The back half of the show, predictably, would feature selections from the band’s big run. While the crowd of now-aging emo kids took some warming up, they were at full voice for “What’s It Feel Like To Be A Ghost?” and breakout “Cute Without the E (Cut From the Team),” maybe just blissfully ignoring the time that had passed since its release. Lazzara told the crowd that he comes onstage to get lost in the music, and Milwaukee certainly helped him to accomplish that. Closer “MakeDamnSure” then rang out like it was 2006 all over again, capping off an hour and a half of a heartfelt performance. There is no quit in Taking Back Sunday, and that showed for just about all of their set.
