By It hasn’t even been five years since a small Long Island, N.Y., band called Taking Back Sunday trekked across the country to Anaheim to play one of its very first shows. The band’s debut album “Tell All Your Friends” barely sold more than 2,000 copies for Chicago independent label Victory Records, and the band couldn’t believe that 150 kids in the Chain Reaction venue knew the words to its songs. It is now 2007, and the band is selling out small arenas and riding the mainstream success of its major label debut album “Louder Now.”
Heavy tension hung in the air Saturday night at the sold-out House of Blues in Las Vegas while the audience was waiting for the show to start. With Taking Back Sunday headlining and Christian screamo band underOATH in support, it was guaranteed to be an emo-versus-hardcore battle in the pits. While both sides stayed calm for the rather mellow band Armor For Sleep, the battle started the second underOATH hit the stage.
With a 45-minute set drawing extremely heavily from its most recent release, “Define The Great Line,” the Florida-based rockers hit the stage with a wave of intensity that carried over into the pits. The band had barely broken into its second song before a fight broke out in the middle of one of the pits. The brawlers were dragged out of the venue by security, and the show continued.
The sextet had a level of energy onstage that would go unmatched the rest of the night as they blazed through hits like “In Regards to Myself,” “Writing on the Walls” and””A Moment Suspended in Time.” Those tracks helped their most recent album sell more than half a million copies.
Front man Spencer Chamberlain and drummer/vocalist Aaron Gillespie took turns firing off vocals while the trio of guitars battled it out. But nobody was as crazy as keyboardist Chris Dudley. Even in the parts of the songs that didn’t involve his instrument, Dudley engaged with the crowd and danced like he was engulfed in flames.
Absent from the set were the defining singles “Reinventing Your Exit” and “A Boy Brushed Red…Living In Black and White” from 2004’s “They’re Only Chasing Safety.” Even after the 45 minutes of rocking out, the exclusion of these hits left some audience members feeling unsatisfied.
When Taking Back Sunday hit the stage a half-hour later, the quintet reminded the crowd why 2006’s “Louder Now” debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard charts. Kicking off with a pair of favorites from the album, “Liar (It Takes One To Know One)” and “Spin,” charismatic front man Adam Lazzara pranced around the stage swinging his microphone high in the air in his trademark fashion.
The band followed with old favorites “Set Phasers to Stun,” the first track off of 2004’s “Where You Want to Be,” and “You’re So Last Summer,” the song that put the band on the map in 2002 with the famous emo lyrics, “You could slit my throat/ And with my one last gasping breath/ I’d apologize for bleeding on your shirt.”
“You’re So Last Summer” proved to be more of a sing-along, with out-of-tune fans singing in my ear louder than Lazzara. The band fit in “My Blue Heaven” before taking a breather.
In between drinks of water, Lazzara told the crowd about a fan he met before the show that wanted to go to the show so badly that he had his friend punch him in the face a couple times so he could tell his work he got jumped. His onstage banter also included talks of Ray Romano, who Lazzara is a fan of and who was also performing in town that night.
“We haven’t played this in a really long time,” Lazzara told the crowd before breaking into “Bike Scene” from the band’s debut album. It was obvious that the band hadn’t played the song in awhile because it sounded rushed and off-key. “Great Romances of the 20th Century” would have been a better choice here.
Lazzara’s voice sounded weathered at several points during the show. I found myself wondering whether it was because they played a show earlier that day or because performing the more intense rock songs of “Louder Now” was starting to get to him. Guitarist and back-up vocalist Fred Mascherino helped out with strong backing vocals.
Old hit “Cute Without the E” came next, followed by new songs “Miami” and “What’s It Feel Like To Be A Ghost?” “A Decade Under The Influence” finished up the band’s set.
After “Miami,” a stagehand brought out a large birthday cake for bassist Matt Rubano. He was celebrating his 30th birthday, and the crowd sang “Happy Birthday” louder than they sang along with some of the songs.
Concertgoers got a special treat when Lazzara came out for the encore by himself and played the ballad “Divine Intervention” with an acoustic guitar and harmonica.
“The world is a much different place when you have a mustache,” Lazzara told the crowd while trying to push his slick mustache down so he could get to the harmonica.
The rest of the band joined him onstage for “Error Operator,” which was originally recorded for the “Fantastic Four” soundtrack. The night ended with the KROQ hit “Make Damn Sure.”
While still a strong set, the band often seemed rushed. House of Blues in Las Vegas has a nightclub that starts at 11 p.m., and I kept wondering if they were holding the band to a strict curfew.
Nine of the 13 songs played were from the newest album, which was enjoyable, but instead of mellower tracks like “My Blue Heaven” and “Miami,” I would have liked to hear former concert staples “This Photograph Is Proof (I Know You Know)” or “One-Eighty By Summer.”
Overall, both bands put on a very impressive rock show. They are proof that if you’re looking for an early word on future arena rockers, look to the Vans Warped Tour.
