By Nathan Matheson
What better way to spend Valentine’s Day than with Long Island’s finest Taking Back Sunday. The emo legends return to Glasgow touring their seventh studio album Tidal Wave, opening with first track Death Wolf’ and instantly receiving a great reception, proving that the fans still enjoy what the band are producing.
The band were truly on top form, lead vocalist Adam Lazzara’s stage presence is incredible, I could watch him dance and pirouette around the stage for hours, as he whips and twirls his microphone like a ballet dancer with a ribbon.
It’s not until the band start dipping into their older material that the crowd really starts to get going. Songs like ‘Timberwolves at New Jersey’ and ‘A Decade Under The Influence’ are what a primarily older crowd are here for, these emo anthems are where Taking Back Sunday really built their reputation, way back in 2002.
That isn’t to say that their newer material is disregarded, the band show a much more mature sound in ‘Flicker, Fade’ from 2014 album Happiness Is. The anthemic chorus would easily fill an arena, yet it still has a distinctive Taking Back Sunday sound. The crowd are in full voice for this and scream every single word back to Lazzara.
You can tell that the band never tire of playing live, as they squeeze as many songs into their set as possible, no time to waste with an encore, Lazzara asking, “How much trouble will we get in for going over time?”
The night draws to a close with back to back hits ‘Cute Without the ‘E’ (Cut From the Team)’ and ‘MakeDamnSure’. These two get the biggest reaction of the night, with mosh pits, crowd surfing and some intense sing alongs.
It’s obvious that Taking Back Sunday still have it. The fans are still enjoying what they are producing, although it might not resonate quite like their older material. It all translates to an incredible live show and the band show no signs of stopping.
