eat American Cult I have been a fan of Bayside and Four Year Strong ever since I went into high school. Sadly, I had missed Bayside at Riot Fest last year. I was so happy when they announced this tour, especially because the lineup was so great.
Tour
I had seen the opening band, Mixtapes, back on their tour with Real Friends last fall, and I knew that they were going to start off the show with a bang. Although not many knew their songs, the crowd seemed to be enjoying the music. As soon as their set was done, many people began to make their way to merch to snag a copy of their music.
Next was Daylight, or as they are now called, Superheaven. They calmed the crowd a bit and played a heavier set of songs. I enjoyed parts of it, but seeing as how Mixtapes had put so much energy in their set, this was seriously bringing down my levels of energy. That wasn’t a very big negative though, because that meant I got to relax while listening to some great music, and I would have more energy for Four Year Strong, who was up next. When they hit the stage, everyone was able to go back 7 years into their lives. They began their 10-song set with their great song, “What the Hell is a Gigawatt?” off their old album, ‘Enemy of the World.’ There was not one person who wasn’t jamming along to their set. I made my way to the back to be able to watch the whole set without having to go on my tippy-toes. I began to hear Dan say that the next song had saved his life and I was just hoping he was talking about ‘One Step at a Time.’ Luckily, I was right. Hearing this song live brought memories back for everyone and tears to my eyes. Since FYS had set the bar pretty high, Bayside had to really step up. This wasn’t an issue at all though, the venue was filled with die-hard Bayside fans. Opening up with “Big Cheese,” Bayside made it known that they still had the energy and passion for music, as they did ten years ago. It was a sold out show, and from the looks of it, everyone that had a ticket was able to make it. People were screaming the lyrics and crowd surfers made the bodyguards sweat, some people weren’t even caught in time due to the number of people doing it at the same time. By the end of the night, Anthony Raneri commented about how he recognized some faces in the crowd, jokingly mentioning how young they looked the last time he saw them. This show was definitely one for the books. Those who slept on getting tickets should really be kicking themselves because a lineup this good is hard to find. Catch Bayside and Four Year Strong playing at Warped Tour this summer and Superheaven on tour with Basement. REVIEW & PHOTOS|PENELOPE MARTINEZ
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