We love a good punk rock show, don’t we folks?
Last night at Bogart’s, the 3 band bill of openers Koyo and I Am The Avalanche, and headliner Bayside, brought summer time energy to a winter time concert (75 degree day be damned!) and near capacity crowd.
Kicking off the night, Koyo, Long Island boys through and through, got things started in grand fashion - their mix of melodic post-hardcore and NYC/Long Island braggadocio played well to a venue primed for riffs, singalongs, and circle pits. It was an entertaining set, certainly had me curious about how they’d play to a smaller group of fans in a smaller, sweatier venue. I’ll be making it a point to catch them the next time they come through.
Next up, a band I had yet to see live so was really looking forward to, I Am The Avalanche, out of Brooklyn (yes, this was about as east coast as you could get without it being a straight up hardcore show). The band as a whole was super tight, so much fun to watch, and ran through a terrific set from their catalog - they even threw in a new one we hadn’t heard yet. Lots of melody, tons of energy, big presence on stage. That’s what I was hoping for, and I got all that and then some.
If there’s one thing you can say about Bayside, it’s that they’re consistent. Consistently good people, consistently growing while keeping a close eye on where they’ve come from and what they’ve done before, consistently touring and engaging with a die hard fanbase. And they happen to also be consistently great live.
The Just Like Home Tour shines an incredibly bright light on all of the things this band does so well - solid live performance, melodies you’re humming well after you leave the show, songs to sing along to - loudly, along with a healthy dose of gnarly guitar work, driving, propulsive songwriting, and a commitment to make each show the best one not just for the band, but for their fans. A long set, it was full of highlights, a glowing and humble reminder of how long this band has been at it (almost 25 years) and how far they’ve come over the years.
It was well paced with anthemic rock songs, everything tinged with the slightly dour yet somehow hopeful and optimistic spirit - how they’ve managed to walk that particular tight rope for so long is something to think about - and even included an acoustic interlude, as the band, and in particular vocalist Anthony Ranieri - has an obvious affinity for pared down tunes. The crowd was hungry for everything Bayside had to offer, and I’ve no doubt that everyone left Bogarts sated, but just as excited for the next time around.
From here, the tour hits the final stretch and will be winding down in the next week or so - if you have a chance to catch it, I promise you’ll be happy you did.
