Motion City Soundtrack was opening up for Bayside at Toad’s Place. I hadn’t seen them in pretty much forever, and I didn’t really keep up with their new release so I was pretty out of touch. However, I was eager to see them perform in the medium-sized club to get reacquainted with them and perhaps become a devote fan again.
As the band stepped on stage, I couldn’t help but notice that one of the members was wearing a letlive. band shirt- it was pretty strange because it’s a totally different genre, but it was cool to see. The first thing that I was impressed by was the synth player, Jessie Johnson’s enthusiasm- the guy was all over the place, a massive ball of energy. It was fun to watch and seeing him just spaz out and not care was pretty cool.
Frontman Justin Pierre was still eccentric as ever, with his crazy hair and big glasses. His lilty voice carried through the venue and slammed into every wall, packing punches and revving up the crowd. When they played “Her Words Destroyed My Planet”, I found myself singing along. Though it’s a sad song, it definitely translated differently live. It became an anthem of “oh well” instead of being sad. I really appreciated it and now I can listen to the song without getting down, but instead with the message of “at least you can try your best and what happens, happens.”
I really appreciated how Pierre noticed all the people who were crowdsurfing and said to stop doing it, because there were people at the show who didn’t want to get kicked and that everyone should be able to see, without their view being obstructed by some obnoxious person trying to just get closer to the band. It was great and he said “I’m trying this thing where I’m trying to be a nicer person,” which was adorable. I’m sure the whole crowd appreciated that, and now it was a lot more fun without having to worry about someone crushing you or getting dropped.
They also played “LG FUAD”, a total classic. I’d never seen them play it before and it was so great because it was the song that got me into the band in the first place. I was hit with a blast of nostalgia as they ripped into the opening line- “Let’s get f’d up and die”. Though the song seems negative, it still has the poppy vibe and witty quips that Pierre writes so well.
I was thoroughly impressed with the band, and how even now when they play songs they wrote years ago, they’re just as perfect as they are on their records. Definitely catch this tour if it’s headed your way, you won’t regret it.
