[ATTENDED: October 24, 2021] The Front Bottoms
Even though I tend to dislike Starland Ballroom, when I saw that The Front Bottoms were playing on Philly and then ending their tour at Starland, I knw I had to pick Starland. End of the tour at a hometown show? The choice was obvious. And it was right.
Because in Philly, they played 23 songs but in NJ they played 31, including their entire first album front to back.
I first heard The Front Bottoms in 2013 and somehow never got around to seeing them live. They’ve had a few shows (what they call Champagne Jams) the last few years. I didn’t really want to see them in that kind of Festival attitude. I did get tickets for the 2019 show but wound up not going.
So here was my redemption.
The band was a lot of fun and the crowd was so into it. Yes they were pushy and shovy but it was all for the good of the show (at least until I saw a girl flee the room with a bloody nose). There was a mosh pit, there was crowd surfing and more crowd surfing. It was insane!
Most of their songs are fast and fun and lend to a lot of singing along (which we all did). And even though these songs are kind of pop punk, they’re not short two minute ditties. So I really didn’t know how long the show would be.
Previous sets ended after 19 songs (plus encores), so I was a little surprised when they ended the set (with the perfect set ender, “Au Revoir (Adios)” at only 16 songs. But I figured they were going to give us a long encore. (more…)
