If you’re no stranger to pop-punk then you most definitely know of the legendary band New Found Glory.
Producing hits left and right from the late 90s through the early 2000s era of punk music, the group was regarded as being not only exceptionally talented but one of the best bands to hit the scene.
Lucky for us, New Found is still active, and have recently begun their latest US tour in support of their latest release, “From The Screen To Your Stereo To Your Town.”
And, hitting the road with them are pop-punk favorites Real Friends, old school band The Early November, and the newcomers Doll Skin.
With a stacked bill like this, the tour was already making waves and not a single soul in the building could prepare for what was to come when they made their stop at Boston’s House of Blues this past Sunday.
The night was young but the crowd was ready so without wasting any time the first band, Doll Skin, hit the stage to get it going. Heating things up, the all-female punk rock band from Phoenix, Arizona surely did not disappoint.
Making the most of their short time on stage, their intense energy and catchy songs was enough to make the whole night worth it already. Playing some of their top hits such as “Daughter”, and “Mark My Words” as well as their newest release “Empty House”.
It was evident that they were comfortable in showing their true punk rocker selves on stage and they truly knew how to rock the crowd even with the short amount of time they had.
They were the perfect band to support New Found Glory and they really shined when they ended their time at the House of Blues with their song “Puncha Nazi”.
I have no doubt in my mind that we will be seeing them soon as they’ve most certainly begun to take the punk scene by storm.
Next to the stage was a band that has been around since 1999, and has had multiple popular EP’s as well as producing 4 full length albums throughout the years.
Time has certainly forgotten about this band because they haven’t aged one bit and they still continue to bring their very best to the stage regardless of where or when they perform.
Their discography is filled with instant classics no matter how far back you go. While they aren’t extremely well known in today’s current punk rock scene, they are still among one of the greatest to ever be signed and they showed Boston why.
Starting it off with one of their most popular songs “Narrow Mouth”, The Early November were fired up and ready to take the crowd on a wild ride. Everyone was loving the energy they brought and most of the attendees were really digging their tunes. Plenty of them were singing along.
Whether you were belting out the lyrics or crowd surfing your way to the front in hopes of giving a band member a high five or two, the general consensus was that this tour is going down in history as one of New Found Glory’s best lineups.
It seemed genuinely rare that the first couple bands would create so much hype as the openers but both Doll Skin and The Early November were far from disappointments.
Just a couple short weeks into this tour and both supporting acts so far had played their hearts out like it was opening night.
As The Early November wrapped up their set, ending with a few of their favorites “Baby Blue”, “Outside” and “I Want To Hear You Sad”, the room was electrified and wanting more.
Cheers rang through the hall as they walked off stage and although they couldn’t continue to play, just as I predict with Doll Skin, they’ll be back in Boston soon.
Shortly after The Early November had departed from the stage, the new school pop-punk favorites Real Friends rushed out to screaming fans from the floor to the stands.
The Illinois based band has been around for quite some time now, producing massively successful albums such as “Home Inside My Head” and their most recent album “Composure.” With the roars growing excessively louder, the band kicked it off with “Mess”, their most famous track and absolute jam.
Their setlist consisted of a couple older favorites such as “I Don’t Love You Anymore” or “Late Night’s in My Car” but their latest album stole the show as they played 5 songs from it out of the 11 track setlist.
It is certainly their most popular album to date as they were playing Warped Tour for the entirety of its’ final cross country run when the album released so they were able to bring that new music to the fans immediately.
Also, they followed up Warped Tour with a massive US Fall tour which sold out venues from the East Coast to the West.
Even if we have heard them live multiple times before, they never disappoint and Real Friends surely put on one hell of a performance.
Their songs “Get By”, “Me First” and the classic “From The Outside” were all incredible to hear live but that doesn’t mean the rest of their setlist was subpar.
Real Friends has solidified their name as being a major powerhouse in the pop-punk scene and surely enough, they deserve it. Dan Lambton has a way with vocals and every show feels intimate.
While the whole set was simply incredible, it was time for the head act to induce a little chaos amongst the attendees.
As the lights went down, “All Star” started to play over the speakers and the crowd went wild. It was the perfect opening song to hype up the venue because not a single person watching has never heard of it before and it has become one of the greatest songs ever produced.
When all was quiet again, the band began to file out on to the stage and begin by playing “Eye of The Tiger” a song made popular by Survivor.
You could feel eagerness and tension building in the hall and seconds after they began to play, the man himself, Jordan Pudnik took to the stage in a patriotic red, white and blue boxers uniform.
A microphone in one hand and a boxing glove in the other, the main act was underway and entire venue was in awe.
Not a single track off of their setlist was boring to watch and just about everywhere you looked there was a massive gathering of fans screaming the lyrics back and forth to another.
Whether it was new fans or some of the older, everyone was there to witness the legendary group play some of the most popular tracks of all time.
Just a few of the hits included “All Downhill From Here” “Hit or Miss”, “Head on Collision” and of course their now extremely funny yet popular cover of the song “Let It Go” from the Disney movie Frozen.
From patriotic boxer to Elsa from Frozen and even P.T. Barnum from The Greatest Showman, Jordan was switching in and out of costumes to keep things fresh and interesting for the fans. Take a show from your wildest imagination and that is the show that New Found Glory put on at the House of Blues Boston.
Their massive 22 song setlist was not only perfect but it was nostalgic and consisted of so many older tracks that long time fans who have seen them in their earlier days were ecstatic.
Of course, as any headliner must, they returned to the stage with a warm welcome from fans after performing just 18 songs, so they could perform their last three.
The encore included “The Power of Love” Huey Lewis & The News cover, “The Story So Far”, and lastly “My Friends Over You”.
It was most definitely a night to remember and if you are at all unfamiliar with the band we would recommend checking out New Found Glory’s music as well as try to catch a show when they come through your city.
Also be sure not to miss the sets from Doll Skin, The Early November or Real Friends as they were all fantastic.
If you’ll be attending one of the shows from this tour or have already been to a previous show, let us know what you thought of it in the comments below!
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