Every Time I Die and Taking Back Sunday in Buffalo, NY
A year ago, a Taking Back Sunday and Every Time I Die is a tour pairing I never would have thought would happen. Although I’ve probably seen TBS and ETID at least a dozen times each over the last decade or so, they’ve always seemed like their separate affairs. But here we are in 2017, and my favorite Buffalo Hometown heroes have just wrapped up their cross-country outing with the Long Island natives.
Despite both being veterans of their respective scenes, with their own unique sounds, vastly different from the other, the two bands have a lot of over lap with fan base. So a tour like this makes more sense than you’d think. For me, the anticipation couldn’t have been higher. August 19th was destined to be the show of the Summer.
Taking place right alongside the Buffalo River, among the grain silo ruins and over sized Labatt Blue cans, All Get Out opened up the day. As a band I’m not terribly familiar with, I was pretty intrigued by their sound, reminiscent of Manchester Orchestra.
As with all Every Time I Die hometown shows, friends of the band filtered back stage all day, complete with beer in hand, to help celebrate the tour’s homecoming in ideal Buffalo fashion. ETID erupted onto the stage with “We’rewolf” and didn’t let up throughout their career spanning set. The fellas have no problem working a large, outdoor, crowd like it’s any sweaty intimate club.
The final treat of the day came with Taking Back Sunday, finishing out their Summer tour. With their latest album “Tidal Wave” already a year old now, those tracks that have made it into the live set feel just as classic as other older fan favorites. At this point, the band has such a deep and rich discography under their belt, there’s plenty to choose from. It was great to hear songs that don’t always make it to the live stage, like Set Phasers to Stun and Divine Intervention (which brought be back to Bamboozle, 2006).
Taking Back Sunday and Every Time I Die are two bands whose live performances never seem stale. Their energetic onstage aura’s and general appreciation towards their fans after all these years is really endearing, and only seems to grow as time goes on. If they’re in the area, I’m almost certainly going to be there. No two shows are the same with these guys. Both continue to refine their live sound to keep things fresh and engaging.
All photos by: Keith Barker
