New Found Glory, Finch, Something Corporate & Further Seems Forever

Further Seems Forever were the first upon the stage. Despite losing their singer - Chris Carraba, who left to be Dashboard Confessional - FSF have continued touring on their amazing debut full-length The Moon Is Down. Although new singer Jason Gleason (ex-Affinity) tended to yell and scream a bit more than his predecessor, the band nevertheless succeeded in pulling off most of the more memorable cuts off of The Moon is Down, to the immense joy of the numerous FSF fans in attendance, and previewed the title track off their forthcoming album How To Start A Fire.
Following FSF, the five-piece known as Something Corporate took the stage. Although Something Corporate was, of the four, the band I was least looking forward to, they ended up being quite possibly the best band of the evening. Although their name is a very apt description of their sound - radio friendly to say the least - their Ben Fold Five meets pop-punk cheerfulness overcame any and all negative sentiments I had previously maintained. The piano playing frontman, when not playing with one hand and holding the mic with the other, leapt around the stage, crowd-surfed and at one point, mounted his piano and stomped the keys mercilessly. They dedicated "I Kissed a Drunk Girl," to the memory, or lack thereof, of their last Chico show and ended with "If You C Jordan."
Occupying the opposite end of the new school spectrum, Finch was next upon the stage, with their very Deftones- / Glassjaw-inspired brand of pop-punk. And as opposed to their last two Chico appearances - both of which were marked by below-average playing and even worse audience enthusiasm - Finch were razor sharp. Sticking mostly to tunes from their latest Drive-Thru release, What It Is To Burn, the band fed off the energy of the crowd, who returned the favor in spades. This did not go unnoticed by the band, who thanked the crowd for their unexpected excitement, both verbally and with their enthused performance.
Equally as enthused, New Found Glory, the evening's headliners, who took the stage to the deafening roar of the sold-out audience. Frontman Jordan Pundik, although initially having a rough time hitting the high notes with his trademark nasal twang, eventually warmed up, whipping the mainly adolescent crowd into a joyful fury. Sticking mainly to material off of their last two albums, the band did however venture back to their first full-length, Nothing Gold Can Stay for two of my personal faves, "3rd and Long" and "Hit or Miss," the latter of which was later redone for their self-titled record and eventually served as their first real "hit." Though NFG were deservedly the crowd favorite, they were only partially responsible for Thursday night's festivities achieving show of the year status. The three opening bands, the audience and The Brick Works are all to be thanked for providing an enjoyable and educational evening of new school happiness.
- Daniel Taylor
- Photo by Alyssa Starkey

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