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Dec 27th 02: Trocadero, Philadelphia
Written by Matt
Senses Fail opened up the festivities at the Trocadero on friday, however I did happen to miss their set, but I'm guessing they put on a good up beat set. Anything would have been better than the next band. The second band to perform in the show, is the band The Exit, from NY. They didn't forget to tell you that after almost every song they played. This is not a band I'd recommend if you were looking for good new punk bands, their performance wasn't all that exciting, and the music itself wasn't that good either, I couldn't wait for the set to end. Then finally after their set which seemed like it was an hour long, Taking Back Sunday hit the stage. A very upbeat high energy performance which lacked nothing. Even with Adam's injury (lead singer), and the doctor said he should still be using the cane, he was wild and crazy as always putting on a great show. One of the best parts of the set was when they all the sudden started playing the Eminem song "Lose Yourself". All in all a great show for Taking Back Sunday they were in it, the crowd was in it and it was a great show. Finally it was the band of the hour, that everyone was waiting for, The Starting Line.
They started out soft with The Drama Summer, and moved into This Ride. Then Ken really started getting into it and ended up falling down but jumping right back up and kept going. His parents were among the crowd in the balcony area, tho they had back stage passes which Ken pointed out. Then they played the crowd favorite "I'm Real", and even though Ken kind of messed up the song by singing the third verse during the second verse, but it ended up good in the end. Near the end of their set, the drummer of Taking Back Sunday was called onstage by Ken who Ken claimed to be "The best singer in the world", and he finished the song "The Best of Me" with them. They even came on and did an oncore and sang "Three's A Charm". Overall The Starting Line lit up the stage and put on a great show.
October 19th '02: Electric Factory, Philly
By Dayna
This show was absolutely insane. I can't believe I actually made it out alive! Myself and two friends got there at around 8:30, just as the Kicks were going on and so we snuck ourselves up by the side of the venue, The Electric Factory. We watched the Kicks, uninterested, they were nothing special. After their set ended, we found it necessary to squeeze into the crowd to get as close as possible to the stage. Mission accomplished. Unfortunately for us, the crowd was already hella pumped for TSL because people were already moshing...to the radio. We were a bit confused by that but whatever, we were as close as we could get so it was worth it. After a while of waiting, TSL came on.
Their first song was "Given the Chance" which got people way amped and ready. Directly after, they played "Greg's Last Day" which was soo rad because it just sounded new. When they finished playing that, they stopped to talk for a little bit about how good it felt to be home. Kenny talked about how nervous he was to be playing for all his friends and family and then they jumped right into "Hello Houston". Their set continued on with "Saddest Girl Story" and the J-Lo song "I'm Real". Before playing this cover, they said that we had to scream out "I'm real!" when he said it. Of course, we all followed.
TSL then played one of my favorite songs on the album, "The Best of Me". It's always so cute to see Kenny singing the beginning with his eyes closed and then all of the guys just rockin' out. It's awesome. Next, they played a crowd favorite, "Cheek to Cheek". This song made the crowd mosh even harder than before. I was half dead, sandwhiched between two 300 pound dudes. While I wasn'nt sure if I was alive or not, TSL jumped into "This Ride", which they hadn't played in Philly before. It still got a warm reception, regardless.
They took a little time to chat after "This Ride". Kenny read a review of themselves in some magazine that said "...their music will make teenage girls put out." He got a real kick out of this and so did the crowd. He added that he thought their music would make teenage boys and old women put out as well. Laughing, they broke into "Left Coast Envy", another one of my favorite TSL songs. To finish off their awesome set, they played three last songs: "Up & Go", "A Goodnight's Sleep" and in finale, "Leaving". They said a huge thankyou and walked off the stage happily.
After their set, I went with my friend to go meet them at the merch stand. I had brought Kenny and the guys a huge bag full of candy to give to them because who doesn't like candy? I gave Kenny the candy and he said "Is this for me?" and I was like yeah...(smiling of course) and I asked to get a picture with him. He said of course and we got a picture together. He signed the back of my ticket and wrote "Thanks for the candy! Love, Ken." That made my day..haha.
Later on, I was walking around the venue and got Matt to sign my shirt which said "I have Left Coast Envy." He was impressed, haha. During RBF's set, I was hanging out on the sides and then Kenny went up on stage to sing "She Has a Girlfriend Now" under Aaron's request. A few minutes after they were done the song, Kenny went up on stage and was feeding the guys from RBF gummy worms...they were my gummy worms! Yay! Anyway, that was cool and then RBF's set ended. They played an awesome show, as well.
All in all, the show was freaking amazing, the mosh pit was completely nuts and the guys were so nice. I am going to see them again at St. Joe's University on Nov. 1st with the Prizefight so I'll be sure to put up my review for that show soon. Awesome job, TSL.
October 8th, '02: The Rave, Milwaukee
Submitted by Drivingwithflats.com
This was my second time seeing the Starting Line and as a whole it was better than the first. We arrived just after the Kicks set had started. Not much to say about them. They are a rock band which some deecent tunes. Definately not the worst opening band ever, but by no means the best. The crowd didn't even pretend to give a damn, which isn't that unusual.
After an unusually speedly set change The Starting Line was about ready. They came out with a lot of energy as usual. Since its still early in the tour you could see the excitment in their faces. They opened with "Given the Chance," a very up tempo rocking song that in my opinion is an awesome song to open with. You could instantly tell there were a lot of TSL fans in the audience by how active they were. They immediately jumped into their second song "Greg's Last Day" off their EP. After this tune they took a break and talked to the crowd a bit. Ken is such a kid it's funny. He's so exited about everything. After a bit of chit chat, they jumped into "Hello Houston." After that they played one of my favorite TSL songs, "Saddest Story Girl." If you haven't heard this song, its worth checking out. Unfortunately not many people at the show knew the song either cause very few were singing with me. They followed this up with the ever popular rendition of J-Lo and Ja Rule's hit "I'm Real." This was really popular and got everyone that wasn't into the show already, into it. After this song Ken talked about the Taking Back Sunday tour and mentioned The Early November would be there too. Then they exploded into the "Best of Me." Not only my favorite TSL song but also a great song for the crowd to sing along to and Ken made sure they did. Then they played "Cheek to Cheek" and a less than well recieved "This Ride." After this song a fan was yelling for them to play "Three's a Charm." They said that if as many people were at the TBS show in November as were there that night, they would play it. He said they haven't practiced it in a while. So instead they played "Left Coast Envy." A more humorous part of the night came when Ken was singing the beginning and was looking and someone in the audience and he's like "Hey, you know every word." He cracks me up. They played "Up & Go" and closed with the crowd favorite "Leaving" which was awesome as always.
Reel Big Fish was the headliner. I don't have a lot to say about them. They put on a great show and they are funny guys. The highlight of the evening must have been late in their set when the crowd started chanting "Beer" and the lead singer started chanting along with them before breaking into the slick guitar intro for "Beer." The also made a comment to the affect that they aren't the best rock and roll band in the world but they would play the best song in the world, or something to that effect, and then closed with "Sellout," which for a long time has been a favorite of mine.
It was a great show. The Starting Line are a great live band with a LOT of energy.
Setlist
1. Given the Chance
2. Greg's Last Day
3. Hello Houston
4. Saddest Girl Story
5. I'm Real
6. The Best of Me
7. Cheek to Cheek
8. This Ride
9. Left Coast Envy
10. Up & Go
11. Leaving
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