Taking Back Sunday

Taking Back Sunday came to Tulsa recently for what was one of the best performances in the modern rock scene. While the Long Island rock/emo band has gone through what seems like a million lineup changes, the sound has always remained the same.
The special occasion for this tour was the debut of newly crowned guitarist/vocalist Matt Fazzi (formerly of Facing New York) and a handful of new songs that will be featured on the band’s fourth studio album, “New Again,” which will be released in the spring.
Although Fazzi does not have the talent of former TBS guitarist Fred Mascherino (partly because he plays a more brash style) or probably the songwriting talent of original guitarist John Nolan, his vocal talents certainly surpassed those of Mascherino and came close to the sound that Nolan created, which shot TBS to become the biggest little band in the modern rock scene back in the day.
In all honesty, TBS back in the day is probably what most fans pine for, including yours truly. But it will never happen and that is not necessarily a bad thing.
Although the band did play three songs off its unforgettable breakthrough debut “Tell All Your Friends,” it was clear they are not the teenagers who wrote that album anymore.
Taking Back Sunday, vocalist Adam Lazzara, guitarists Fazzi and Eddie Reyes, bassist Matt Rubano and drummer Mark O’Connell, might have grown older, but the energy is still there. From the microphones that swing 20 feet in the air around Lazzara’s neck to the constant movement and emotion put into every song played live, fans should never leave a TBS show disappointed. This is not only because of the energy and emotion, but because of the charisma and straight up goofiness Lazzarra portrays onstage.
Even though a Taking Back Sunday performance is almost always unbelievable, in recent tours, much of the band’s latest release, “Louder Now,” has been the forefront of the set list. And while a few of those songs are memorable and great rock songs (”Make Damn Sure,” “Spin,” “What It Feels Like To Be A Ghost”), the rest are cliché, cheesy and fail to get the crowd energized.
The three brand-new songs that the band played are a return to the energy, attraction, emotion and fast rock style of the old TBS. After the dust had settled in Tulsa and the band and crowd finally stopped to take a breath, it was clear that Taking Back Sunday is still part of the kings of the stage.
Final Thought: Taking Back Sunday Set List: “You Know How I Do,” “Error: Operator,” “Liar (It Takes One To Know One),” “Set Phasers to Stun,” “New Again,” “One-Eighty By Summer,” “Twenty-Twenty Surgery,” “You’re So Last Summer,” “Up Against,” “Catholic Knees,” “Bonus Most Pt. II,” “Spin,”  “Everything Must Go,” “Cute Without the E,” “Miami,” “A Decade Under the Influence,” “What’s It Feel Like To Be A Ghost,” “You Wreck Me” (Tom Petty cover), “Make Damn Sure.”