Taking Back Sunday - Manchester Academy 1- 17.5.06

Times are a changing.  It was only a few months ago that Taking Back Sunday returned to Manchester for a low key show at Academy II, trial ling to the hip crowd songs off of their soon to be released 3rd album.

Fast forward and here we are in a packed out Academy I surrounded by a crowd that, only 6 months ago, were still in therapy trying to come to terms with the Busted split.  Maybe this can be put down to the fact TBS have just released the commercial and all together more listenable major label debut album Louder Now.

What’s It Feel Like To Be A Ghost? is the type of track that the likes of the Foo Fighters and My Chemical Romance would give a limb for.  The perfect opener to ANY gig.  Definitely a song that leaves in need of a change of pants.  TBS charge head on into a set that uses as many tracks from Tell All Your Friends and Where You Want to be as it does the new album.

Single MakeDamnSure breaks everyone of the 2000 or so hearts in the room tonight.  This song demonstrates how far TBS have come with the new material and showcases just how poetic and all together more palletable their lyrics are.  Where as Error:Operator leaves you feeling like you have gone ten rounds with Mike Tyson.  Singer Adam Lazzara, the bastard love child of Michael Hutchence and Mick Jagger, leads into enormous choruses of favourites Cute Without The E and Bike Scene where the crowd easily win over the PA system.  In between song banter is kept to a minimum, there is talk of bassist Matt Rubanos collision with mic and Fred “I TALK EXACTLY THE WAY I SING” Mascherino still refusing to showcase the backflip he promised back last June.  It seems TBS are letting the music do the talking tonight.

For a band that keeps bettering themselves I find it hard to believe then can better this.  Louder Now sure has them bulldozing their way past their counterpart’s success.  Megastardom beckons.

Lucy Hartley-Macfarlane
Photos: Andy Stubbs www.shoot-first.com

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