TAKING BACK SUNDAY @ Théâtre Olympia

By Jessica Hemmerich - Charts & Crafts - 03/20/2007

Taking Back Sunday concert at Olympia, March 20th 2007. Sounds like a fun way to spend a Friday night. That’s what I thought anyway and, well, to put this tactfully, I was so horribly mistaken.

Picture hundreds, maybe even thousands, of 15-year-old screaming girls wearing Chuck Taylor’s and sucking on their lollipops. Now I have nothing against Chucks and nothing against lollipops, it’s the screaming 15-year-olds that kind of got to me. The ratio between underage kids and adults was so uneven that the venue didn’t even sell beer but gave cups of ice water away for free. What’s a concert without alcohol? At least I pre-drank.

But hey, I thought, it’s Taking Back Sunday, they’re pretty cool, right? WRONG! From underage to just too damn old. Adam Lazzara, the band’s lead singer and one of the only members still in his twenties, dominated the stage. I’m not even sure the rest of the band showed up -- all I saw was him. I don’t know if the rest of the band was too stoned, lazy or old but I could swear that guitarist Eddie Reyes kept alternating with other guitarist Fred Mascherino so that when one was playing, the other could take a breather, a nap or a go at the sweater he was knitting.

Earlier that day, I met with member Eddie Reyes for a painfully dull interview. I was doing my thing, working my charm, trying to be funny and animated, but he just didn’t take the bait. When asked if anything crazy happened on the tour -- 'cause you know, rock stars, crazy antics and whatnot -- Eddie told me that it’s been pretty relaxed, that they’ve gotten to the age that they kind of just go with it. They’re more chilled out, more Zen, they’ve found themselves spiritually. They don’t really party anymore. When I recalled a Vans Warped Tour once upon a time when Lazzara climbed an electrical pole and jumped into the arms of screaming fans, Eddie told me that those days are dwindling away. They don’t want to be shocking anymore because they can hurt themselves.

Now I don’t know about you folks, but that reminds me of my father telling me to wear my wrist guards when I go rollerblading. He has a point: wrist fractures are one of the most common inline skating injuries, but it’s just not cool. And that is basically the point I am trying to make about TBS and their most recent concert. They’re becoming wise and prudent, but they’re just not all that cool anymore. Some may beg to differ, but in my experience as a concert-goer, their concert was lame. Even though it might not seem so by reading this review, I was and still am a TBS fan. They used to be great. And they should face the reality that they will not be the next Steven Tyler or Mick Jagger rocking out with their canes and walkers. Maybe I’m being a little critical -- the light effects were pretty groovy!

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