So you were at Starland Ballroom on April 4? Us, too! Bayside took over once again on the There Are Worse Things Than Being Alive Tour – and nothing would’ve been worse than missing that.
This tour and lineup overall is a prime example of the power being having a stacked bill. When every band from start to finish is talented and oozes charisma, it can prove to even the most casual fan how strong the genre is. Even now, especially with concerts like this one, punk rock is very much thriving.
Winona Fighter was a phenomenal opener. They had so much energy and a crisp punk sound. It was high voltage and perfectly messy. What more could you want from a rock show? Armor For Sleep put on a stellar performance as always. (Their new album The Rain Museum is available now! It’s their first record in 15 years and it’s pop punk at its best.)
Finch deserve extra credit here considering they have not dropped any new music in a decade, and they actually only have three records while being around since 2000. Most bands would have disappeared by then, gone from our conscious, but not Finch. Their music is so iconic that every fan in the room sang the tracks like they were released yesterday. Overall, each one of the opening bands delivered fantastic performances.
Bayside, of course, needs no introduction. The Aquarian has been covering Bayside albums and concerts from the start. If there is new material out from the band or a tour to attend, we’ll be there. The show at Starland Ballroom felt like a true album release show. The second it turned midnight after the concert, There Are Worse Things Than Being Alive the album dropped, so Bayside made the hours leading up to that feel like a massive party.
They played all the classics you’d expect from a Bayside show like, “Blame It On Bad Luck” and “There’s No Horses They’re Unicorns,” but they also dusted off some deep tracks like “Two Letters” off of Vacancy and “I and I” off of The Walking Wounded. The fact that the band alternated between more unknown tracks, hits, and brand new songs just coming out, displays how much they care about their music. Playing “The New Flesh” off of Killing Time is not what we had on our 2024 bingo card, but with that said, their new record is an album of the year contender. To learn more about the new record, check out our interview here.
