Live Wired [Review]: Polar Bear Club and Fireworks 10/13

posted in: Reviews & Playlists • Rock

Here at Live Wired, we’re always talking about how much the audience at a show affects the atmosphere and the performances themselves. Whether it’s a nationally known act or an up and coming artist, it seems like a crowd can always make a difference and help create a memorable concert experience. Last week, we checked out one of the last dates of Polar Bear Club‘s tour with Fireworks, Balance and Composure and Such Gold where this concept definitely proved to be true”especially since one of the best things about pop-punk music is how much the passion and energy of the bands are mimicked by their fans. In a room full of people, you could rarely find anyone just standing in place; most were participating in the show in some way.

Together these bands make a pretty awesome tour package. All of them are constantly on the road and, at some point or another, have played shows together before. There was lots of love and support shown throughout the night, from both the fans and the band members. Such Gold, who hail from the same hometown as Polar Bear Club (Rochester, NY), joined in the middle of the tour and kicked things off with just as much energy as the rest of the night would bring, best highlighted in their last song, “Sycamore”. Balance and Composure were up next, bringing to the table a slightly different style of music compared to all of the other bands. The excitement in their live show came from the power and uniqueness of their lead singer’s voice, which was most evident in their performance of “Burden”. Even when the music was slower in pace, the liveliness never faded and the nature of their music kept fans intrigued the whole time.

It was impossible not to have a good time during Fireworks’s set. They started things off with “Arrows” (check out their recent music video for it) then launched into one of the most fun songs from their newest album, “The Wild Bunch”. They stuck a fan favorite, “Detroit” in the middle of their set which brought along lots of gang vocals and fans singing louder than they were at some points. “When We Stand On Each Other We Block Out The Sun”, their last song, encompassed the passion of everyone in the room. There are lots of times when the audience is singing loudly, but this was different; you could sense a strong power in everyone’s voices. It was a nice reminder of how moving live music can be.

Headliner Polar Bear Club are touring in support of their recent release, Clash Battle Guilt Pride. The band lived up to the high expectations set by the opening acts, and put on quite a show.  Even though the new album was only released last month, the reception of the new songs was great. One of the best performances came in the beginning of the set with “Screams In Caves”, which shows off their versatile and captivating sound, as well as frontman Jimmy Stadt’s outstanding voice. An obvious fan favorite and another highlight of the set was “Living Saints”. There were two best friends in the crowd, screaming together: “all my friends are living saints”. It always makes a concert experience that much better when you see how much it affects everyone there just as much as it does you.

Props to Dan Gonyea of Future Breed for the awesome pictures!
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