Bayside’s Fifteen Year Birthday Tour Comes To Salt Lake City

Bayside
March 20, 2015
The Complex- Salt Lake City, UT

      The first band of the night was Canadian band Seaway from Oakville, Ontario. They got a nice welcome from the fans as they started their first song Your Best Friend. It started off well with Ryan Locke’s gruff sounding vocals and Patrick Carleton jamming out on the guitar. They went into their next song with a little more energy than the first. Too Fast For Love wasn’t called that for nothing. Finally there was some heads moving and some people in the crowd started jumping to the beat. Adam Shoji was really getting into it spinning around and dancing with his bass in tow. As they neared the end of their set they played a newer song off their All In My Head EP titled Alberta this was a good closer for them as the fans were really moving at this point.
Next on the birthday bash roster was Man Overboard. Before their set started, more and more people came into the venue. The room was filled with the sound of eager voices, curious as to what was going to happen within the next few minutes and in a flash, the lights came on. One by one Man Overboard came on stage and started rocking out to Real Talk. The room was overcome with emotion and everyone started shaking their head to the amazing beat of Joe Talarico’s drums and Wayne Wildrick’s superb guitar playing and tied together nicely with Nik Bruzzese’s awesome vocals. The crowd was in full swing at that point. Head banging and dancing was happening all over the crowd, the energy carried over to the next song White Lies. After finishing with their second song they had a smooth transition into I Ate My Gluestick. They followed up with Atlas, Dead End Dreams and started on their last few songs with Where I Left You. As the songs carried on the crowd was still just as hyped up as they had always been. Man Overboard was really kicking it up as well. Lead Singer Nik Bruzzese held it together for some really passionate lines; holding his head in between verses and juggling his guitar and microphone around like it was nothing. As they finished their set Man Overboard let the crowd off with Rare. The crowd loved these guys, their charged set and brilliant spirit kept the energy up and the expectation high.
15 Year Birthday Tour_3/20/15;SLC, UT     The Birthday bash celebration was almost half way over. With two acts left it was time for another band to grace us with their presence. The third guest to come on stage was Senses Fail.  As the final sound checks were made, the screams of fans began to sound throughout the room. Seconds later you could hear Gavin Caswell’s bass fill the air with its low tones and deep notes. As the rest of the members climbed on stage James “Buddy” Nielsen picked up the mic and immediately let out the first lines of You’re Cute When You Scream. The moment those lyrics left his lips, fans started following along with as much enthusiasm and emotion. While the instrumentals picked up, Nielsen made sure to keep the eyes on stage as he threw around his microphone doing crazy spins and midair grabs. They kept playing one song after the other with newer sounds like Canine and a throwback to their Still Searching Album Calling All Cars. At the end of the song Buddy Nielson came up to talk a bit about the darkness in his life “You can’t like anyone in this room if you hate yourself. I lived in darkness, for many, many years. I lived in hate of other people, I lived in fear of other people because I didn’t trust myself. I didn’t want to give myself the option to breath. This song is about that. It’s called All You Need Is Already Within You. So let that motherf-cker out.” With that being the apex of their set they kicked off their song and floored fans with the brooding bass intro and raucous vocals of All You need Is Already Within You. There was moshing, kicking, jumping and head banging all around. The beasts were definitely coming out as more and more energy poured into the crowd. They continued on with Can’t Be Saved, Buried A Lie and finished with Bite to Break Skin. Before they left they wanted to leave the crowd with some information over the Trevor Project,  a community of people dedicated to preventing suicide and providing resources for the LGBTQ community.
Finally after the last intermission, the icing on the cake was about to be devoured. Before they even got on stage the crowd was chanting their name “Bayside, Bayside, Bayside” they called. As the lights dimmed a familiar tune came on to set the mood for their set; the mystical lighthearted intro of “Headwig’s theme” started playing. The buildup was almost too much for fans but right as their impatience grew Bayside stepped on stage and kicked it off with Pigsty. As the guitar picked up you could see Anthony Raneri getting ready for his part. His silvery vocals rang smoother and stronger than ever. With the guitar wailing and the riffs swelling the crowd was in awe at how strong they came off. The smoke and lights shining down on each member made it feel as if the band was playing off a cloud. As the final verse was building up Raneri swung the mic out 10 feet and reeled it in, inches from his face effortlessly and finished his song. They continued on with Duality, Alcohol And Alter Boys followed by Boy. Everyone at that point was moshing, dancing or head banging, the fast paced performance was enough to get even people in the back to come and be a part of the birthday celebration. They slowed down for a minute, throwing out an old favorite from their Killing Time album, Mona Lisa. The energy didn’t wane; they kept it strong with other songs like Montauk, Stuttering and Landing Feet First. At this point in the show 15 Year Birthday Tour_3/20/15;SLC, UTBayside thanked everyone for coming to their 15 year birthday tour, letting everyone know that without the support of their fans throughout the years that they wouldn’t have made it without us. The night was yet to be over though. As the first strums of Sick, Sick, Sick filled everyone’s ears the crowd got even more hyped up. A mosh pit opened up in between the crowd and had everyone pushing, shoving and moving to the beat. As the night was drawing to a close they started on their last few songs; They Look Like Strong Hands was a good choice as it carried the energy of the crowd toward a close without taking away from the emotional feel of it. One by one, hands went into the air and swayed to the melody as Raneri’s voice soothed the crowd. The night was drawing to a close but not before Bayside put on three final encores. Don’t Call Me Peanut, Devotion And Desire and Big Cheese were the final songs of the night. The crowd gave it their all in those last few minutes, desperately singing along and dancing for a birthday celebration that only comes around once in a lifetime brought to them by a band who’s talent is brought together only once in a millennium.
   Bayside’s Fifteen Year Birthday Tour could be coming soon to a town near you so don’t miss out on this party.
Review by: Chris Prada

Bayside


Senses Fail
Man Overboard