by Lane Speas
Doors opened at 6:00PM for the Menzingers show at Summit Music Hall on Tuesday November 17th 2015. The show had four acts total with three opening bands leading up to The Menzingers. In order of appearance the opening acts were Restorations, Pianos Become the Teeth, and mewithoutYou. The night consisted of hours of emotional punk and alternative that made for an excellent show.
The first opening act was Restorations as pictured below out of Philidelphia. The group took the stage with high energy alternative incorporating some skilled guitar work by Dave Klyman. In addition to the thoughtful guitar work, the bass player had a brace on his picking hand. Major props to him for shredding with solid baselines and a wrist brace. Restorations was definitely a super solid first opener.
The second opener was a group called Pianos Become the Teeth. Their sound was definitely heavier then that of Restorations. Aside from being heavier, the group had some loud, screaming, emotional vocals that bled of their post-hardcore influences. The groups vocalist Kyle Durfey did a great job at getting the audience involved with the music. The only thing that struck me as a bit odd was that both lead vocals as well as bass had their backs turned to the audience for a large portion to the show. The group is seen pictured below.
The next group on the bill was mewithoutYou. Who brought one of the most interesting sets I have seen in a long time! The groups front man Aaron Weiss took the stage along with the rest of the band shredding an accordion and screaming vocals. Out of all the front men of the night it was easy to see Weiss get deeply involved with his music and in turn affect the audience. About three quarters the way through the groups set a fight broke out on the floor. This resulted in the band stopping in the middle of a song to brake up the fight. Front man Weiss said that in all the groups touring years they have only had to brake up two fights, Denver being the third. While this was a bummer for the group and audience, I applaud mewithoutYou for stepping in and dealing with the situation. The group is pictured below in the beginning of their set incorporating the accordion.
By the time the headlining act The Menzingers took the stage the crowd was more then ready to listen to them play. The Menzingers rocked their set with a massive emotional punk sound. The entire set was high energy and had the crowd singing along like they have been waiting to for years! Even after the disturbances of the previous set the crowd was extremely lively. The last few songs consisted of a circle pit that dominated the floor. In addition to the more traditional emotional punk sound, it was clear to hear the groups influences from various ska punk bands. This is personified by both the skank pit that formed and the singer/ guitarist Tom May’s Choking Victim shirt.
Overall The Menzingers accompanied by mewithoutYou, Pianos Become the Teeth, and Restorations was a killer show with many different sounds coming together to complement each other. Even with a fight breaking out that forced mewithoutYou to stop playing, the overall vibe of the show still was light hearted and upbeat. I would definitely recommend checking out The Menzingers next time they come to town.