SHOW REVIEW: The Menzingers Take Over The Beacham In Orlando, FL
SHOW REVIEW: The Menzingers Take Over The Beacham In Orlando, FL
Supporting the Hello Exile Tour is Culture Abuse and Tiger Jaw
Words and Images By: Emmely Pavila
With this year is coming to a startling end, the race was on to pact in as many ‘must see’ shows as possible into my schedule – and The Menzingers definitely had to be apart of that line up. Riding on the high of their latest release, Hello Exile, it was no question their fall tour would be one for the books. Joining them on the road was Culture Abuse and Tiger Jaw.
Tigers Jaw opened their set with their fun, energetic track, “Cool” before playing their way through the slower, “Plane vs. Tank vs. Submarine”. Of course, “I Saw Water” was a must on the set-list as the crowd sang along to every word and danced along to the beat. Hearing their older tracks is always a good time but I was just as excited to hear some of their new songs like, “Guardian” and “Escape Plan”, grace their set. While Tigers Jaw’s Self-Titled is one of my favorite albums, the growth and skill they displayed on their newest record makes Spin another one of my favorite albums. to hear some of my newer favorites like “Guardian” and “Escape Plan”. They even included “Eyes Shut” in their set, which comes off their newest EP. Before ending their set with “June” and “Hum“, Tiger Jaw promised that there’d be a lot more new music coming in 2020 – so to say that I’m stoked, would be quite the understatement. Tigers Jaw is such a versatile and skilled band, I could never grow tired of listening to their records or seeing them live, it’s always such a pleasure.
I was super happy to see this lineup when it got announced – along with Tigers Jaw, The Menzingers are another band I could see endlessly see live – truly a Scranton, PA dream team lineup. They kicked off their Hello Exile Tour set with one of their newest tracks “Anna.” The band kept the set going at a fast pace with “The Obituaries” next on the set-list, two songs in and the crowd was already under their spell. As looked at in their first track off After The Party, “Tellin’ Lies”, explores older adulthood and going from “Where are we gonna go now that our twenties are over?” to “how do I steer my early 30’s, before I shipwreck, before I’m 40” in one of their new tracks “America (You’re Freaking Me Out).” This new album looks at the angst of aging and while Hello Exile may be a bit slower than some of their other releases, it still has the iconic Menzingers foundation and hallmarks we, as fans, know and love. Newer songs “High School Friends” and “Portland” made their way onto the setlist – as well as, “Strangers Forever” and “Last to Know”, which are among my favorite tracks off the new release. While the band and fans were equally hyped with the release of Hello Exile, their older tracks were not forgotten – off On The Impossible Past, we were treated to “Casey” and “Good Things”. But the crowd went absolutely wild when The Menzingers jumped into the fan favorite “I Don’t Wanna Be an Asshole Anymore” and “In Remission“. They closed out the night with “After the Party,” one of my all-time favorite songs; there’s just something about that song that makes me feel so absolutely carefree – wouldn’t have wanted to spend my Saturday night any other way!
