In 2003, Taking Back Sunday were still touring off their debut album Tell All Your Friends, and Moneen were supporting their Vagrant Records debut, Are We Really Happy With Who We Are Right Now? With years of retrospect gone by and a number of albums under each band’s belts, it’s obvious that this was a golden age for both bands.

There has been a lot of growth and change for both bands over the past six years. Taking Back Sunday have gone through a number of line-up changes, as well as Moneen, who are a month away from releasing their fourth album The World I Want To Leave Behind, their first with a new drummer. TBS are on their third guitarist/vocalist and now have four albums to their name, each one a very different spin on the same classic TBS style.

Well, the golden age may have long since passed, but natural evolution has turned these fresh faced, fearless boys singing about lost love and a hopeful future into older, more mature men with more important ideas to express. This growth and change definitely hasn’t been a bad thing.

I walked into the Kool Haus on Wednesday night just moments before Moneen hit the stage to a roaring crowd, starting things off with the lead track from 2006’s The Red Tree, ‘Don’t Ever Tell Locke What He Can’t Do.’ It has been a while since Moneen have played what Kenny (Bridges, vocals/guitar) referred to on stage as “a real show” close to home, and the fans were ready.

I’ve seen Moneen many times, and I used to wonder how long it would be before their live performances tamed; when they would stop throwing their guitars at each other, jumping off of their amps, and convulsing on stage. Let me assure you: that time has yet to come.

The band burned through an incredible set full of old favorites with a few new songs thrown in the mix. I must say, I’m excited for the release of the new record especially after getting the chance to spend a day in the studio with them back in February. From what I’ve heard in studio and live, it’s going to be a great mix of their past releases. One song they’ve been playing live, ‘Believe,’ sounds like it could be taken from ...Really Happy..., while the new single ‘Hold That Sound’ is more reminiscent of The Red Tree era. All in all, a great stage show as always and a great way to kick off the night.

Now I must admit, I haven’t listened to Taking Back Sunday that much since 2004’s Where You Want To Be, though I have given their newer albums a few listens. I don’t know if it was my musical tastes changing or my desire for the band to progress more than they have, but I wasn’t expecting to enjoy the show as much as I did, which says a lot. They blew me away.

The band has perfected their live show more than I would believe if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes. Their set list was very well planned; the pacing of the show to the point of perfection. They know which songs get which reaction, and planned out the night in such a way that no fan in the room would ever be bored. Their stage presence has developed so much over the years as well. Joining them on stage was a third guitar player who looked like he was pulled from an Omar Rodriguez-Lopez look-a-like competition, standing behind the injured Matthew Fazzi (guitar) who was nursing a broken foot who was rocking out harder than I thought possible in that state, to a point that I wouldn’t even have noticed if they didn’t say anything.

A few songs into the set Adam (Lazzara, vocals) mentioned the elephant in the room, the fact that this was indeed a rescheduled show. The first was originally scheduled in June, but was canceled when Adam was hospitalized overnight. He apologized for the inconvenience, and quipped “what a jerk I was to get sick.”

My only complaint is the lack of songs from Tell All Your Friends, an album which helped to shape a new generation of music through an ingenious mix of clever lyrics and the best use of multiple singers I’d heard in years. That album is a classic for our generation, and it’s sad to think the band that created it doesn’t appreciate it as much as the public does. It’s understandable for them not to want to play all their older songs live, but I still hope to hear those songs live again.

That being said, I noticed something interesting with the new songs. While they may not play ‘Ghost Man on Third’ much these days, they do play ‘Everything Must Go’ from New Again which, though different in sound, creates a similar feeling and atmosphere when played live. Right before playing ‘Everything Must Go’, Adam made the comment that the song used to be difficult for them to play live, but has been getting easier. He made it clear this was “not because it’s difficult to play, we can shred with the best of them”, but because of the subject matter. Good to know he’s still writing personal lyrics and not faking it based on his past.

Of course a Taking Back Sunday show would not be complete without ‘Cute Without the ‘E’ (Cut From the Team),’ a song which has been played at every single TBS show to date – it would be like seeing Lynyrd Skynyrd without hearing ‘Sweet Home Alabama;’ no matter how well they played you’d still leave feeling ripped off. While I find it hard to listen to that song on record anymore, hearing it live still makes my feet move, and it’s impossible not to sing along. During the song, Matt (Rubano, bass) left the stage to take a lap of the venue without missing a note or losing his breath. Well done, good sir.

They finished off the night with an extended encore, leaving the crowd satisfied and smiling. Going into the show expecting not to enjoy myself and leaving as happy as I did definitely says something about their ability to perform.

To sum it up, the night brought me back to 2003; even though the songs had changed and the faces in the crowd were different, the same feelings were stirred and the same energy was shared. It was great to see the abundance of new, younger fans who looked like they were having the best night of their lives. When I was 16 and going to shows, my goal for the night was to let off some steam and sing along to my favorite bands, and I can safely say that’s a goal that these bands accomplished that night.