Let's See a Show! Band of Brothers Road Show with Magic Giant and American Authors

In the toughest times, I'm thankful I can turn to music to help brighten my spirits.

Back before this whole wave of social distancing began, I attended a show featuring Magic Giant and American Authors at the historic Scoot Inn here in Austin. Despite the frigid outdoor temps, the crowd was ready to jump. And we were in luck, because these two headliners are energetic as heck.

In fact, I'd go so far as to say Magic Giant is one of the most bouncy shows I've ever seen. The trio gets calf workouts for days, bounding around the stage like dogs that have just discovered a new field to play in. And I say that in the most complimentary way possible. I loved their set, full of jams like the head bopper "Disaster Party."

Between Austin Bisnow on lead vocals and keys, Zambricki Li on viola, banjo, and harmonica, and Zang rocking the acoustic guitar and cello, these gents will improve your mood. Their older songs are a bit more folk-y sounding (no wonder LA Weekly called them "cool as folk") while their newer stuff is more pop-centric; either way, you really can't go wrong. The energy certainly made it difficult to capture photos, but I managed to snap a few fun ones that showcase some of that excitement. Check them out at the bottom of the post.

Oh, and how about the time when Magic Giant came out into the crowd to perform acoustically? I'M ONBOARD.

I had seen American Authors once before; they opened for The Royal Concept, another band that knows how to put a toe-tapper together. That was a few years ago, and I think they sound even tighter now. Though they didn't play my favorite song of theirs (you can hear that one below), they had plenty of fun moments, as well. They also spent some time among the crowd, scaring the heck out of me by launching into a pounding bass drum, tambourine, and additional percussion breakdown directly behind where I was standing as they started their second set.

American Authors is most known for its smash single "Best Day of My Life," which has an alternate music video version of a dog getting adopted that is just too cute for school. But the quartet of Zac Barnett (vocals, guitar), James Adam Shelley (guitar, banjo), Dave Rublin (bass), and Matt Sanchez (drums) offer plenty of firepower, especially with singalong choruses and positive messages.

I hope more shows adopt the setup of this tour – the two headliners went back and forth, each getting in a couple of mini-sets. Let's get more of this! Five songs for one, five songs for the other, five songs for the first, five songs for the second, then close it out with a big ol' party. We all know the worst part of any show (other than someone stepping on your toes) is the downtime between sets. This greatly eliminates that and makes for a fantastic time. Artists and venues, please keep that going.

It may be a while until we can get out and enjoy live shows again. Luckily, we can still support artists making great music by buying or streaming songs and albums and picking up merch. Until then, be safe, and hope to see you at the next show.

UPDATE: Magic Giant is doing a "Live From Quarantine" virtual festival series, featuring performances from The Lumineers, Jason Mraz, Woody Harrelson, and a whole lot more. You can check it out on Instagram Live this weekend (4/19) at 2pm PT. 

Let's See a Show! New Found Glory

I've done a pretty poor job of seeing shows this year that haven't involved either my own band or my friends' bands. It's basically been taking my roomie to see Blink-182 – his first concert ever and he just turned 30, come on, man! – and rocking out to some AFI on Valentine's Day, though getting to experience "Reivers' Music" live the first time they ever played it was pretty delightful.

However, seeing New Found Glory on back-to-back days in Dallas and Austin has rejuvenated my concert-going experience, and it's because these guys put on one hell of a show. This summer, they're celebrating two decades of being a band with a "20 Years of Pop Punk" tour. While many album tours involve a band playing one album front to back, this one mixes it up – literally. Not only did New Found Glory play TWO full albums each night, they did so randomly. You never knew if the next song was going to be your favorite track off the album, and I loved it. I'm always on my shuffle setting anytime I'm listening to music anyway. I like to be kept on my toes.

The Dallas show at The Door was a pretty impromptu jaunt up I-35 to see the quartet perform Sticks and Stones and Catalyst in their entirety. While most of the crew I traveled with ranks Catalyst as their favorite album, I'm a slightly older pop punker, so Sticks and Stones is the one I grew up on. It'll always hold a special place in my heart, but even so, I'm not sure I was ready for the insane energy that overtook the entire room as soon as "Understatement" kicked off the night. That song's always been one of my favorite New Found Glory tracks, and if you don't like it I'm pretty sure you just aren't a big fan of smiling.

What's cool about a full album show is that you get a handful of tracks that you really don't ever hear live. It was cool to see a deeper cut like "No News Is Good News" in between "Sonny" and "Head on Collision," which are both played a bit more frequently (side note: holy moly "Sonny" was getting that crowd emotional). The band also dropped in "Happy Being Miserable," the first single off their newest record, Makes Me Sick, which came out last month, and it sounded just as well-rehearsed and spot-on as their classics. I was also proud of myself for remembering that "Ending in Tragedy" hadn't been played as the band took a little encore break – guitarist Chad Gilbert said that it wasn't supposed to be an encore, it was just to give drummer Cyrus Bolooki some rest after playing 24 songs (they played 27 in total). The guy next to me was telling his friend that they just needed to come back and play "Intro" from Catalyst and then close with "My Friends Over You." I said, "pretty sure they haven't played 'Ending in Tragedy,' either." He told me, "No, they played it at the beginning," and I nodded and said, "okay." Then when it came on he hung his tail between his legs and came over and told me I was right. It's one of those little moments that literally nobody cares about except me, but made me feel like I had won one of the B-level Price is Right games, like "Coming or Going" or "Master Key." It's not a new car or "Plinko," but it's something.

We also hung around in Dallas for the after party, which was kind of weird at first. Two dudes played a bunch of emo songs and jumped around and played air guitar and air drums while occasionally yelling things like "what's up, Dallas?" The songs were terrific early-2000s nostalgia, but still a little strange. At some point, they brought New Found Glory back out, and the guys took over on the 1s and 2s. Cyrus, in particular, played several great tracks, so maybe he's got a nice side career as a DJ in the mix.

The second show in Austin – at the always enjoyable Mohawk – might have somehow been even more energetic. For whatever reason, I found myself in the pit, which just had people going nuts in it. This one guy kept wanting to high five me, a girl told me "I'm going to get up on stage and give Chad a hug" – and then she did it! – and the whole crowd was singing along to every word. This set was Sticks and Stones and their self-titled album, which are probably my two favorites New Found Glory has put out. Special shout out to "All About Her," which is just quite the delightful jam.

I'll also note at both of these shows just how inclusive the band was to letting their fans have fun. People were stage-diving left and right, a girl leapt up on the stage to take a selfie with lead singer Jordan Pundik, bassist Ian Grushka wore a sombrero someone threw up on the stage, and my friend Liz even gave Jordan a hug and sang a line from "Head On Collision." Spectacular, and the fans loved it. As it should be.

Before these shows, I got to interview Chad for Paste Magazine. We chatted about the new record, music video fiascos, and playing at pool parties. Check out the interview here. And pick up a copy of Makes Me Sick. It's a great reminder that pop punk is still alive and well.