Since mid-March of 2020 the doors of the House of Blues Orlando have been closed due to the global pandemic situation. Being a frequent visitor covering and attending shows here, I can attest to the emptiness and a sense of astray when I’d think about the escape it was to walk through those doors. Like so many others around the world, touring bands themselves were directly affected and in some cases more than others.
With plans of embarking across the country on a 20th Anniversary Tour originally slated for Summer of 2020, Bayside had to reschedule not once, not twice, but four times before they were able to lock in August 29th of this year. But here we are. A year and a half later and now they can now celebrate their official 21st Anniversary Tour opens the doors at the House of Blues to give the fans a musical tour through their entire catalog over that time on the 21 Years of Really Bad Luck Tour.
Hawthorne Heights wasted no time getting the crowd moving as they hit the stage and diving into the fan-favorite “This Is Who We Are.” Before the dust could settle the band worked up “Hard to Breathe” off their release Lost Frequencies. You could feel the sense of excitement from not only the fans in the venue but from the band as well. Singer JT Woodruff had even mentioned how difficult it has been not being able to play shows, but how stoked he was that they were able to get on tour with some of their closest friends. Following “Saying Sorry” and “Pens & Needles”, Hawthorne Heights kept their foot on the gas with the in-your-face aggressiveness of “Constant Dread.”
The vocal tandem of JT and guitarist Mark McMillon provided added those deep roars fueled by fast-paced guitar riffs, soaring chorus, and that crushing breakdown. Before announcing their last song of the night, JT Woodruff let fans know that they have been very busy writing new music and that there will be a new record out very soon. With the crowd’s cheers still hitting the stage, Hawthorne Heights closed it out with none other than “Ohio Is for Lovers.”
Maybe that record news was strategically placed because the floor erupts a little more than usual when the band plays their classic. When the chorus comes in it cues all of the crowd surfers to shoot up as they pound their fists and scream the lyrics into the air. Hawthorne Heights cap their set off on a high note not only as their first in over a year but to be able to deliver the news of new music directly to the fans.
Setlist
- This Is Who We Are
- Hard To Breathe
- Saying Sorry
- Pens & Needles
- Constant Dread
- Niki FM
- Ohio Is for Lovers
As Bayside waits to hit the stage, 4 spotlights shine through the darkroom hitting a disco ball high on the ceiling. The sounds of the classic Skeeter Davis song “The End of the World” echo through the air as the disco ball sparkles across every wall and the stage. The setting immediately makes you feel like you’re attending a dance in the 60’s. But the applause from the crowd snaps you back to the present when they see the shadows of the band walking across the stage.
With stage lights now fully on singer Anthony Raneri joins the fans with his own applause for them as he walks to the mic stand. And without hesitation, Chris Guglielmo starts his rapid snare roll into their nimble paced “Already Gone.” Fan’s voices are already loud and clear as they assist Anthony with every syllable. Trailing the thunderous yodels that makeup “Vacancy’s Mary”, Bayside reached back to 2011 for their revered hymn “Sick, Sick, Sick.“
Something that always gets a crowd going is a song that they can get behind. A song that makes them yell at the top of their lungs and pound their fists in the air. And that’s exactly what this song does. At one point the house lights came on to a sea of fists as Raneri yelled the song’s title, making it look like a scene out of the movie 300.
Bayside broke out a heavy hitter off of their last record Interrobang with “Prayers”. From the opening riff, it was all headbanging on and off the stage while some fans crowd surfed their way up to the front of the stage. Guitarist Jack O’Shea dropped the cherry on top with a top-notch solo where his playing was greeted with devil horns all around his side of the stage. With songs like “Masterpiece” and “Numb” only staying consistent with the fast-paced mayhem of the set so far, Bayside throws a changeup and slows things down a bit.
Anthony emerges from backstage donning an acoustic guitar and engages with the crowd, reminiscing about all the different clubs they’ve played over the last 21 years and begins to take a headcount of all the cities in Central Florida tonight’s fans have traveled from. Within the first two notes of “Don’t Call Me Peanut” the fans erupt with applause. After a couple of verses, Anthony tells the crowd “I haven’t played a show in 2 years, so I’m a little rusty. Help me out with this”. And just like that the entire room filled up with hundreds of soulful singers making the whole experience that much more intimate.
Bassist Nick Ghanbarian walks up to the mic and tells the fans “Tonight we’re trying to play a little something for everyone. Whether your favorite album was our newest one, or even our first one. But how about Cult? Well the next tune is off of that”. With Chris once again leading the way on drums, it’s only a matter of seconds until “Pigsty” launches off the stage forcing fans to jump with excitement.
Closing out the set would be a fan favorite off the bands 2005 self-titled album “Dear Tragedy”. Anthony’s guitar tech would lend a hand on rhythm guitar allowing Bayside’s lead singer the freedom to work the stage. One fan right up front had been recording the show on his phone and lucky for him Raneri had his hands free to grab the phone and walk around the stage, recording the crowd and an up-close and personal shot of Jack and the guitar tech dueling it out on their guitars. Aside from the incredible show he just witnessed, that fan would remember that for a very long time.
The band had not even fully left the stage yet before the “ONE MORE SONG” chants started. After all of 30 seconds, the stage lights fire back up as Anthony makes his way back out and jokingly says “Aww come on, you knew we were coming back out” creating a mixture of laughs and applause. He lets the fans know that “We tried very hard to play something off of each of our albums, but we figured that still wasn’t special enough. Jack and I recorded this song 16 years ago, and we never played it again. This song is “Winter”. You would have thought the Beatles had just walked in with the reaction given by the crowd.
Through the sea of illuminated cell phones screen Anthony and Jack would serenade the room with their acoustic guitars and moving vocal harmonies. But as it had been for most of the show, the fans were more than willing to serve as backup singers. Especially for such an emotionally charged part of the show. With “Duality” now in the books, Anthony Raneri lets everyone know “This is the last one. So whatever energy you have left, give it up here”.
And on a 4 count Bayside pulled the pin on “Devotion and Desire” and the fans exploded into a frenzy. From the back of the venue as you could see in front of the stage were the silhouettes of arms, heads and last chance crowd surfers jumping up in every direction. For song number 19 of the night, the fans in House of Blues had not been louder at any point prior and seemed to follow Bayside’s lead singers instructions to a tee as they left it all out there for their favorite band, as they closed out their 2nd night of their first tour in almost two years.
I’m sure that it was such a high point for Bayside to not only get out on the road again, but to finally be able to celebrate their band’s Anniversary after so many obstacles and delays. But they truly made this show all about the fans. They could have picked all of their hits from their biggest albums and made a setlist out of just that. But instead chose to grab at least one song from each record to appease every fan’s taste as much as they could. For the music fans of Central Florida, to have their favorite venue reopened in such an epic way by one of their favorite bands really makes the concert season at the House of Blues more meaningful.
Setlist
- Already Gone
- They’re Not Horses, They’re Unicorns
- Bury Me
- Boy
- Alcohol and Altar Boys
- Mary
- Sick, Sick, Sick
- Montauk
- Prayers
- Masterpiece
- Numb
- Dont Call Me Peanut (acoustic)
- Pigsty
- Blame It on Bad Luck
- Landing Feet First
- Dear Tragedy
Encore:
- Winter (acoustic)
- Duality
- Devotion and Desire
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