20 years of a band being together is an enormous milestone. Bands who stay together for that length of time watch each grow over time, see their bandmates marry, watching their families grow, and sometimes share in the sadness of watching family members pass. Bands who stay together this long bond and become family. New Found Glory is one of those bands. Based out of Coral Springs, FL all of the members have been together since 1997 and created 10 studio albums, 1 live album, 2 EPs, and 4 cover albums plus numerous tours over and over again. Though the pandemic put this tour on hold from last year to celebrate the release of their recent album Forever + Ever x Infinity, the band was ready to hit the road for the Pop Punk’s Still Not Dead Tour. Sadly, Simple Plan made the decision to drop off the tour. Instead, New Found Glory’s friends in Less Than Jake were happy to come aboard. The last time they toured with Less Than Jake was in 2003. And these two bands from Florida were making a home stop at House of Blues Orlando and fortunately, I was there to see it.
House of Blues Orlando resides at Disney Springs, which is a large marketplace and restaurant area in Lake Buena Vista. After parking and making my walk to the venue, I acquired my photo pass and ticket and made my way inside. I had last stepped into this venue in March 2020 to photograph and review Overkill. House of Blues Orlando is like a second home to me. I’ve seen so many shows at this venue and photographed many more. It was a feeling of joy to step back inside once again and see the House of Blues Orlando staff and security that I’ve befriended over the past 5 years. I prepped my gear waiting for the first band to get onstage. It was a sold-out show that night and you could feel the buzz in the air on live music being back.
The first band up was LØLØ. The artist from Toronto, Canada came to the stage all smiles with her band. I watched the fans groove with her music during her performance. I’d describe it as upbeat with some pop tones and rhythms. The band matched her energy as she performed on stage. LØLØ was definitely a fun performance and she kept the fans very entertained during her set. She said she wanted to do something familiar for the crowd to sing along to so she performed “Teenage Dirtbag” by Wheatus. The crowd definitely loved that and that song was a perfect fit for her. I felt the faster-paced songs suited her better. LØLØ mentioned she would have a new EP coming out this November. You can find her music and merch over at her website HERE.
LØLØ’s setlist from that night was:
- death wish
- lonely & pathetic
- die without u
- Hate u
- Teenage Dirtbag (by Wheatus)
- u look stupid
- Hurt Less
Following them was Hot Mulligan. The band from Lansing, MI defines themselves as pop-punk and have released 4 EPs and two studio albums under No Sleep Records. Their most recent album is titled You’ll Be Fine. The band consists of Tades Sanville (vocals), Ryan Malicsi (lead guitar), Chris Freeman (rhythm guitar), and Brandon Blakeley (drums).
Unlike LØLØ, Hot Mulligan came out guns blazing with a true punk sound and high frantic energy. Tades blared into the microphone with his vocals, bouncing around the stage as fast as he could. Ryan and Chris matched his pace through both their guitar playing and movements. Brandon was a monster behind the drumset rapping out beats and pushing the pace faster as the set went on. I was floored by the band’s frantic pace through their songs and how much the crowd enjoyed it. Though I wasn’t a fan of Tades’ vocal performance that came across more of screaming than singing to me. Still, they absolutely had the crowd loving their performance. Tades did make me laugh when he asked the crowd, “Who loves henati?!” Though they may not have won me over, I felt they were a good fit music-wise for the tour. You can find their music and merch HERE.
Next up to the stage was Less Than Jake from Gainesville, FL. The band was formed back in 1992 and is considered a ska-punk band from their use of saxophones and trombones in their music. The band released their first album in 1995 and went on to release 8 more albums. Their most recent album Silver Linings was released in 2020. Less Than Jake consists of Chris DeMakes (vocals, guitar), Roger Lima (bass, vocals), Buddy Schaub (trombone), Peter Wasilewski (saxophone), and Matt Yonker (drums).
The moment the band stepped out on stage the crowd was insane. It’s no surprise as Less Than Jake is looked at as one of Orlando’s own as they’ve played here so often. I was thrilled to finally photograph and see them live for the first time. Everyone in the band looked so happy to be on stage at House of Blues Orlando and they jumped into play right away with “Automatic” from the 1996 album Losing Streak. It’s a fun, high-energy song, that immediately had the crowd dancing, moving, and some even moshing. Chris was decked out in a denim jacket with the sleeves ripped off and pins on it. It reminded me of my own denim jacket that I used to collect my pins on. Roger took over on vocals with the next song “Lie to Me” from 2020’s Silver Linings. Chris jumped back over on vocals to one of their funnier songs “Johnny Quest Thinks We’re Sellouts” also from Losing Streak. That’s truly a fun song of the band poking fun of people who called them sellouts because of their commercial success.
Less Than Jake made their performance into a party for the fans. The music alone had people singing and moving, but then the band started throwing out red balloons for everyone to knock around into the air and back towards the band. The band members promptly threw them back to the fans to have fun with. Fans were taking them and some even posing for selfies with the balloons as they were labeled with Less Than Jake in white lettering. Then they sprayed the fans down with toilet paper from multiple handheld machines that engulfed the fans. It was hilarious and the crowd loved every minute. Buddy and Peter were having fun on stage getting the crowd amped up by waving at them to move or clap when they weren’t playing. Chris and Roger were having a blast performing and chatting with the crowd in between some songs. Chris mentioned how thrilled they were to be performing with their friends in New Found Glory again. And Matt was definitely having fun behind the drumkit totally into his beats.
The setlist was a great selection of songs that night including the ever-popular “The Science of Selling Yourself Short” and “Plastic Cup Politics” from 2003 Anthem. And it wouldn’t be a Less Than Jake show if they didn’t play some homage to their hometown, which they did in “Gainseville Rock City” from the 2000 Borders & Boundaries. Overall it was an absolutely fun and fantastic performance from Less Than Jake that night. I only wished they had time to perform more songs that evening. You can find their music and merch at their website HERE. Their setlist from that night was:
- Automatic
- Lie to Me
- Johnny Quest Thinks We’re Sellouts
- Last One Out of Liberty City
- Look What Happened
- The Science of Selling Yourself Short
- The High Cost of Low Living
- My Very Own Flag
- Plastic Cup Politics
- Gainesville Rock City
- All My Best Friends are Metalheads
Last, and certainly never least, New Found Glory was coming up. Jordan Pundik (vocals), Chad Gilbert (guitar), Ian Grushka (bass), and Cyrus Bolooki (drums) had their stage was setup like a carnival with two booths one saying “Himalaya” and the other “Graviton”. There were lights around both signs like you expect to see at a carnival and the backdrop had the words “New Found Glory” decked out in carnival lights. The setting is from the album cover of the deluxe edition of Forever + Ever x Infinity which is titled Forever + Ever x Infinity…And Beyond!!! When the lights dimmed the speakers kicked out “Everybody” by The Backstreet Boys that got the crowd singing along until New Found Glory stepped out on stage and the crowd went wild. Along with them was Martin Stewart (guitar) as a touring musician. Jordan said Martin had to learn 50 songs and picked them up all so well and gave Martin major kudos touring with them.
They kicked it off with “Understatement” from 2002 Sticks and Stones. It’s a great upbeat song to immediately get the crowd engaged with the music. They followed it up with “Truth of My Youth” from 2004 Catalyst. The song has catchy guitar riffs and drumbeats throughout and had the crowd bouncing. But for me, the next song was an unexpected surprise. As I mentioned before, New Found Glory has 4 cover albums they released in their career. And that night they decided it would be fun to include some of those covers in their set. So when the first notes from “King of Wishful Thinking” by Go West was played, I was thrilled. I admit, it’s a really catchy tune that I adore, and I may have been singing it while photographing in the pit. Their version appears on their From the Screen to Your Stereo Part II from 2007.
From that point on it was a night of rock, fun, and laughs. New Found Glory had LØLØ come out to perform “Vicious Love” from 2014’s Resurrection. They performed the cover of “Kiss Me” from Sixpence None The Richer, another track from From the Screen to Your Stereo Part II. And included a set full of great songs including “Selfless” also from Resurrection, “Nothing to Say” from 2020 Forever + Ever x Infinity, and “Forget My Name” from Sticks and Stones. Jordan that night had a boot on his left foot covered in LED lights. Chad explained that Jordan broke his foot on the tour and he always seemed to get hurt as they toured. But, the number of shows they ever canceled from someone getting hurt was 0! Jordan talked about how thrilled they were to be back in their home state and a huge thank you to Less Than Jake for stepping up to fill in when Simple Plan backed out. Jordan also mentioned they were performing all of the songs from their self-titled album on the following night at House of Blues Orlando because it was the album’s 20th anniversary. I wish I had covered that show too!
Throughout the show, Jordan was completely energetic and sounded amazing. Chad played his heart out and engaged with the fans often as he did. Ian was having so much fun as he played and made faces at the fans. He even stopped and took a moment to make a face at me so I could grab a picture of it. I always love it when an artist engages me as I photograph. Cyrus was so into his playing and even gave me a direct look over as I was photographing. Martin stayed off to the left of the stage playing all night in the background.
After they finished their main set, there was a snow-like backdrop on the stage. And then Anna’s voice from Frozen came over the loudspeaker as she was searching for Elsa. That’s when Jordan stepped out on stage in a ice-blue dress with a long blonde wig, looking like Elsa. I busted out laughing and applauded. I thought for a moment they really weren’t going to do it, were they? And yep, they did. New Found Glory performed their cover of “Let It Go” that appeared on their From the Screen to Your Stereo 3. And honestly, it was a bad-ass rendition of the song. Jordan quickly hopped off stage to get out of the dress and came back on for the band to wrap up the night with “It Never Snows in Florida” from their 1999 Nothing Gold Can Stay and “My Friends Over You” from Sticks and Stones. Find all of New Found Glory’s music and merch HERE. Their setlist that night was:
- Understatement
- Truth of My Youth
- King of Wishful Thinking (Go West cover)
- Greatest of All Time
- All Downhill From Here
- Something I Call Personality
- Boy Crazy
- Selfless
- Vicious Love (performed with LØLØ)
- Dressed To Kill
- Kiss Me (Sixpence None The Richer cover)
- Failure’s Not Flattering
- Nothing to Say
- Hit or Miss
- Truck Stop Blues
- Head On Collision
- Forget My Name
Encore:
- Let It Go (Kristen Anderson-Lopez & Robert Lopez cover from Frozen)
- It Never Snows in Florida
- My Friends Over You
Overall, this was a great show and Less Than Jake and New Found Glory truly made it into something glorious. These are two bands that need to tour more often together. 2022 will be 25 years New Found Glory has been together as a band. Hopefully, they’ll jump back on the road for another tour to celebrate their anniversary. And if they do, I definitely won’t miss that show and you shouldn’t either.
Be the first to comment