As far as co-headline tours go, Modern Baseball and Into It. Over It. together is pretty high up the list of top double shows for 2015. After a run in Europe, the tour finally reaches the UK, with the bands set to play multiple sold out shows, including tonightâs at Tufnell Park.
The Dome is slowly becoming an established stomping ground for many indie-punk and emo bands passing through the capital. The talent on show tonight is just one collection of bands to relish that will be appearing at the venue in the coming months.
Opening tonightâs proceedings are Minnesotaâs math rockers Tiny Moving Parts. Getting onto the stage just past 8, the three piece perform a bold and impressive set, with Dylan Mattheisen going from calm to madness in split seconds â in a moment simple strums are twisted and become intricate fiddling on the fret board. Showing a skillset of bubbly math rock punched with punk chords, Tiny Moving Pieces garner a great response from the crowd doing no harm at all to their reputation on their London debut. Expect them on their own UK tour soon.
After a short break, Into It. Over It. comes on, solo at first. âAnchorâ is a nice opener, performed to a near quiet venue, but itâs during the second song âEmbracing Factsâ that the talents of Evan Weiss and his crew become evident. Performing with perfect tightness, the song brings the fans of album âProperâ together, drawn by the bandâs ability to make the song sound even better live. Mixing the set between latest album âIntersectionsâ and âProperâ, itâs clear from the audience reaction that the latter gets the better reception, and who would be surprised? âConnecticut Stepsâ reminds us of Weissâ beautiful ability to grab a room with his lyrics and make it feel sorrow with him. He and the band donât manage to sway over the whole room though, and although not performing in a bad way by any stretch of the imagination, itâs clear though that the majority of the crowd is not here for Weissâ soft-emo rock. No harm done, but on another night, with more time, Into It. Over It. would be able to own the room with greater conviction.
The instant obviousness the second that Modern Baseball take to the stage is quite overwhelming at first. You can just see the audience has been itching all night to pop, jig and dance to the Pennsylvanians infectious emo-pop-punk. Ripping through a set containing all the hits from last yearâs âYouâre Gunna Miss It Allâ, the band grin throughout, feeding off the crowdâs bursting boarding-teen energy. âBroken Cash Machineâ, âTears Over Beersâ and âGoing to Bed Nowâ, along with, well, every song of the set highlight a band going from strength to strength.
MBâs lyrics generally concern rambling thoughts on college, beer and girls, ultimately concluding on the subject of wasted times. But tonightâs performance is far from being considered wasted time by anyone present. Goading each other on, and effortlessly taking it in turns to lead the vocals, Lukens, Ewald and Farmer (along with Huber on drums) make the show feel almost like a homecoming, with crowd surfers riding the good times, flooding the stage with bodies.
Leading the pack in the genre of emo-punk twee college fun, MB can be very confident that they have a loyal following in the UK, demonstrated by crowds and performances like tonight.
As the music draws to an end, itâs great to have seen three bands all perform at their best. With each representing different elements within the emo-punk scene, one appreciates being able to see such fresh talent all under one roof, all in one night. May the Dome and triple whammyâs like this long continue.