I made it to Warehouse Live during Shai Hulud’s set. Hardcore band, Verse, was on the bill as the opener, but through some mechanism, Shai Hulud was the opener on the tour. I didn’t expect them to be playing, but I was pretty excited when I found out as I waked in. I never was a huge Shai Hulud fan, but I knew they played a rockin’ cover of NOFX’s Linoleum and was doubly excited when they actually played the cover towards the end of their set. Before the cover, listening to their original songs made me realize why I never was a fan. Regardless, they went off and kids were into it. I have turned into that older dude (who stills looks young…kinda) that knows all the words to the cool, older, cover song. Oh well.

Warehouse Live was just like I left it, a solid venue with easy street parking, and even though we racked up another parking ticket, I still enjoy the area and the venue. I have to note that I enjoy it even more since I moved into the loop.

Set Your Goals was slated to play second. This is now the 4th or so time I’ve seen these guys in the past 2 years so I guess if nothing else they are dedicated to their fans and to touring. I still don’t get nor like the dual vocalist deal, especially when they look so funny on stage. I know that is a pretty base and general comment, but seriously they are collectively goofy-looking as well as mutually exclusively goofy-looking. I mean what the hell do they need 2 guys for? It’s just another person to split their earnings with. Its not like they are dealing out incredible multiple harmonies and even then can’t one of the other dudes in the band handle that? 99% of their songs follow a very boring pattern, but one song, “To Be Continued…” is a stand out for me. Its formulaic, but it rises to another level that the majority of these guys’ songs aren’t at. They have a very loyal following as I am starting to recognize their fans from previous shows. I’m not buying into all the recent hype with this group, but they are far from the bottom of the barrel.

New York’s Bayside was up third. I don’t think I remember a tour with Bayside when they weren’t the headliner. Headlining slot or not, they played a great set. Having seen these guys several times as well, this set was not one of their best, but they are consistent, which can be a blessing and a curse. On one hand you know what you are going to get, and on the other, you know what songs to expect. For those like me, that put the most stock in their earlier releases, you are frustrated to hear that same one song they play off Sirens and Condolences. The least they could do if they aren’t going to play more than one song from their debut LP is play a different one song every few tours. I still enjoy jamming a Bayside play list every once In a while, but they have seemed a little repetitive and bland as of late.

New Found Glory headlined the four-band show and I don’t think I have to mention the fact that they put on a great show, because they always do. The last time I saw these guys was at the same venue during a Halloween show where they all cross-dressed for the occasion. They were all wearing gender appropriate clothes this go-round, but that didn’t lessen the impact. NFG is a perfect example of a band that has progressed through the years with style. Sure, everyone loves and remembers their pop-punk past and applaud their live sets for highlighting those older gems, but these guys have also broken out of that generic poppy shell and evolved throughout the years and the various releases and created a sound all their own. Their recent releases Coming Home and their newest, Without A Fight are both great. There are songs from their recent releases that sound like a totally different band when put up against all the Hit or Miss’s, etc, but that is totally a good thing. I’m always glad to welcome back New Found Glory, after all Ian is from Houston and has an Astros tattoo. The fact that he came out wearing a throwback Oiler’s shirt (thank god he was actually wearing a shirt) is a mute point here, because anyone with an Astros tattoo is OK by me.