the-menzingers-15

The Menzingers, mewithoutYou, Pianos Become the Teeth and Restorations played Webster Hall (pics, review)

photos by Amanda Hatfield, words by Andrew Sacher

The Menzingers / Pianos Become the Teeth / Restorations
The Menzingers
Pianos Become the Teeth
Restorations

The stacked tour of The Menzingers, mewithoutYou, Pianos Become the Teeth and Restorations hit NYC at Webster Hall on Friday (11/27). It was the final date of the tour, and all the bands mentioned on stage how much they had been loving it. Pianos singer Kyle Durfey said of his band, “I think I speak for the five of us when I say we could tour with these three bands for the rest of our lives.”

The venue was still gradually filling up as Restorations abruptly took the stage for their very early 6:15 set time, going right into “Separate Songs” without so much as a “hello” or anything. Each band on this bill was distinctly different from every other, and with Restorations’ post-rock-infected heartland rock, they managed to occupy the exact middle ground between The Menzingers and Pianos Become the Teeth. They sounded awesome as always, with a set mostly pulled from last year’s LP3 (but with a few older ones too). It was a great start to a night that just kept getting better.

Pianos Become the Teeth followed, with the most dead-serious set of the night. Kyle’s sincerity is always disarming, and the band continue to be one of the most intense live bands on the post-hardcore circuit (thanks in no small part to the inhuman ability of drummer David Haik). It’s not often you’ll see a huge chunk of the crowd screaming their lungs out for the second band on a four-band bill, especially one who finished their set well before 8 PM, but that’s exactly what happened for Pianos Become the Teeth. They’re the kind of band that elicits fiercely emotional reactions from their fans at just about every show.

mewithoutYou
mewithoutYou

Next was mewithoutYou, whose career began something of a second life this year thanks to their great new album Pale Horses. They released two post-hardcore classics before the rest of the bill commercially released even one song, yet they fit in seamlessly with the other three bands. It seems entirely possible that a portion of the crowd gravitated to mewithoutYou more recently, and Pale Horses is a fine entry point to the band. They focused most heavily on that album, but if you did come hoping for older stuff you got plenty of that too. “Torches Together,” “Messes of Men,” “Gentlemen” and “Son of a Widow” were all played and sounded great next to the new songs. Not many bands can smoothly transition from acoustic guitars and accordions to distorted guitars and screaming, but mewithoutYou seem to pull it off effortlessly.

The Menzingers
The Menzingers

And finally it was The Menzingers. The first three bands were the more difficult/ambitious bands of the night, but The Menzingers bring total fun. Beers were flying, bodies were endlessly moving, and the crowd never stopped screaming. The band members were in great spirits too, smiling the whole time and loading their set with favorites like “Good Things,” “Gates,” “The Obituaries,” “I Don’t Wanna Be An Asshole Anymore,” “In Remission,” and so many more. As killer of an end to the night as you could ask for.

The tour is over, but The Menzingers will play their holiday show in Scranton with Tigers Jaw and more this December. More pictures from Webster Hall, below…

Restorations

Restorations

Restorations

Restorations

Restorations

Restorations

Restorations

Restorations

Restorations

Restorations

Restorations

Restorations

Restorations

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Restorations

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Restorations

Restorations

Pianos Become the Teeth

Pianos Become the Teeth

Pianos Become the Teeth

Pianos Become the Teeth

Pianos Become the Teeth

Pianos Become the Teeth

Pianos Become the Teeth

Pianos Become the Teeth

Pianos Become the Teeth

Pianos Become the Teeth

Pianos Become the Teeth

Pianos Become the Teeth

Pianos Become the Teeth

Pianos Become the Teeth

Pianos Become the Teeth

Pianos Become the Teeth

Pianos Become the Teeth

Pianos Become the Teeth

Pianos Become the Teeth

Pianos Become the Teeth

Pianos Become the Teeth

Pianos Become the Teeth

Pianos Become the Teeth

Pianos Become the Teeth

Pianos Become the Teeth

Pianos Become the Teeth

Pianos Become the Teeth

Pianos Become the Teeth

Pianos Become the Teeth

Pianos Become the Teeth

mewithoutYou

mewithoutYou

mewithoutYou

mewithoutYou

mewithoutYou

mewithoutYou

mewithoutYou

mewithoutYou

mewithoutYou

mewithoutYou

mewithoutYou

mewithoutYou

mewithoutYou

mewithoutYou

mewithoutYou

mewithoutYou

mewithoutYou

mewithoutYou

mewithoutYou

mewithoutYou

mewithoutYou

mewithoutYou

mewithoutYou

mewithoutYou

mewithoutYou

mewithoutYou

mewithoutYou

mewithoutYou

The Menzingers

The Menzingers

The Menzingers

The Menzingers

The Menzingers

The Menzingers

The Menzingers

The Menzingers

The Menzingers

The Menzingers

The Menzingers

The Menzingers

The Menzingers

The Menzingers

The Menzingers

The Menzingers

The Menzingers

The Menzingers

The Menzingers

The Menzingers

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The Menzingers

The Menzingers

The Menzingers

The Menzingers