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| Jordan Pundik - Vocals O2 Academy Islington 24/08/2015 |
The Pop-Punk legends erupted onto the stage with Selfless, from their 2014 album Resurrection, which set the relentless pace
for the work out that they were going to pull the crowd through.
But these guys didn’t get their legendary status for
nothing. They kept that fast and sweaty pace through the epic 23-song set which
encompassed just a few of the highlights of their extensive career.
And that’s just one of my favourite things about New Found
Glory. They can rock out a song from an album released just last year like Selfless, The Worst Person and Vicious Love (their rereleased single)
but they can also offer 00’s classics like Sincerely
Me, Dressed to Kill and of course My
Friends Over You and absolutely nail that too.
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| Ian Grushka - Bass Guitar O2 Academy Islington 24/08/2015 |
It’s the benefit of having a tight band who have been making
music for nearly 20 years and, in 8 studio albums, have never wavered in
recording just exactly who they are just because they’re the best at it.
Drummer Cyrus Bolooki mentioned the length of New Fond Glory's exceptional career when he faced the Louder Now Grab Bag. You can read that here!
And when they’re bored of playing the songs that they’ve
written themselves over the past two decades, they can belt out a pretty
impressive cover as well. Tonight they played The Goo Goo Doll’s Iris and it was spectacular. (The night
after, also in Islington, they played Kiss
Me by Sixpence None The Richer. I imagine that was also incredible seen as
the recorded version has always been a favourite.)
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| Jordan Pundik - Vocals O2 Academy Islington 24/08/2015 |
This was the first time I had seen New Found Glory for a
really long time and it was great to see that the exit of their guitarist Steve
Klein in 2013 has had no detrimental effect on their live performance. It’s extraordinary
to see how they have adapted so well to being a quartet. Those classics are
still as good as ever.
It didn’t take long before Jordan Pundik (vocals) was up
against the barrier singing directly into the faces of the crowd, running the
length of the pit high-fiving the fans in the front row. It’s always nice to
see the great bands spending quality time in the crowd.
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| Chad Gilbert - Guitar O2 Academy Islington 24/08/2015 |
“This doesn’t feel like an actual gig,” adds Chad Gilbert
(guitar) from the stage, “This feels like a private party with people we all
have mutual respect for.” He was 100% right.
The energy tonight was absolutely ferocious, with New Found
Glory on top form and looking primed for Reading and Leeds this weekend. So if
you’re heading over there then make sure you check them out on the Lock-Up
stage (Friday at Reading and Saturday at Leeds.)
And if you’re going to Reading…SEE YOU THERE!
