The early 2000’s emo kids of Fort Collins got the chance to squeeze back into their 15-year-old New Found Glory shirts on Thursday.
New Found Glory rocked The Aggie in light of their 20th anniversary. On this stretch of the tour, they played their 2014 release “Resurrection” and the classic 2002 album “Sticks and Stones.”
“Sticks and Stones” inspired successful pop punk bands like The Story So Far and All Time Low, but no band does it quite like New Found Glory. After two decades and some personnel change, the band still sounds as tight as ever.
“This leg of the tour we were supposed to go around and play all the states and play places that we didn’t play last time, but the last time we were in Colorado was so fucking awesome,” said Chad Gilbert, the lead guitarist. “Everybody said, ‘We’re passing through; we might as well stop in Fort Collins.’”
They opened the show with behind the scenes tour footage from throughout their 20 years as a band. The video was nostalgia-overload for all the ex-scene kids in the audience.
New Found Glory mashed the two albums together, playing the songs in no specific order to keep the audience on their toes. Hearing both albums woven together proved how loyal they have been to their sound and style after all these years.
The songs from”Sticks and Stones” without a doubt stuck out the most. No matter how many albums New Found Glory has come out with or will come out with in the future, nothing beats songs like “Something I Call Personality,” “Singled Out” and “The Story So Far,” which was the best song of the night.
Something seemed a little off toward the end of the show. They had been playing for over an hour and bass player Ian Grushka still had on his shirt. Luckily, he had a wardrobe malfunction causing his shirt to rip, leaving him no choice but to pop it off just like the old days.
This was the second time fan Gabby Chavarria had seen New Found Glory on their 20th anniversary tour.
“It was rad,” said Chavarria. “This is the second time I’ve seen them on this tour and they always do awesome. Jordan’s got the most insane energy ever. They played two full albums; it’s crazy. I was right up front at the barricade. I touched Chad Gilbert; it was the coolest thing that’s ever happened to me.”
Cameron Slane was most excited for the album “Sticks and Stones.”
“It was great,” Slane said. “They played every song from ‘Sticks and Stones.’ That’s what I thought was so amazing. I loved it so much.”
Right before their final and most popular song from the two records, “My Friends Over You,” Gilbert assured the audience that New Found Glory would be back in 2018.
“This tour, at the end of the year, that’s it; that’s the 20 years of this band, but I got to tell you, I feel like it’s only the halfway point of this band. Honestly, I feel like we decided the other day that we’re going to be a band for 50 years if that’s cool. I’m sure we’ll see you guys next year at some point.”
Collegian reporter Jonny Rhein can be reached at entertainment@collegian.com or on Twitter @jonnyrhein.
