Thursday night, Mayday Parade took a sold-out crowd to emo church – in celebration of the 11th anniversary of their third, and self-titled album.
They brought along Orlando friends and 5-piece pop-punk band Magnolia Park. Recently signed to Epitaph records, Magnolia Park knew how to work a stage with their explosive energy.
Their set consisted of seven songs off their new record Halloween Mixtape, one recent single, and a cover of Fall Out Boy’s “Sugar, We’re Goin Down” which was a perfect choice considering we were in Chicago.
Next on the line-up of pop-punk bands was Real Friends, based in Tinley Park, IL just outside of Chicago. This was their first tour with new vocalist Cody Muraro, who had replaced founding member Dan Lambton in 2021.
The band performed well together, and for new fans, you would never have known this was a new vocalist. Muraro was joined on stage by bassist Kyle Fasel, drummer Brian Blake, and guitarists Eric Haines and David Knox.
Their fourteen-song set was a mix of new songs with Muraro including “Nervous Wreck,” “Remedy for Reality,” and “Storyteller.” They also played old favorites including “Me First,” “Late Nights in My Car,” and “From The Outside.”
In celebration of the 10th anniversary of their self-titled album, Mayday Parade had planned a 2021 tour which had been postponed due to COVID, making this tour in 2022 the 11th anniversary.
Fans did not care about the date specifics, as they were just excited to hear one of their favorite Mayday Parade albums in its entirety, track-by-track.
Vocalist Derek Sanders opened the show alone and in almost complete darkness, as he sang the opening lines of “Oh Well, Oh Well” before being joined on stage by the rest of the band: guitarists Alex Garcia and Brooks Betts, drummer Jake Bundrick, and bassist Jeremy Lenzo.
After performing “No Heroes Allowed” and “When You See My Friends,” Sanders welcomed us to Emo Church, telling the crowd that they had dressed up for us in suits and ties – the opposite of what Mayday Parade normally wears on stage. This change of dress did not hinder them at all, as they still gave an epic performance full of movement and energy.
Things slowed down as a piano was rolled out for Sanders to perform “Stay,” and was brought out again later in the night for “Miserable At Best” – after the band had played through the entirety of their album.
The band chose to play six additional songs off of their other albums, including “Kids of Summer” and “Golden Days” off their most recent release What It Means To Fall Apart, before closing the show with fan-favorites “Jersey” and “Jamie All Over.”
The Mayday Parade 11th Anniversary Tour ends on April 2nd in Boston, MA – see tour dates here.
Photos by Ann Storlie (@ast_lie) & Website
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