It’s no real lie that we’ve been big Trio fans at Punktastic over the years. Most of us got hit at the right age by the first few records, and their tour with Bayside sees the band out supporting their finest record in years in ‘My Shame Is True’.
We were hoping that the The Murderburgers would have snuck on to the London show on this tour, but it didn’t matter in the end as Love Zombies were opening tonight and we only manage to arrive just in time for the start of Bayside, keen to see how the new tracks from ‘Cult’ go down.
Punktastic spoke with Bayside earlier in the day to talk about the tour
Tonight Bayside are definitely in the position of having to win over the crowd, and with The Forum delivering its trademark, slightly flat sound, they have their work cut out for them. Fortunately, the Hopeless Records band manage do a fine job. Tracks new and old sound solid, the band seemed stoked through the set and the crowd are well and truly warmed up by the time they leave the stage.
After a not-too-long wait, Alkaline Trio take to the stage at The Forum to a rapturous welcome from their dedicated London fans. The band kick off with an opening salvo that includes ‘Hell Yes’, indicating more than a few hits are on the way.
Trio can be a frustrating live band sometimes, but on this tour they’re both crowd-pleasing and tight, ticking as many boxes as possible over on their Saturday night setlist, making light work of doing the business is front of thousands of fans.
‘Private Eye’ and ‘Radio’ have the honour of closing down proceedings tonight, and as The Forum’s crowd filters out into the night via the merch table, they do so after seeing an Alkaline Trio on fine form.
Words and Photos: Tom Aylott