Bayside drummer Chris Guglielmo

New Found Glory with Bayside and
Set Your Goals

Revolution, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
April 13, 2009

Review by Katie Condon
Photos by Michelle Feingold

The typical feeling on the first Monday back from Spring Break usually isn’t very pleasant. But South Florida doesn’t follow the rules. The sold-out crowd at Revolution on April 13 was ready to continue partying for New Found Glory, Bayside, and Set Your Goals.

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I merged my way into a line that was waiting for the apocalypse. Little did I know that this was the over-21-drinking queue, and it was longer than the line to get inside. This is the obvious explanation for why I left covered in beer, but I’ll come back to that later.

The diehard fans ensured their front-row, square-foot spot within seconds. I found myself in the middle of the pit, which formed a circle before the curtains opened.

New Found Glory lead vocalist Jordan Pundik

       Pompano Beach natives, Shai Hulud, kicked off the night and set the high energy tone. I suffered from chronic ear damage — not from the amps, but from preteen girls’ screams. Shai Hulud dove into songs such as "Set Your Body Ablaze" and "Misanthropy Pure." Heavy screams and hardcore riffs left the crowd wanting more.

       The six men that form Set Your Goals stepped up to plate with one goal in mind: Play a show that will bring nostalgia to South Florida. The standards were set pretty high, but with vocalists Matt Wilson and Jordan Brown fronting the set, it’s fair to say ‘mission accomplished.’

       SYG encouraged the crowd to sing a capella, while drummer Michael Ambrose kept his steady punk beat to songs such as "Echoes" and "Work in Progress," off their 2006 album, Mutiny!. Although the crowd was all over the floor, the partying song of choice was "Mutiny," the closer. And yes, I’ll admit it, the only way to truly describe their performance was indeed my Facebook status for three days straight: "Set Your Goals stole it, ripped it apart, stomped on it, killed it, brought it back to life, chewed it up, spit it out, killed it some more, stashed it in their tour van, and took it with them."

And yes, I’ll admit it, the only way to truly describe their performance was indeed my Facebook status for three days straight: "Set Your Goals stole it, ripped it apart, stomped on it, killed it, brought it back to life, chewed it up, spit it out, killed it some more, stashed it in their tour van, and took it with them."

Anthony Raneri of Bayside

       The floor switched places with the balcony members. Within the set change, an intoxicated guy professed his love to me within five minutes of meeting (we later became friends).

       Bayside was up next, but they were on a level of their own. They opened with "Hello Shitty" from their 2005 self-titled album. The band didn’t stick to one record, but the songs that touched the crowd were off of 2007’s The Walking Wounded such as "They’re Not Horses, They’re Unicorns" and "Duality."

       Crowd participation and circle pits were at a record high. Vocalist and guitarist Anthony Raneri sounded crisp against the band’s clear sound.

       Once Bayside closed their set with true showmanship, the "crowd" finally consisted of the entire venue. Young and old eyes were on the stage, including my friend from earlier who only had one eye because one of his contacts was knocked out.

Joe Saucedo, bass for Set Your Goals

       New Found Glory, the pop-punk gods, suddenly stole the stage in support of their 2009 album, Not Without a Fight. They were proud to be playing in South Florida — their roots are in Coral Springs, after all. NFG opened with "Truck Stop Blues" off of the new record. From the first chord to the last, there was no way to move through the crowd. Many got a little too aggressive and decided to throw beer and not care where it landed; thus, creating a journalist drenched in alcoholic beverages.

       Fans were into whatever NFG decided to play, but most were there to see some old-school action. The band already had that figured out though. Their set list included "All Downhill from Here" from 2004, "Head on Collision" from 2002, and "Hit or Miss" from 2000.

       After the show, fans decided that there was no way anyone could ever miss another line-up like this, at least, not without a fight.

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