Kevin Devine and the Goddamn Band opened up the packed The Front Bottoms headline show to a crowd who seemed relatively disinterested at first. Of course, Kevin is an incredible musician, backed by a great band, and is a master at getting the crowd on side.
The first few songs seem to be met by a smattering of people talking at the bar, but once the building “Cotton Crush” started, there was nothing but silence. That carried on through the weird and wonderful “Redbird” which swelled and crashed for 5 minutes, before they ended with “Brother’s Blood”.
This was yet another great set by one of the most under appreciated and talented musicians in the alt scene at the moment. Hopefully Kevin comes back over soon for some well-needed headline shows.
The Front Bottoms have grown at a phenomenal rate, but them headlining Rescue Rooms to a sold out crowd still feels odd. They kicked things off with “Laugh Til I Cry”, one of the stronger songs on new record Back on Top before moving into “Flashlight” from their first record, which had everybody in the crowd moving and shouting.
Since moving to Fueled by Ramen it would be obvious to assume that their set would be new record heavy, and that the crowd would be oblivious to the old hits, yet TFB managed to play songs as old as “Flying Model Rockets” to huge singalongs.
Everything about their set felt like a celebration of how far they’ve come across the past few years. Although I’ll miss the days of them headlining the small room at the Hare and Hounds, it’s undeniable how much they deserve their new success.
This show consisted of a great set with some rarities (not so common to hear “Swimming Pool” anymore these days), and all the best songs from their new record, to a crowd who loved every single second of it.
