Motion City Soundtrack
with The Matches, The Format, Men Women & Children
Philadelphia, PA • March 18, 2006
Brittany Sturges
“Motion City Soundtrack 2”
As I walked the 12 blocks from the bus stop to the Theater of the Living Arts (TLA), I noticed swarms of young emo kids, adorning their best band t-shirts and blue jeans. They, like me, were heading to see Motion City Soundtrack perform. Yet still, their number was quite intimidating.
When I got there, the line was already wrapped around the corner. Doors opened 45 minutes earlier than expected, and the crowd rushed to be directly in front of the stage. At 6:45, Men Women & Children came out and played a six-song set.
The Matches followed, giving what was one of the best performances I’ve ever seen. I had heard some of their stuff before, but to hear them live –well, I was in awe. Lead singer Shawn Harris, dressed in striped pants, a vest and top hat, gave quite an energetic performance. I spotted the first crowd surfer at some point during the set. Later, as The Format set up their equipment, Shawn and Jon mingled with the audience, taking pictures and hanging out near the back. I got to talk to them for a few minutes – one of the highlights for me – they were incredibly sweet.
The Format played at 8:15; I found myself checking my watch. They gave a mediocre performance and their stuff was a bit too mellow for me. They finished at 9, and the crowd sat on the floor, waiting for the main event.
Finally, at 9:30, Motion City Soundtrack took the stage and the crowd started to push to the front. After opening with “Attractive Today,” lead singer Justin Pierre asked the audience to help out fallen moshers to ensure everyone a good and safe experience. They played crowd favorites, like “Make-Out Kids,” “Capital H,” “Autographs and Apologies,” “Everything is Alright,” and their new single, “Hold Me Down.”
In between songs, Justin talked to the audience, cracking jokes and what not. At one point, he stopped and came to the defense of one of the previous performers. “I was standing in the back, when three kids started making fun of someone’s pants…” One of the kids, still in the audience, admitted proudly that he was still there – and Justin decided to give him a taste of his own medicine. “I know where you got your pants – your mom… You wanna dish it out? I’ll dish it right back.” It was nice to see him stand up for his fellow performer and call the kid out on his actions.
Motion City Soundtrack left the stage at 10:20, to the crowd’s horror, “forgetting” to play “The Future Freaks Me Out.” The crowd started chanting and to their delight, MCS came back out to play their encore. Asking the crowd to sing along and help them out, MCS started playing and the audience went crazy. Everyone was screaming the lyrics at the top of their lungs and even the security was nodding their heads.
Overall, an amazing show. The guys of MCS never cease to amaze me when they perform. I walked back to the bus stop, through the flocks of teens, humming “The Future Freaks Me Out” (I’ve always loved that song, but still…)
And now, I can’t get it out of my head. But it’s okay with me, because everything is alright.
Motion City Soundtrack: http://www.motioncitysoundtrack.com ◼
