With six full length albums under their belt, I had no idea where The Lawrence Arms were even going to start with a set list, but they did so admirably, playing from an awesome selection of tracks from over the years. It wasn’t the first time I’d seen them perform live, and although it was many years ago, I’m sure that their performance was stronger and tighter now than previously. Their punk rock music has matured and adapted with the music industry, and as they played their set chronologically, the progression really showed throughout the set.
They opened the show with the title track of A Guided Tour of Chicago, and Chris McCaughan, the lead singer, did a really great job of getting everyone in the crowd to sing along by the chorus, even though it was the first track and many people were a little subdued. As they journeyed through their timeline of tracks, when they were playing from The Greatest Story Ever told, everyone was getting really involved with the singing and dancing, as it seemed to be the most popular album of the set, so the guys took full advantage of hi, and Brendan and Niel had a sort of musical battle throughout one of the tracks. Hearing something like that unfold live is incredible, as it’s something that you can’t ever experience from a recording, so made the live shows super personal and memorable.
Nnenna Freelon
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