Live Review: Modern Baseball @ The 1865, Southampton UK
The night begins on an upbeat note for pop-punk outfit Modern Baseball as they grace the stage at The 1865. ‘Wedding Singer’ is just the beginning of a series of tracks played from the Philadelphia-natives third and latest LP Holy Ghost. ‘Note to Self’ and ‘Mass’ shortly follow, a strong and buoyant introduction to the set.
The guitars come through the sound system as crisply as possible, a bright tone among the otherwise signature gloomy lyrics that Modern Baseball juxtaposes to perfection. Though guitarist and singer Brendan Lukens is not touring with the band for the European dates due to mental health reasons, vocals from his bandmates and supports Thin Lips and The Superweaks fill his absence.
The night’s set is split in half by a slow acoustic section by guitarist and vocalist Jake Ewald. He plays the chilled out Sports tracks ‘Cooke’ and ‘Coals’, as well as a cover of The Weakerthans’ ‘Reconstruction Site’. The full band makes their way back after the acoustic songs, and a girl is pulled from the crowd to sing ‘The Weekend’ on-stage that quickly becomes one massive crowd sing-along. After, Chris Baglivo from The Superweaks takes over the vocals for the popular ‘Rock Bottom’.
Modern Baseball’s ‘average, nerdy guys in a rock band’ persona translates the same in person, their comments in between songs awkward but loveable. It seems to bring them down to an approachable and relatable level that results in an entire night of a very inclusive joyous celebration as opposed to a bunch of ‘rock stars’ up on stage just singing at the crowd.
The evening comes slowly to a close with Thin Lips’ Chrissy Tashjian on ‘Apple Cider, I Don’t Mind’ and ‘Just Another Face’. Sean Huber sings ‘Your Graduation’, the audience screaming every word to the anthem-ic break-up song, before the band concludes the night with a cover of The Killers ‘When You Were Young’, a solid and nostalgic finish.
Listen Here:
