New Found Glory at House of Blues

Close your eyes and picture that outrageous house party scene filmed for every teen movie. That’s what it felt like last night on Lansdowne Street. New Found Glory (NFG) is headlining a tour, celebrating the 10th anniversary of their first, self-titled record with road pals: Saves The Day, Hellogoodbye and Fireworks. With a set list of songs, hand picked to cover a decade of work, New Found Glory was sure to please their long time fans at their House of Blues gig. And they probably do this every city, but NFG named Boston their favorite stop on the tour so far – with the crowd just as energized and out of control as the band themselves.

Matt, PJ and Josh were in the crowd, supporting opening band, Fireworks. As a group, they had this to say, “It’s been incredible so far. We expect a good show and we’re stoked to be here. The House of Blues in Boston is the best!” They continued, “New Found Glory is great, we’ve liked them for a long time, so we’re really excited to see what they come up with tonight.” The supporting bands on this tour kept the concert goers engaged, while the crowd surfing kept the House of Blues security staff on their toes.

Andrea, from Bridgewater, has seen the guys of New Found Glory plenty of times. “I’ve been going to see them every year, since I was 13. [Tickets] are usually my birthday or Christmas present. They’re awesome and they do a really good show. They even did a “sorry we suck” show last time. You know, sorry we stopped playing good, old songs. When they play the old songs, it’s a lot of fun.” Her friend Becky from Fall River added, “I’ve been listening to them since high school too and I go see them whenever I can. I think the only time they were bad was…Catalyst.” Kim (also from Fall River) interjected, “With Catalyst, they tried to do something different, but it didn’t really work. It was by far their worst CD. Some of those songs were pretty good, but as a follow-up to their big hit and it just didn’t fit. Coming Home was way different than anything else and I loved it – their grown-up CD.”

Number one fan, Amanda from Milford, was super excited to share her thoughts on the band, “They are one of my top two favorite bands of all time, only rivaled by Violent Femmes. I’ve been to about seven of their shows.” Amanda even included a NFG history lesson, “They originated in Florida, in the Orange County area. They’ve been around since 1998. They are pop-punk all the way. Their shows are outrageous.” She went on to say, “Jordan [Pundik] has A.D.D. on stage and it’s one of the greatest things you’ll ever see. You think he’s going to fall down and smash his face half the time. If he did that, I would probably ask him to divorce his wife and marry me.” She continued, “Ian [Grushka] is 180 pounds of man. He’s the best bassist on the pop-punk scene. If you ever see them live, you’ll probably pee yourself laughing, because they’re idiots, but they’re awesome.”

More love poured from NFG fans, like front row enthusiast, Tatiana. This Shrewbury native shared, “I have to say I love their lyrics. I’m a big lyrics fan. I listen to songs, memorize lyrics and write them down. I absolutely love these guys.”

Examiner.com also interviewed a fellow photographer friend at last night’s show. Ladies and gentlemen, Dave Green: “So, there I was for Saves The Day, and I was loving it. It was amazing. It was everything I wanted. I didn’t know some of the songs because they were too old for me, because I’m old. Wait, that doesn’t make sense. Let me revise. I’m too old to be young. And there I was...” True words of wisdom, folks. Dave on NFG, “I love them because they are 'fantas-inating'. I love Sticks and Stones. It’s one of my favorite albums. I love the new one. I’m listening to it a lot.” Thank you, Dave.

Be sure to check out photos in mini-video clips from last night's crazy-fun show in Boston in the slideshow below.