The crowd at Riverside Municipal Auditorium came ready to sing Thursday night. Before The Front Bottoms even reached the stage, fans were joining in with the Cranberries’ “Linger” over the house speakers between sets. By the time the headliners appeared, the audience had packed in, carrying that enthusiasm into the songs they had come to hear.
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The New Jersey band brought its “11 Years of Back On Top” tour to Riverside on Sept. 24, with rapper GDP and Cincinnati rock band Foxy Shazam rounding out a bill that offered three distinctly different approaches to working a crowd.
Stephen Day
GDP opened to an auditorium that was already filling nicely. The New Jersey rapper kept his presentation simple, with relatively little stage movement, but proved effective at getting people involved. Several times during his set, he persuaded much of the audience to raise their arms and wave along, drawing a response that opening performers don’t always manage.
Stephen Day
Foxy Shazam provided the evening’s most memorable visual moment. Keyboardist Sky White stood on the barrier rails while his keyboard floated above the audience, supported by fans’ hands. For a band whose theatrical rock sound incorporates piano, trumpet and Eric Nally’s vocals, taking an instrument out over the crowd felt like a fitting introduction to its personality.
Stephen Day
That moment also gave the audience something to participate in beyond singing and cheering. There was now a keyboard to hold up.
Stephen Day
By the time The Front Bottoms took over, it was clear who most of the room had come to see. Fans held signs and sang along from the first song, bringing an immediate familiarity to the performance.
Stephen Day
Centered on singer and guitarist Brian Sella and drummer Mat Uychich, the band’s blend of indie rock and folk punk lends itself to that kind of shared experience. The anniversary tour revisits “Back on Top,” released in 2015, giving longtime listeners another opportunity to gather around music they know well.
Stephen Day
The Front Bottoms’ appeal was easy to hear in those singalongs. Fans had arrived knowing their parts, and Riverside gave them a room full of people ready to sing alongside them.
