As I got in line an hour and a half early for The Front Bottoms concert at Terminal 5 (as is tradition for general admission) a cloud of angst and the apparent presence of teenagers who used to shop at Hot Topic when they were in middle school hit me. My prior intuition that the night would be filled with crowd surfers kicking me in the face and moshers accidentally pulling me into the ring was confirmed; energy was high and I could feel the breakups in the air. There is no clear way to describe the style of The Front Bottoms, some might say they are a mix of pop punk and indie. iTunes declares the band as, “alternative,” but what else do you call a band from New Jersey whose lead singer, Brian Sella, is on the fence of singing and talking lyrics out loud to the tune of a guitar, drums, a tambourine, and most eclectic, a cowbell? Some of their most notable, profound lyrics include, “I am washing my hair with soap,” (Bathtub) “I hope your quarters go to laundry,” (Plastic Flowers) and the most emotional, “You know what I thinks really sad? I know how really sad you are,” (Au Revoir). I was in store for the beautiful, riveting musical stylings of a band who has perfected the art of making a song both laughable and heart wrenching.

Bad Bad Hats was the first of two opening bands playing that night. They are a small band from Minneapolis who radiate folky vibes that remind one of that one time they went down South, like to Pennsylvania, and stopped at a diner for breakfast where the floors were made of black and white tiles and the servers weren’t paid enough. The lead singer and guitar player, Kerry Alexander, was a modern Janis Joplin, enchanting the crowd with her sweet, playful voice and underwhelming, harmless jokes. She was a true gentle, free spirit as she introduced the next song, “Up next is a song called Joseph for all the Joseph’s out there.” At another point during the show she advertised the band’s merch booth, “We have CDs at our merch stand and vinyl if you prefer bigger CDs.” The drummer seemed like a barista from Williamsburg who couldn’t commit to a relationship because he was just trying to figure stuff out right now while the bass player gave off serious Park Slope dad vibes. Though the lead singer cracked jokes, there was minimal interaction with the audience and the band had an overall underwhelming stage presence. The lead singer’s outfit was a good embodiment of their music- a plain yellow t-shirt and black high waisted mom jeans. The band’s energy started picking up in the middle of their set with good drum beats and semi-intense guitar riffs. One of their songs, called Super America, was about a supermarket the lead singer used to buy snacks in when she was feeling down, as she told us in her country accent, “Sometimes you just need to sit on your couch in a comfortable pant with a snack and your sorrows.” The Bad Bad Hats is a band made up of three friends trying to make music and have jam sessions together, somehow they just ended up opening up for a band on a real tour. Appropriately, they ended their set with a power pose of each member flexing their biceps for the crowd after which the lead singer and one of the other members high fived.

The second opening band, Basement, was much more intense and lively than their predecessors. Basement is made up of five guys from England who are a bit more emblematic of the vibe that The Front Bottoms give off. There was more energy throughout the set as the guys jumped around and used the entire stage space. The lead singer was louder than the one from Bad Bad Hats and their guitar riffs were more intense and sped up. As an opening band Basement was more efficient in getting the crowd pumped and excited for The Front Bottoms, especially with the angst that Basement paralleled from The Front Bottoms. This was the point in the night where the crowd started to crowd surf and push people towards the front of the stage, which made it difficult to enjoy one’s (nonexistent) personal space. Admittedly The Front Bottoms’ Going Grey Tour did not feature much diversity in opening acts, neither musically or demographically. In the bands’ prior Champagne Jam, there were magicians, comedians, country singers, and rap artists opening up for them.

Basement opening up for The Front Bottoms; photo by Chelsea Pineda.

When The Front Bottoms were up to perform they got onto the stage to the background music of seagulls on a beach with waves crashing onto the shore. The band successfully created a beachy vibe with two screens on both sides of the stage projecting images of an ocean in order to represent their new album, Going Grey. Though the screens symbolized their new album, their past concerts had had much better props around the stage that represented the band’s carefree, comedic style, including a giant inflatable snowman one year. The stage did, however, have a couch in the middle of it which created a homy vibe as the opening bands and stage crew sat on the couch during the show listening to The Front Bottoms play. The lighting also made the show intimate, with pinks, reds, and yellows dominating the stage. The band did a good job of balancing their setlist with both songs from their new album, like You Used To Say (Holy F**k) and Bae, and classic fan favorites from their much older albums, like Twin Size Mattress and Swimming Pool. As a small band from New Jersey, The Front Bottoms are skilled at being personable and connecting with their crowd on a more intimate level. They dedicated songs to fans they met on the line earlier in the day, they promoted their next show, and Brian Sella shared how he had been to the very first Terminal 5 show ever performed when the venue opened up. Sella also commented on how the Terminal 5 show was the biggest show the band has played to date and that the Going Grey tour was the band’s favorite tour that they have done. The band showed that though they may have gained a wider, angstier fan base, they are still the same humble, down to earth band they were three years ago. While the crowd was full of positive energy and intensity during more hardcore songs through their moshing, crowd surfing, and jumping, they also knew when to settle down during more calm, intimate songs. There is a clear connection between the band and their fans when the fans are physically receptive of what the band is performing.

The Front Bottoms on their Going Grey tour.

Once the show was near to a close, The Front Bottoms did an encore of three songs, one more song than the usual two. After the first song, Sella asked the crowd, “Wanna hear something in particular?” This is unusual as bands usually have their encore set in stone during rehearsal before the actual show, but The Front Bottoms are still a small enough band to have that connection with their fans at their shows. A fan favorite, Flashlight, was picked as it was the loudest request from the crowd. Though the last song of the encore went with the beach theme, since it was not one of the more popular songs the show did not end with the usual bang. Once the band was off the stage the show ended with the same calming beach scene on the projectors and wave music that it started with- the same music that the album Going Grey begins and ends with. Fans could see Brian Sella at the back of the stage waiting for the music and projector to shut off and the concert to finally end, basking in the sight of sweaty teens who have followed his band for years.

Brian Sella; photo by Chelsea Pineda.