A few weeks ago, I had the honor of witnessing the return of pop-punk legends Motion City Soundtrack at the newly refurbished Webster Hall. The band had broken up back in 2016 after being active for nearly 20 years and decided it was time to hit the road once again. With support from The Sidekicks and Gregory Stovetop, the night was full of high-octane jams and infectious singalongs that had us all feeling alright.
When Motion City took the stage, it was like a switch went off in the crowd. For the openers, you had the typical head nodders and fist pumpers, but Motion City activated the angsty kid within all of us. Opening with their hit "Attractive Today," no one could help themselves from dancing, whether you were throwing down in the mosh pit or just dancing to yourself, the mood was exhilarating, and the excitement was infectious. Ripping through selections from My Dinosaur Life, Commit This To Memory, and I Am The Movie, the band had the entire room in a frenzy jumping in unison and playing human pinball in the pit. Then the synth keys signaled in "My Favorite Accident," and a vortex formed in the middle of the pit. People flew around the dancefloor as if they were weightless, crashing into one another as they shouted along with singer Justin Pierre.
Along with us in the pit was the bassist from Gregory Stovetop. He acted like a camp counselor inciting dances and pits much to the amusement of the members of The Sidekicks. The band played a few more and then walked off for the time old ritual of the pre-encore break. The band re-emerged and went right into "Worker Bee," followed by "LG FUAD" and closing with "The Future Freaks Me Out," which brought us all into a whirlwind of emotions. Getting all teary-eyed for the first, then throwing all cares away for the second and feeling that youthful insecure fear about where we will all be in the next few years. The band put on a fantastic performance and were good little worker bees, they most definitely deserve a gold star.
