Taking Back Tuesday- No band, No rules

For el Cinco De Mayo, while everyone was throwing down tequila shots and margaritas, I decided to go check out Taking Back Tuesday, a monthly Tuesday night gig that surrounds the nostalgia of emo music hosted at The Echoplex. A night comprised of pop-punk playlists and guest DJs, this last one with Sugarcult and Piebald, Taking Back Tuesday packs the venue without a live band performance. Let me emphasize this- CROWDS ROARING, PEOPLE DANCING, AND NO LIVE BAND. At first, this struck me as a strange concept, but then I later realized that the youth today doesn’t really identify with any particular music genres, in fact, you can literally make music without ever learning how to play an instrument. I was outside talking with my fellow smokers, and guys in mid 30s were yelling, “THIS IS THE BEST SHIT EVER!!” and while I thankfully had the Jameson to calm my nerves with said man screaming, I couldn’t help but laugh at how excited people were. It’s inventive, and people absolutely love it.

The frontrunners- Morgan Freed, Barbara Szabo, and T.J. Petracca, have gained a lot of interest as well as notoriety with their new found night. What people may overlook, is that a good chunk of the proceedings actually go towards charitable causes. “Last month Mark Hoppus requested donations go to animal welfare and cruelty prevention organizations, while guest DJ Buddy Nielsen from Senses Fail requested funds be directed to the Trevor Project, a suicide prevention organization for LGBTQ youth. Proceeds from last night’s event are going towards the Harmony Project, which provides musical instruments and lessons to underprivileged youth in Los Angeles.” -LA Times

Photo by: LA Times-Gil Riego Photography

Below is an insider’s perspective of watching a swarm of 20 to 30 year old somethings going insane on stage as well as an uncontrollable audience. By the end of the set, it may have been close to 50 people on stage screaming lyrics and dancing like maniacs. Fun is fun, so hey, who cares?

Call it whatever you want, but the overall engagement of the crowd was something I haven’t seen in a while, and the energy made me a little depressed considering any new number from a band is so short lived. Going to shows pretty frequently, with exception of hip hop numbers, I haven’t seen any live band performance that seethed such vitality so contagious for their crowd like this. People could give a shit about new bands, and even worse, they’ll forget about you in two weeks. Gone are the days when you dropped an album name and people knew exactly what you were talking about. The youth today doesn’t really identify with genres the way they used to, and while this may have not been mine growing up, it was still invigorating to see such camaraderie for a class of music.

Tonight- Taking Back Tuesday allows people to relive the moments when they identified with something more than just a genre, but a culture which revisits the moment when people found commonality in melancholy emo-as-fuck music– and I dig it. Whether it’s Saves the Day, The Used, Taking Back Sunday, or Head Automatica, amongst a plethora of other well known favorites, you can come here and sing like a moron and no one will care. Pretty genius idea if you ask me.

Taking Back Tuesday runs the first tuesday of every month, so if you get a chance go check it out at the EchoPlex June 2nd.

Photos courtesy of Facebook EmonightLA by Gil Riego

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-Ayumi