After going on hiatus following their So Long, Farewell Tour in 2016, Motion City Soundtrack made their highly anticipated return to NYC in 2020. At a sold-out night at Webster Hall on January 8th, the crowd packed in to sing along to a slew of the Minneapolis rockers’ greatest hits and deeper cuts. (For what it’s worth, the setlist drew entirely from the band’s first four studio albums, I Am the Movie, Commit This to Memory, Even If It Kills Me and My Dinosaur Life.) Here are five moments that stood out from the gig:
The Perfect Opening 1-2 Punch
Motion City Soundtrack’s pop-punk classic record Commit This to Memory is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year, so it was fitting and powerful for the band to open the set with the first two tracks off that album in order. From the jangly beginning guitar riff of “Attractive Today” to the anthemic singalongs of “Everything Is Alright”, the band got the crowd moving from the get-go. As the fans bounced along to these high-energy cuts, the floor buckled with each collective jump — setting a high bar for the evening.
The Crowd Participation
From the moment Motion City Soundtrack emerged onstage, it was clear there were plenty of die-hard fans in the crowd ready to scream along to all the words. Whether it was the big hits or deeper cuts like “Point of Extinction” and “Modern Chemistry”, the audience members constantly rose to the occasion when spurred on by the band. Even more impressively, the fans nailed a bunch of synchronized calls-and-responses, fist pumps and claps on songs like “When “You’re” Around”, “My Favorite Accident” and “A Lifeless Ordinary (Need a Little Help)”.
The Slower Moments
Though the energy of the room buzzed throughout the night, there were plenty of slower jams for everyone to collectively catch their breaths. More downtempo tracks like “Last Night”, “Broken Heart” and “Hold Me Down” allowed lead singer Justin Courtney Pierre’s vocals to shine while hitting those higher notes (especially on the latter).
Story Time
Later in the set, the band delivered another extremely satisfying transition between the energetic clap-along of “Make Out Kids” to the pensive “Time Turned Fragile” — also the exact sequencing for these tracks on Commit This to Memory.
After the latter song wrapped, Pierre recalled the story of one of the track’s most memorable lines. He explained that as a kid he went on a camping trip that involved canoeing to an island. At night, he heard a tall tale of how it could be so cold that your words would literally come out frozen and you’d have to wait for a thaw in warmer weather to hear what was said.
“When I was a kid, I was like…,” he said while mimicking an explosion around his head. “Now I realize they were just stoned as fuck!”
The Encore
After “Hold Me Down”, the band departed the stage, and fans started a very ambitious demand for “10 more songs.” Motion City Soundtrack quickly returned. They opened with “Worker Bee”, the My Dinosaur Life classic that was one of the rarer cuts from the set (per setlist.fm).
They ultimately closed with evening out with two more massive singalongs. For “L.G. FUAD”, the always-entertaining keyboardist Jesse Johnson strafed the front of the stage, goading the fans to scream the opening lines of the track. And the closer was none other than their smash hit and fan favorite “The Future Freaks Me Out”. Motion City Soundtrack have been around for over two decades, but their live show still exudes an unabashed, youthful vibrancy buoyed by universal lyrical themes of heartbreak, regret, anxiety and love. As Pierre counted down “4…3…2…1…” during the breakdown, the crowd had no choice but to clap along and roar back: “Betty, I need you / I miss you / I’m so alone.”
For three-plus long years, fans waited to bust a move. With any luck, Motion City Soundtrack will continue rocking steady into the future.
