Live Review: Taking Back Sunday, Acceptance, Endless Heights

With a drummer down due to breaking his heel, their replacement helped Sydneysiders Endless Heights warm up the crowd one last time for Taking Back Sunday. Frontman Joel Martorana swung straight into action, his brunette locks flying with each head-bang as he smashed out Mosaic and Teach You How To Leave.

Acceptance were back and better than ever after their break-up/hiatus, with frontman Jason Vena taking over the stage with his infectious presence as he belted out So Contagious from the band's 2005 debut album Phantoms. The crowd lapped up every word from Vena, as the singalongs continued from In Too Far through to new songs like Haunted from their 2017 Colliding By Design album.

As the atmosphere filled with squeals, Taking Back Sunday graced the stage, launching straight into Death Wolf with guitars blazing and microphone swinging, getting the crowd's hearts racing before Liar (It Takes One To Know One) and What's It Feel Like To Be A Ghost? from their 2006 album Louder Now. Frontman Adam Lazzara was the quiet one of the evening, even with his deep vocals it almost seemed like he was taking a back seat while John Nolan dominated the stage vocally.

It was a disappointment to see the crowd only fill the lower level/dancefloor of Metro City, with upstairs closed off. However, Taking Back Sunday made the most of it, energetically smashing out an impressive 21-song setlist covering all the fan favourites and a few newbies from their 2016 Tidal Wave album. Error: Operator got the adrenaline pumping with killer guitar riffs and scratchy vocals while Better Homes And Gardens got intimate and emotional thanks to Nolan's backstory.

To Nolan, encores must be pointless time-wasters if they can squeeze another song into the already-tightly packed set. The crowd became rowdy, eager for their promised song: the 2002 hit song Cute Without The E (Cut From The Team). And they weren't disappointed when Nolan launched into it, the crowd sang along with every lyric, fists pumped in the air as bodies smashed into the barrier and the mosh grew. After final goodbyes and thanks, the guys finished off their tight set with MakeDamnSure sending the crowd into a wild frenzy, hungrier than ever and holding onto every last word from Nolan and Lazzara. The band walked off, smiling and waving.