It’s been almost a year since Something Corporate reunited for When We Were Young Festival, and it turns out, that trip down memory lane was just too sweet to stop. Enter: the Out of Office Tour, which stopped through Tempe last week and packed the Marquee Theatre with 30-somethings who were more than ready to relive the music of their youth.
Right from the jump, there was a sense of disbelief, not just from the fans but from the bands as well — can you believe we’re here together again after all these years? Opening act Mae, who first shared a stage with Something Corporate some 20 years ago, clearly felt the same way. Their 10-song set drew mostly from The Everglow, but with a new album on the horizon and a March tour in the works, it’s clear they’re still going strong. The crowd was soaking up the nostalgia and eagerly awaited another dose.
In just the same way they crushed their festival performance last October, Something Corporate brought the house down during their headlining set. They shredded through fan favorites like “Drunk Girl,” “21 and Invincible,” and of course, the iconic “Punk Rock Princess” and “I Woke Up in a Car,” with the crowd belting out every word like no time had passed. And for as much energy as the fans brought to the upbeat tracks, there was an equal amount of hushed respect for “Konstantine,” which left not a dry eye in the venue.
Fans who were old enough to follow Something Corporate back in their early days — or who read Andrew McMahon’s beautiful memoir, Three Pianos — know about their demise, and this show hit so much harder with the layer of gratitude that they’re back. It was a full-circle moment not just for the band but for the fans who grew up with them. That’s what made the cover of “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” perfect for the encore, before ending on a lighter note: screaming “Fuck you, Jordan!” along with hundreds of elder emos.
There’s still so much love for the music of our youth, and with SoCo hopping aboard the trend, here’s hoping this is just the beginning of a wave of comebacks.
