In a rare venture to the West Coast, The Starting Line’s Eternal Youth Tour finally made it to Tempe’s Marquee Theatre last week. The band is celebrating their first album in almost 20 years and, for longtime fans, the wait was more than worthwhile. The evening’s lineup was rounded out by Stateside and Finch for a night of nostalgia and an optimistic look ahead.
Stateside provided the raw pop punk energy with their opening performance, warming up the room for the night ahead. The band never stopped moving and encouraged the fans to do the same- their short set was fun, memorable and got the room to work up a sweat to start the night off right.
Providing direct support for this tour was Finch, a staple band in the rock scene for well over 20 years (and longtime friends of The Starting Line). Under dramatic lights, the band pulled out songs from every corner of their catalog while the audience stood with raised arms to shout along to “Grey Matter”, “Rainy Day” and “What It Is to Burn”. The band hasn’t lost a step in their two decades of touring and reminded everyone in the theatre of their staying power.
The Starting Line visited Arizona last year as part of The Maine’s 8123 Fest but now it was time for a proper headliner and the fans could not have been more excited. The band was shrouded in shadows and harshly flickering spotlights as they played through an extensive setlist of both old favorites and songs from their latest album. Fans have been so thrilled at the band’s return that the new songs had just as many people singing along as classics like “Up & Go”, “Making Love to the Camera” and “Island”. The band also added an acoustic segment in the middle to really connect with the audience before bringing the energy back up to close out the set. There’s something magical and cathartic to hear a full house scream along to “The Best of Me” all these years later- a fact that is not lost on the band as well. The joy on their faces told the whole story- they’re back onstage, new music has arrived and they’re here to stay.
