Tucson got a heavy dose of pop punk when The Story So Far’s fall headliner swept through the Rialto Theatre last week. The band was joined by The Starting Line (in a rare West Coast appearance) and Ultra Q for a sold out evening of moshing, crowd surfing and a whole lot of weeknight fun.
Ultra Q- Jakob Armstrong, Enzo Malaspina, Kevin Judd and Chris Malaspina- made an unassuming entrance, surprising the early crowd by jumping right into “Meet in the Middle” and “Dream Pop”. The band’s spirit was the perfect start to the night, as Armstrong grinned at the rapidly filling room while Malespina and Judd threw their bodies into the set. Fans with a bit of energy to spare started a mini mosh pit in the middle of the floor before Ultra Q surrendered Rialto’s stage to the rest of the lineup.
It’s always a special time when The Starting Line ventures out to the West Coast and the elder emo generation in the room was thrilled to have them back in Tucson. In an effort to keep things fresh, the band rearranged their nightly setlist, kicking off the Arizona performance with “Sense of Humor” and “Leaving”- both moments that got the audience bouncing and singing with gusto. While the band usually doesn’t inspire the typical mosh pit, singer Kenny Vasoli encouraged the fans to get moving during “Up and Go” and “I See How It Is”. There was soulful singing along for “The Best of Me” before TSL took Tucson to their very own “Island” to close out an incredible supporting set.
Against a backdrop of blinding lights, The Story So Far wasted no time in getting the pit spinning during “Keep This Up” and “Big Blind”. The California group, led by the undeniable power of frontman Parker Cannon, needed only to point at the sky and the floor opened up. Crowd surfers came flying over the barricade during “Nothing to Say” and “Out of It” while the fans at the back and in the balcony sang loudly while staying well out of the danger zone. The performance was boisterous and rowdy- the perfect way to relieve stress at the end of a long week. After 20 perfectly selected songs, the night came to an unwanted close with “Clairvoyant” and an encore performance of “Nerve” to send the sweaty, sold out room back into the balmy Tucson streets to eagerly await the band’s next visit to the desert.
