New Found Glory @ The Electric Factory

Jun 7, 2018 Natalie Crane

WRITTEN & PHOTOS BY: Katie Donahue

New Found Glory’s headlining show at the Electric Factory was exciting from start to finish. The band came to Philadelphia on the fifth stop on its summer tour, titled The Sick Tour. New Found Glory is promoting the recently released deluxe edition of its 2017 album, Makes Me Sick. The deluxe edition, titled Makes Me Sick Again, was released on May 18.

The concert started with a mostly acoustic set from William Ryan Key. Key is widely known for his former gig, singing in the band Yellowcard. Out of all of the performances Wednesday night, Key’s was by far the softest. Key started his set armed with an acoustic guitar and performing songs from his latest EP, Thirteen.

Key proved himself, not only as a songwriter but also as a storyteller and entertainer. He often talked for stretches of time between songs.

Key finished his set by performing Yellowcard’s 2003 hit, “Ocean Avenue.” The crowd wholeheartedly sang along to “Ocean Avenue”, from the platinum selling album of the same name.

Key was not the only musician that put on a good show. The Movielife intensified the show by delivering a high-energy performance. The Movielife stole the audience’s attention and cheers throughout its high-energy performance. The set was full of songs from the band’s latest album, Cities in Search of a Heart, as well, as songs from the band’s earlier albums.

Out of all of the supporting acts, nothing got the audience as wild as Bayside did. Bayside performed a lively set that had members of the audience screaming and singing along. The band primarily performed songs from its 2005 self-titled album.

Honestly, I was not that familiar with Bayside before seeing the band on The Sick Tour. I knew a few songs, but not many. After seeing Bayside perform, I became a fan instantly. The way the band performed was pure power and the audience, myself included, was entranced by Bayside’s potent performance.

After Bayside performed, the moment we had all been waiting for was rapidly approaching. Britney Spears played over the speakers as audience members anticipated an appearance from New Found Glory.

Finally, it was time for New Found Glory to perform. The band started its set with an explosive performance of “All Downhill From Here” from its 2004 album, Catalyst. Not only was I impressed with New Found Glory’s performance, but I was also impressed with the audience’s reaction to New Found Glory’s performance. Within the first half of “All Downhill from Here,” energetic fans began crowd surfing. I was impressed with their eager attitude as I dodged people while trying to capture photos.

The pop punk band continued to showcase its energy and power by performing newer songs from the band’s 2017 album, Makes Me Sick, to older hits and B-sides. NFG played a variety of songs including a cover of Peter Cetera’s “Glory of Love” and Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger.” New Found Glory’s rendition of “Glory of Love” was featured on the band’s cover album, From the Screen to Your Stereo, which was released in 2000.

I was impressed with the amount of interaction between New Found Glory and the audience. Twice during its set, New Found Glory invited members of the audience on stage to sing along.

From my perspective, it seemed like New Found Glory was driven to deliver a unique and exciting experience to fans. I believe the band succeeded in doing just that.

The second of the two fans that sang with New Found Glory was a girl named Rachel. The band had her spin a wheel to choose the song she would sing with them. Rachel confessed she hoped the outcome of the wheel would be “Sonny”, off of New Found Glory’s 2002 album, Sticks and Stones. The wheel didn’t land on “Sonny”, but the band performed it with Rachel singing on stage anyway.

Each member of New Found Glory brought something to the table that was their performance. Jordan Pundik, the lead singer of New Found Glory, belted out every song on the band’s lengthy, 21 song setlist. Chad Gilbert, the lead guitarist of the band, assisted with backup vocals. Together, their voices had the audience buzzing with excitement.

Drummer, Cyrus Bolooki, maintained a powerful performance throughout the show. Bolooki’s drumming was the pulse of the concert. The drumming assisted in keeping the concert high-energy and keeping the audience entertained.

Ian Grushka delivered an impactful performance on bass. Grushka’s performance on the bass was extremely valuable to the entirety of New Found Glory’s set.

Towards the end of New Found Glory’s set, Pundik asked the audience to cheer for the supporting acts. Pundik also asked members of the audience to cheer for themselves for being an energetic audience. The crowd erupted into an explosive chant in support of the Philadelphia Eagles.

“E-A-G-L-E-S, EAGLES!” the rambunctious audiences members chanted.

“What are those?” Pundik asked. “Sports?”

New Found Glory performed “Hit or Miss,” and then disappeared for several minutes, before returning for the encore. The band displayed a new found energy that was somehow greater than earlier in the set. Pundik came out wearing a boxing robe with an American flag pattern on it. The band jumped into a high-energy rendition of “Eye of the Tiger.” New Found Glory completed their set with one of the band’s most widely known songs, “My Friends Over You.”

Setlist: