The Menzingers @ The Fillmore

WRITTEN BY: MADDIE REID

Philly natives The Menzingers played a packed hometown show at The Fillmore on Friday, March 31. They brought their style of melodic punk with a set of fan favorites and new songs from their February release After The Party.

The Menzingers have had a month of live shows to perfect the riffs and hooks of After The Party, and it shows. The band was on fire, captivating the crowd from the moment they walked on stage and ripped into “Tellin’ Lies.” For the next hour and a half, the band would keep this intensity as fans crowd surfed and pushed for the front.

Since I started seeing the Menzingers live in 2013, they have always had one flaw: they consistently play the same songs, mostly from 2012’s On The Impossible Past. On Friday, the boys finally broke the spell with more than half of the set being new songs. Even older songs had a new energy, especially triple threat “I Don’t Wanna Be An Asshole Anymore,” “Nice Things,” and “Mexican Guitars.”

Another standout was “Midwestern States” into “Irish Goodbyes.” Co-frontman Greg Barnett led into the song saying “Does anyone here go to Temple?” making a few people in the audience cheer. “Well, this is about my last semester there,” he said as the chords began. After that was “Irish Goodbyes.” For a song never even released on a Menzingers LP, this song is a rousing number that makes even those all the way in the back jump with their fists in the air. The oldest song in the set proved that it still has the power to rile up fans.

The closing encore was another 1-2-3 punch. “Lookers,” After The Party’s lead single into “Casey” and then “In Remission” had every voice at the top of their lungs. The Menzingers were unstoppable. Drummer Joe Godino did not even stop kicking the bass drum in between songs long enough for fans to catch their breath before singing the anthemic “if everyone needs a crutch then I need a wheelchair.” After the final song, The Fillmore was sweaty and full of a good time.

The Menzingers are a band that have had consistently good releases since their first record in 2007. Shows like Friday night prove why. The band, while becoming more melodic, have never lost the bite that made their original records so good. They have grown into the bigger venues and louder crowds, rising to the popularity, but still making fans feel like they are at an intimate show. After The Party is as great live as it is in the stereo, and once again The Menzingers pulled the audience into their sound, leaving them with high spirits as they left into the Philly streets.

Check out the After The Party music video and full album stream.  

Set List:

• Tellin’ Lies
• I Don’t Wanna Be An Asshole Anymore
• Nice Things
• Mexican Guitars
• Thick as Thieves
• Good Things
• Burn After Writing
• Midwestern States
• Irish Goodbyes
• Rodent
• My Friend Kyle
• After the Party
• House On Fire
• The Obituaries
• Ava House
• Your Wild Years
• Gates
• Bad Catholics
• Lookers
• Casey
• In Remission