Bouncing Souls @ The Opera House

Last Sunday night I went to see New Jersey punk rock legends, The Bouncing Souls. This tour was their 20th anniversary tour, so it was a big deal. They aren't my favourite band in the world, but they have some songs that I really like such as True Believers, Private Radio and Here We Go. Their sound is similar to Street Dogs, The Briggs, and even Black Flag.

The openers which I saw were, Saint Alvia, and Youth Brigade. Saint Alvia is one of my favourite bands, and a big part of why I came to the show. They're a six-piece alternative rock band from Burlington, Ontario. Unfortunately the crowd was not very appreciative. All six members were giving it their all, but most of the crowd just stood still and stared. It was very sad to see. Saint Alvia eventually got pissed off, and the guitarist even said, "Is it just me or is there no atmosphere in here?". I really hope that didn't discourage them because they have huge potential and it would be such a shame if they gave up.

The last opener before The Bouncing Souls, was Youth Brigade. They're an old school punk band that's been around for 25 years. What was neat was they played about 25 songs in 40 minutes. That's old school punk right there. Although I thought they were good and so did the crowd, I didn't find anything special about them.

By the time Bouncing Souls went on The Opera House was completely packed. They had a banner hanging at the back that repeatedly said "Here We Go", in reference to their most famous song. The first song they played was "True Believers" which is my favourite song by them. Most of the crowd knew all the lyrics to all the songs, which always makes a show a lot more entertaining as well as intimate. Having listened to most of their records, I thought the lead singer was going to be really aggressive and angry, but he was quite bouncy and happy.

Besides the crowd's reaction to Saint Alvia, I had a really great time at the concert, and if you're a fan of punk music and for some really strange reason you haven't heard of The Bouncing Souls before, I highly recommend checking them out. You'll like them. I promise.