They’re kidding, right? It’s got to be a joke! Thus went most of our conversation as we took in Taking Back Sunday as the openers on Friday at Henry Kaiser Arena in Oakland. We took the assignment to see Jimmy Eat World, and since we had an open mind and a streak of success with opening bands we arrived in time to take in the Taking Back Sunday set, having never heard them before. Big mistake and a reminder why we really shouldn’t try new stuff.

We left the show wondering just how much it took to get two Noisepop headliners of yester year like Mates of State and Jimmy Eat World to share a stage with Taking Back Sunday. Hopefully it was worth selling their musical souls for. In fairness, both Jimmy Eat World and Mates of State put on good shows, demonstrating their ability to be both musicians and performers, and all around professionals in the face of an angry pubescent crowd. More importantly, neither band took themselves too seriously and both cracked jokes at their own expense as well as thanking local SF critics and venues that were kind to them way back when. They even good naturally teased the audience (strictly an under eighteen crowd) for all the shoes and panties that got thrown on stage.

Read on for more on angst rock and the youth of today!