Taking Back Sunday, elder statesmen?
Such is the nature of the Warped Tour, which typically features up-and-coming emo/punk/rock acts and veterans like Taking Back Sunday.
“I think the thing that’s been crazy about this is being that kind of older, respectable, looked-up-to band, which is a little weird to be feeling that every day on the tour,” said Taking Back Sunday guitarist John Nolan, speaking by phone from a Warped Tour stop in Scranton, Pa. “We don’t usually tour and play with bands that look at us the way that a lot of these younger bands do.”
The annual Warped Tour visits Merriweather on Tuesday.
| If you go |
| Vans Warped Tour |
| Where: Merriweather Post Pavilion, 10475 Little Patuxent Parkway, Columbia |
| When: 11 a.m. doors, Tuesday |
| Info: With Taking Back Sunday, New Found Glory, All Time Low, Yellowcard and more; $36; 877-435-9849; merriweathermusic.com |
Long-time fans of Taking Back Sunday might be troubled to realize that it’s been 10 years since the band’s breakthrough debut “Tell All Your Friends.” Nolan said the group plans to acknowledge the album’s decade anniversary with some special shows this fall, during which they’ll play “Tell All Your Friends” in its entirety.
Nolan admitted that playing songs such as “Cute Without the ‘E’ (Cut From the Team),” “Great Romances of the 20th Century” and “Timberwolves at New Jersey” can be an odd experience.
“Sometimes it is challenging to play some of these songs,” Nolan said. “We were kids basically when we wrote them. It’s not like you have all those emotions and all those feelings immediately right there anymore. The fact that people are still into those songs at this point, and especially the way they react when we play live, I think really helps motivate you and get you into a place where you can find inspiration in those songs and really put yourself into them again.”
Last year, the band released its fifth, self-titled, full-length album. Nolan said the band was happy with the effort.
“It’s almost like anything short of everybody saying it’s amazing would not be good enough for us,” he said. “You want people to be blown away by stuff.”
The most recent album, and current tour, also features the return of Nolan and bassist Shaun Cooper to the Taking Back Sunday fold. The two left the band from 2003 to 2010, but their return marks the reformation of the “Tell All Your Friends”-era lineup.
“It’s been great,” Nolan said. “We pretty much hit the ground running when we got back together. I think the cool thing is that we got this drive back I think the band might not have had for a while. We’re just ready to keep going.”
