Excitement was building on a Monday night for Boys Like Girls fans. Lines snaked around The Regent Theater downtown at 7 p.m., as fans craned their necks waiting for doors to open.
Boys Like Girls has been around for more than a decade, having released their explosive debut self-titled album in late 2006. This concert, part of the “Sweet Sixteen World Tour,” celebrates the 16-year anniversary of their debut album. It’s the band’s first tour in six years, and they sold out shows in Australia and the Philippines earlier this month.
On Sunday, the band played at the pop-punk When We Were Young Festival in Las Vegas. There were clearly fans in attendance that caught the band at the festival, as well – many were proudly dressed in (all-black) festival gear and reminisced fond memories of the band while waiting in line.
“I’ve been listening to them since middle school, and I’m nearly in my thirties now. They were the first band I put on my iPod,” a woman gushed to her friend in line. Though much of the crowd were no longer the teenagers they were when they first discovered the band, they were looking forward to tonight where they could relive that experience again.
Opener Blake Rose, a singer-songwriter from Perth, Australia kicked off the show at 8 p.m.. Rose displayed his flair for performance on stage, switching between his keyboard, guitar, bass and even a drum mid-song, all the while maintaining a strong vocal presence. Although the crowd seemed mostly unfamiliar with his alternative pop tracks, his energy got the room buzzing and excited for the main act.
At 9:15 p.m., after several sound checks, a thin veil of fog billowed onto the stage. Strains of an all-too-familiar guitar riff emanated out of the speakers. Claps, cheers and screams erupted from the crowd as the band kicked off the show with “Love Drunk,” the title track from the band’s 2009 album.
Given that The Regent is a smaller concert venue, the music was loud – perfect for heart-thumping, head-banging pop-rock. The sound of the bass drums and electric guitar riffs reverberated out of the speakers as the crowd of nearly 300 people sang along with jubilance.
The band mainly played from their first two albums, much to the delight of nostalgia-hungry fans. Familiar singles like “Heart Heart Heartbreak” from “Love Drunk” and “Hero/Heroine” from their self-titled album were laced with the band’s signature heart-on-your-sleeve lyrics and incredibly catchy hooks. They paused playing a few times just to hear the crowd sing the lyrics.
“No, you never get a second chance at the first time / We will never be eighteen again,” sang Martin Johnson, the band’s lead singer, on “The First Time.” Johnson clearly knew how to rock a crowd. Between tossing guitar picks into the waiting audience, grabbing phones for selfies and urging the crowd to jump and dance, Johnson was an unstoppable force of energy in top form. The band seamlessly transitioned from song to song, only letting the energy drop for a tender ballad section in the middle of the concert.
Switching over to an acoustic guitar, Johnson started off with the romantic jam “Be Your Everything” followed by a smooth segue into “Two Is Better Than One,” the wildly popular love song featuring Taylor Swift. At the bridge of the song, Johnson sang a medley of choruses from other sentimental tracks, including “On Top Of The World” and “Go” before launching back into the final chorus of “Two Is Better Than One”.
The band members performed with incredible chemistry. Bassist Gregory James, drummer John Keefe and lead guitarist Paul DiGiovanni often walked to each other to jam out during guitar riffs. Johnson would keep up the energy with banter amongst the band and with the audience.
“I always feel different playing a Boys Like Girls show – it’s just so awesome to be playing music with your best friends,” Johnson said to rousing cheers. Their spirit was visible, with the band having contagious smiles despite having a sheen of sweat from jumping around.
During the show, Johnson also teased that the band was working on new music. “Yes, we haven’t released anything in a while, but we’re not like those other bands that break up and get back together just to rile the fans up. We’ve always done things our way, and I like that.” They performed a new song, “The Outside,” which will be part of their upcoming album releasing next year.
For their final song, the band played “The Great Escape.” With over 160 million streams on Spotify, it is arguably one of their biggest hits that many fans were looking forward to the whole evening. Guitars crescendoed to the first chorus, and then the band stopped. Johnson stepped to the microphone and got the crowd to listen.
“Okay, we’ve played one chorus. You guys got that on video, Facetime, TikToks, yeah? Now let’s put those things away and go back to the old days.” Of course, back in 2006 when the song came out, when all we had were camcorders and flip phones if we even had them at all. “It’s just us and the music. Let’s be here together.”
And just like that, for three minutes and twenty six seconds, Boys Like Girls was able to transport the theater back to the summers of black skinny jeans, hazy first loves and feeling like the world was ours to conquer.
The “Sweet Sixteen World Tour” continues through October 31 in the United States.