Colin’s Punk Rock World: Gig Review: Modern Baseball at The Borderline 26/9/14

There is a string of up and coming pop punk bands appearing from the USA. Bands like The Wonder Years, The Story So Far and Modern Baseball are becoming hugely popular on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. Tonight Philadelphia’s Modern Baseball proved just how popular they are by selling out The Borderline after already having to upgrade the venue from the Old Blue Last due to demand.

First up was Losing Sleep from Kingston. I had already seen this pop punk four piece supporting ONSIND at Urban Bar earlier in the year and was really impressed by them. Second time around they impressed me again, playing to a much bigger crowd tonight and they seemed to relish the opportunity. Playing to anyone is a big deal but I imagine this crowd is just the type of people that Losing Sleeps music is made for. Musically Losing Sleep were tight, they are clearly a group of talented musicians who really love the music they are playing. It’s a matter of time before they are headlining places like The Borderline.

Up next was the recently reformed Spraynard from Philadelphia. I wasn’t really sure what to expect from the three piece having never really heard them before. They really blew me away. This was the kind of pop punk I love, fast and intense and never letting up the speed with big choruses with plenty of fist in the air moments. I can say just how much energy Spraynard put out and it certainly carried over into the crowd, many of whom I suspect were there to see them just as much as Modern Baseball. I loved that the band seemed genuinely so pleased to be at the show tonight and had were having a lot of fun. Definitely a band I am going to check out again and home to see again very very soon.

Now it was for Modern Baseball and the Borderline crowd were pumped up and ready. To be honest they were a little too pumped up tonight and for me kind of ruined the set. I’d never tell somehow what to do or what not to do at a gig (it would be incredibly un-punk rock of me) but it does disappointment when I see people not really looking out for one another at a gig. There were stage divers a plenty for the set, I say plenty to start with there were only two or three who kept doing it. As the set wore on more and more people started to do it and it just got out of control. It really didn’t seem like they had any regard for the poor people they were randomly diving on. I’m all for people having fun and having a stage dive if they want but make sure the people who you are expecting to catch you are aware so you don’t hurt them. Modern Baseball commented on it and told the crowd to look after each other and that we’re all in this together.

Crowd lunacy aside Modern Baseball were fantastic. Playing a healthy dose of songs from both their albums – Sports and You’re Gonna Miss It All the crowd really did love them. Hugely relatable songs that gain massive sing along’s. Some of the subject matter is about struggling to fit in or being rejected by girls, stuff that shouldn’t be joyous, but watching Modern Baseball play it live and seeing everyone singing with them you can’t help but feel uplifted. I guess it’s almost cathartic to sing along and see other people, probably strangers also feeling the same way. Perhaps I’m reading a little too much into it, perhaps people just think it’s a really good song. Either way Modern Baseball have really earned their place in the elite of the current crop of pop punk bands. They possess some really well written songs that work fantastically well live and on record, a sign of a brilliant band.