Mayday Parade put on their Sunday best and took us all to emo church in Sayreville!
On March 25, 2022 I arrived at my favorite venue an hour before the show started and the line was already wrapped around the building. I wasn’t surprised though because Friday was night one of two sold out shows in Sayreville celebrating the 11th anniversary of their Self-Titled album. This tour was originally slated to be for the albums 10th anniversary, but due to Covid we all had to patiently wait.
Mayday Parade didn’t come alone though, they brought along their new Floridian friends Magnolia Park and emo heavy hitters Real Friends! Magnolia Park first landed on my radar last year thanks to TikTok and seeing them regularly on my FYP. They started the night off right by playing several hits from their record Halloween Mixtape. Singer, Joshua Roberts, is a force to be reckoned with! His soaring vocals and energetic stage presence had the crowd going wild. The band also treated the crowd with a cover of emo classic, Sugar We’re Going Down by Fall Out Boy. Some favorites from the set consisted of 10 for 10 and Sick if it All.
Next up were fan favorites Real Friends coming to us all the way from Tinley Park, IL. I was very interested to see them perform live because this is the band’s first tour since the departure of lead singer Dan Lambton last year. Now fronted by Cody Muraro, you’d never even notice he was new to the group. The band sounded incredible and the on-stage chemistry was flawless!
Kicking off the set with Me First it was only a matter of time until fans started flying through the air up and over the barricade and into the loving arms of Starland’s excellent security team. A standout moment was when the boys slowed things down a bit and played Teeth off their latest release Torn In Two and the entire room lit up with the glow of cellphone screens and flashlights. Bassist, Kyle Fasel, got things fired up again by telling everyone if they’ve never crowd surfed before, now’s the time, before launching into Late Nights In My Car. Real Friends caused the crowd to erupt when they invited everyone to a post show meal at the local IHOP (IYKYK) before closing out their set with Mess and From The Outside.
The moment we’d all been waiting for had finally arrived. The house lights went out and the stage was beautifully lit with candelabras and stained glass windows. Derek Sanders appeared out of the darkness and began singing the intro to Oh Well, Oh Well as the crowd stared in amazement while singing along. Sanders was joined shortly after by the rest of the band which sent the crowd into a frenzy!
The band was dressed to the nines in sharp suits and ties and welcomed us in to their emo church. After going through all of our struggles the last few years with the pandemic, it was a true healing moment seeing the look of pure joy on the band’s face as well as every member of the sold out crowd. Mayday Parade played through their entire Self-Titled album from front to back, even including some lovely live piano playing during Stay.
The night wasn’t over yet though! A killer six-song encore followed, starting off with Kids of Summer and Golden Days from their latest album What It Means To Fall Apart. It’s not a Mayday Parade show without hearing their classics though and they certainly delivered with the heart-wrenching ballad Miserable at Best. Let me tell you one thing, Jersey just hits differently when you’re at a show in Jersey! The room went absolutely wild during that tune as every note hit us right in the feels. Alas, all good things must come to an end though and the boys closed out the evening with Jamie All Over from their legendary album A Lesson In Romantics.
Over the years, Mayday Parade has aged like a fine wine and I’m excited to see what the future holds for them. I still get the same feelings today that I did when I first saw them play at Starland Ballroom in the early 2000s. I hope you’re all able to experience that same level of joy too next time they roll through your town this Summer during the Sad Summer Festival!
