New Found Glory in Singapore: Back with Four

The stewards of pop punk were back in Singapore on 12 Feb after a seven-year absence from the sunny island– this time with 1 member less.

The once five-man-band had ousted rhythm guitarist Steve Klein in Dec 2013 after he had been charged with “lewd misconduct” with a minor among other allegations. They didn’t seem to miss him that much, however.

When asked how hard it was to adjust to having one less member, bass guitarist Ian Grushka made it pretty clear to UrbanWire: “It’s a lot easier; it’s a lot more fun, a lot less drama. It’s definitely a good thing.”

*SCAPE’s Ground Theatre was occupied to its full capacity by fanboys and fangirls of the energetic bunch, although the term “uncles and aunties” wouldn’t be much less of an accurate representation. The band’s inception in 1997 meant that there were more than a couple of thirty-somethings bobbing their heads to New Found Glory’s indelible riffs.

After 30 minutes of waiting and impatient chants of (*clap clap, clapclapclap*) “New Found Glory!”, Judy Garland’s rendition of “Glory Glory Hallelujah” finally filled the set’s backdrop for a good minute before the NFG took up their long-awaited positions on stage.

Kicking off with “Selfless” from their new album “Resurrection”, the hard-hitting intro was reminiscent of their older albums like Sticks and Stones (2002) and Catalyst (2004). The catchy tunes of “Understatement” and “Don’t Let Her Pull You Down” quickly followed, before lead guitarist Chad Gilbert took the time to reintroduce the band. (As if they needed one!)

Despite drummer Cyrus Bolooki’s absence, the usually vivacious beats of NFG upheld its standards with Mike Ambrose of Set Your Goals filling in for the father-to-be. “He did not practise safe sex,” was Chad’s humorous take on Bolooki’s no-show.

Up next were the album’s title track “Resurrection” and crowd favourite “Hit or Miss”. Lead singer Jordan Pundik was donned in a turquoise shirt with a gigantic cat’s face, but his vocals were nowhere near tame. His uniquely-NFG voice blends in with further utter perfection to Ian Grushka’s adventurous underlying bass lines.

Here’s where things got slightly barbed. Jordan explained that they were going to play a new song from Resurrection titled “The Worst Person”. Teaching the chorus to the crowd line by line almost aggressively, it was clear he had some deep feelings he needed to get off his heavily-tattooed chest.

“You might be the worst person I’ve ever met, I’ve ever known. You keep doing all the s*** that you regret, end up alone,” he growled through the mic. This cathartic performance was captured by a fan from the audience and posted on Instagram, subsequently “re-insta-ed” by Chad’s personal account (@xchadballx). Shots fired?

Touted as the NFG fans’ anthem, “My Friends Over You” was the 17^th tune played that day, the last before the encore performance.

During UrbanWire’s pre-show interview session, Chad opened up about the “You” – apparently his ex-girlfriend Ileana, who unfortunately, wasn’t exactly the most faithful of partners. And who were “My Friends”? His trusty band mates, of course.

The hard and seemingly unapproachable exterior of these guys may fool casual onlookers but they are far from it. In fact, they’re great pep-talkers. We’ll leave you with a bit of inspiration that came halfway through the concert from Chad, who recently got engaged to Paramore’s Hayley Williams.

“What I wanna tell you guys is that success or not success is all the same, as long as you’re doing what you love… If you fail, it’s the same as succeeding as long you’re f****** doing what you love, it’s the same s***!”

Setlist:

Selfless
Understatement
Don’t Let Her Pull You Down
Resurrection
Hit Or Miss
Something I Call Personality
Hold My Hand
Anthem For The Unwanted
The Worst Person
Truth Of My Youth
Listen To Your Friends
It’s Not Your Fault
Ready and Willing
Failure’s Not Flattering
Kiss Me
Dressed To Kill
Intro
My Friends Over You

Encore:
One More Round
Truck Stop Blues
All Downhill From Here

(Photos courtesy of: Dawn Chua & Impact Live’s Facebook Page )

Went to the concert? Tell us what you think of New Found Glory in Singapore in the comments below!