Posted September 21, 2019 by Jeffery Mullins Concert Reviews & Galleries

Boys of Fall – Mac’s Bar – 9.11.19

The hometown guys Boys of Fall are back at it again, hitting the road in celebration of the release of their album Better Moments (Gold Edition), which is a re-release of their second full length album Better Moments. The album includes two newly released tracks and two acoustic versions of previously released songs.

September 11th marked their seventh day of tour, making a stop at Mac’s Bar in Lansing, right in their home state of Michigan. Seeing friends from home made the show more welcoming for everyone in attendance, and it showed through the charisma that all the acts took on stage with them.

The bar was packed for the night with people ready to see the boys back in town. The opening acts of the evening included Something Missing (not pictured), Table for One, and Rivalry Fire. With pop-punk, emo, and rock influenced support from each band preceding the headliner, the crowd was ready to get down on Boys of Fall‘s energetic set.

Kicking off their set, they opened with “Bad Company”, the first released single off Better Moments. There wasn’t a word missed when the crowd sang along with vocalist Michael Martenson. The band had staggering energy as they crushed each song, including Martenson even throwing in some creatively sanctioned screams in place of the familiar clean vocals on the original tracks. With guitarist Jake Cemer supporting on vocals, the venue was filled with a palpable resonance of the groups powerful, hard hitting sound.

The group was keeping the energy alive with their heavier than usual set. Playing their older single “Looking on the Brightside”, “Arson”, and their newly released bonus track “Fake Smiles” off their Better Moments (Gold Edition) album, the crowd went from singing the melodic pop melodies to screaming with Martenson with such excitement. You could feel the ground of the venue tremble from each audience member jumping to the beat of each tune. Martenson even dedicated the song “Novocaine” to his wife, who was in attendance in the crowd.

During their performance of “Chasing Lonely”, Martenson invited Resurget Magazine’s own Jeffery Mullins to partake in singing a verse and chorus along with the band. After hugging Martenson, Mullins waved to the crowd, and then proceeded to walk off stage and clip his forehead on a PA speaker and laughed about it. The crowd enjoyed the involvement of a guest singer, and the silliness that came with it.

Boys of Fall ended their home show with their single “No Good for Me”, which had the entirety of attendance chanting all the lyrics. It was a perfect send-off for the band to continue their tour across the states.

Although the group had to cancel a show in Norfolk due to the hurricane, they remained in the highest of spirits and delivered a performance superbly on this rainy, Wednesday evening. The following day, they headed out to play the Out of Context Carnival festival in Chicago.

You can still catch Boys of Fall on their last few remaining tour dates, and also catch them on their just announced Saint Andrews, Detroit show on December 14th. Tickets and information can be found here.

You can also follow them on all social media, and check out their music on Spotify.

Keep an eye on our podcast for an upcoming episode featuring Jeff’s chat with the band.