By Mark Zurlo
Illustrations By Louis Roe

Here in Boston, you could say we’re a bit spoiled. We have great music venues, great local bands, and a great national touring scene. That’s probably why you don’t normally need to travel to other cities to see your favorite bands.

When Philly-based punk act the Menzingers announced the first batch of tour dates in support of their recent album Rented World, it was a big surprise that they were skipping Beantown and opening the tour at the Met in Pawtucket instead. Pawtucket?

While I don’t claim to spend much time there, Pawtucket has a reputation for not being the friendliest of New England cities. Menzingers lead singer Tom May helped bolster the city’s reputation when he mentioned the band had been approached by a 14 year old brandishing a knife and threatening to stab them just a few hours earlier. Nonetheless, plenty of Bostonians were willing to take their chances and grabbed tickets.

That was before it was announced the group would open for Fucked Up at the Sinclair in Cambridge the night before as part of the Converse Rubber Tracks Live series. While there were plenty of fans singing along at that show, it appeared just as many made the trip to the Met the next night.

Those who made their way in early noticed that the Menzigers had tabbed a diverse trio of openers that sounded nothing like the headliners. The most notable support act was PUP, a Toronto four piece who have received their fair share of attention since releasing their blistering –yet-melodic self-titled debut a few months ago.

Toronto’s PUP

They came out like a band hungry to grab the attention of an indifferent crowd, and that’s exactly what they did. It’s difficult to remember a moment when someone in the band wasn’t jumping up and down or bouncing from one side of the stage to the other, and they sounded great to boot.

Lemuria was the main support act, and they also displayed a surprising amount of energy, with lead singer Sheena Ozzella repeatedly swaying back and forth like a metronome that had somehow consumed one to many Red Bulls.

Lemuria’s Ozzella

The Menzingers then played a set that basically mirrored their opening slot from the night before. And their set in Cambridge was fantastic, so this was a good thing.

Rented World, just like On The Impossible Past before it is the type of album that reveals something new every time you give it a spin. The band’s live show is no different – every time I’ve seen them, I’ve taken note of some minor detail that leaves me even more impressed with their ability to take songs about everyday failing and frustrations and turn them into fist-pumping anthems.

The Menzingers’ May, Barnett, and Keen

I was also impressed by the legion of stage divers the band inspired with their new songs. Over two nights I literally saw hundreds of bodies flying through the air, and while May and Co. we’re explicitly telling the crowd to go nuts, they sure didn’t seem to mind the enthusiasm. With another 6 weeks to go on this tour, I don’t see the enthusiasm levels surrounding the Menzingers subsiding anytime soon.

Opening Act Cayetana