Live Review: Modern Baseball, Bugs

If there's one thing you can count on in alternative circles, it's an unerring and indelible sense of community and support.

A perfect example of that fact is on display early at the Crowbar tonight; by the time local noise-pop party lords Bugs kick off their set in the dimly lit hallows of the venue, there is already a healthy crowd milling about that swiftly turns into a sizeable, attentive, eager audience in the truest sense of the term. Frontman Connor Brooker oozes easygoing, appreciative charm as he provides inter-song banter and thanks those in attendance repeatedly for coming out to see the band, who are getting by tonight with the guest bass talents of a schoolteacher friend who will undoubtedly be the talk of the quad come Monday. (Coolest. educator. ever.) 

If he hadn't said as much, it wouldn't be obvious — the trio blister through a rambunctious set of fuzzy surf-punk wonderment that hits multiple highlights, including the irreverent Tinnies and borderline introspection of Best Friend, winning over several new fans in the process if the general pit chatter that follows is anything to go by.

If the punters were in fine form for the opener, they dig deep to reach a whole new level of fun-loving looseness when Philly pop-punk heroes Modern Baseball make their way on stage. A roar of appreciation erupts when co-frontman Brendan Lukens observes of the packed out space, "We're a really long way from home, and this is fucked!" 

It's literal seconds into the opening verse of Fine, Great — from 2014's You're Gonna Miss It All — before the pit is an absolute heaving throng, barely staying upright as it pulses back and forth, side to side. The crowd is a living karaoke machine, proving MoBo's legion Down Under has a connection with and love for this band that extends well beyond any single airplay; the response to nearly every song is simply, for want of a more poetic word, massive. The upbeat yet downcast self-reflection of Broken Cash Machine has us all screaming along to the angst-riddled chorus while old favourite (and early highlight) Tears Over Beers generates massive crowd participation with a hearty, joyous 'OH, COME ON!' in response to a line about a meathead's wandering gaze.

In fact, if there's any single word to describe this performance, "joyous" is probably the most apt. Smiles beam down at us from the stage as the sea of sweat-soaked fans smile right back; song after song, through Apartment, Rock Bottom, Going To Bed Now (another highlight, but that's partially personal bias towards the song itself), happiness and warmth radiate from every corner of the Crowbar. It's evident in moments such as when co-frontman Jake Ewald breaks into laughter at the crowd's mistiming in singing along with The Old Gospel Choir, the way everyone tells the band what they had for breakfast at their behest, or their favourite midday snack, or even all just yelling out bassist Ian Farmer's first name on cue. (Except the one dude who yells, "IAN!" after everyone else. There's always one dude.)

The set hits another highlight — although, let's face it, the whole shebang is damn near flawless — with the witticisms of Two Good Things before the boys drop the wonderful Revenge Of The Nameless Ranger, from 2015's The Perfect Cast EP. More new material follows in the form of the Ewald-penned Everyday, from forthcoming LP Holy Ghost, returning to The Perfect Cast for The Thrash Particle before showcasing another Holy Ghost tentpole in the anthemic and lush Apple Cider, I Don't Mind, once again bringing Lukens to the fore. 

MoBo wrap their main set with seminal hit Your Graduation, a simply riotous way to close the primary proceedings — crowdsurfing, mosh crushes, the works — that even elicits a few squeals of joy when drummer Sean Huber gets a chance to shine during his drum-n-vox double-up break during the track. (It's so great.)

The band acquiesce to chants of "ONE MORE SONG!" and return to the stage to deliver debut LP-era hit The Weekend, giving us one last chance to share in the boundless energy MoBo have brought to the fore tonight. This is a band who love what they do, and it shows in absolutely every aspect of their being. After the show, they enthusiastically and readily talk with fans and sign records and take pictures and, as we climb the stairs out of the venue to wander into the night, it's an obvious fact that, having delivered what they have here, these guys deserve all the hype they've received to date and so much more. They deserve the world.