Photos and review by Amanda Lynn
@sincerely_amandalynn

There’s something special about watching a band you grew up with take the stage years later. The songs may be the same, but the people singing them and the lives they’ve lived since those songs first came out aren’t.

That feeling was everywhere at Frost Amphitheater on October 10, 2026 as Saves the Day, Thrice, and Taking Back Sunday brought an unforgettable night of early-2000s alternative and emo nostalgia to Stanford.

Saves the Day opened the night, followed by Thrice, setting the tone for a lineup that felt like a time capsule for anyone who grew up with these bands. By the time Taking Back Sunday took the stage, the energy had shifted. The crowd was ready—not simply to watch a band, but to throw themselves back into a soundtrack that had followed many of them from their teenage years into adulthood.

Taking Back Sunday opened with “What’s It Feel Like to Be a Ghost?” and immediately brought the urgency that has always been central to the band’s live sound. The performance carried the same restless energy as the songs themselves, with Adam Lazzara commanding the stage as the band tore through a career-spanning set, swinging his microphone in typical Taking Back Sunday fashion.

The set leaned heavily into Louder Now, giving fans “Liar (It Takes One to Know One),” “Error: Operator,” “Miami,” and “A Decade Under the Influence,” while songs from Tell All Your Friends and Where You Want to Be brought some of the band’s earliest material back into the spotlight.

From the first notes, the crowd became part of the performance. Voices rose over the stage, turning familiar choruses into massive singalongs. There was a contagious physicality to the room—the kind of show where standing still feels almost impossible when a song you’ve known for years suddenly comes blasting through a live set.

And that’s the magic of Taking Back Sunday live.

These songs were written with an intensity that made sense to a younger version of their audience, but hearing them now carries an entirely different weight. The heartbreak, frustration, anger, and uncertainty are still there, only now they’re layered with years of memories.

When “Cute Without the ‘E’” arrived, that connection was impossible to miss. The song has become more than an early-2000s emo anthem; it’s a communal experience. Thousands of voices coming together on the lyrics created one of those unmistakable concert moments where the audience briefly becomes another instrument in the band.

“MakeDamnSure” brought the night to its final release, giving the crowd one last opportunity to scream along before the lights came up.

Taking Back Sunday has been a defining part of the emo and alternative-rock landscape for more than two decades, but their music doesn’t feel frozen in the era that made them famous. If anything, the songs have grown alongside the people who continue to show up for them.

Some bands give you a good show.

Others give you a memory.

Taking Back Sunday gave the crowd both.

Taking Back Sunday continues their tour with more dates, including the Warped Tour, through December, then heads over to the UK with Weezer in May 2027. Keep an eye on takingbacksunday.com for all the latest news and info.