Pop Punk was not dead, not that it was sleeping. New Found Glory came into full effect in a one-night culmination of music, friends and loyalty along with openers We Are The In Crowd, Fireworks and Candy Hearts.

October 11th, 2014

It was that time again, the time that begs the youth to get over heartbreak and to embrace inner conflict. That time that comes back to South Florida on the first leg of the Glamour Kills Tour just four days after the release of one of the year’s most anticipated records. It was that time for New Found Glory to come home.

Hailing from Coral Springs, this quartet has lived and breathed tumultuous times in their 17-year career as inspiration behind many newer bands in the pop-punk scene. The release of their new album Resurrection has been highly anticipated due to the recent departure of guitarist Steve Klein, but also because fans have waited patiently to hear if their cure to teenage angst still sounded complete. Well, it did.

NFG brought along three opening acts to Ft. Lauderdale’s Revolution, all of which hold significance in the direction the genre of music is evolving. The show opened with Candy Hearts, a female fronted Indie punk band that was produced by New Found Glory guitarist Chad Gilbert. They played to a smaller crowd, but with four bands on the ticket, there seemed an abundance of time until the main event.

Fireworks went off like their name suggests, but I felt the performance lackluster in comparison to other shows I’ve seen them play. They began with a slow ballad and worked their way to songs that enticed a pit, even if for a short while. The crowd was growing. I could feel my personal space become new-friend-space as more gathered inside the lowered bowl of Revolution Live.

As advocates for the @heforshe campaign on Twitter, New Found Glory demonstrated how strong men can help empower strong women by inviting not one, but two astounding up and coming female fronted bands on tour with them. We Are the In Crowd has recently released their new album Weird Kids this year, and a tour with the godfathers of pop-punk was a great way to let us know about it.

Then the curtains closed. The VIP quickly filled with familiar faces. Little children with protective headphones leaned on the railing waiting for their father to come on stage. A hometown show sure has changed in the two decades they have played them, from late nights at Poor Richards to waving and making silly faces to toddlers. One thing has remained the same. The loyalty to the music, both from them and the fans, creates the ultimate atmosphere to be brought back to nostalgic days.

NFG opened with the first single, “Selfless” off their newest album. They revamped their set list to include many songs out of retirement like “Something I Call Personality“ as well as songs they have yet to play like “Such a Mess.” They covered the wide array of albums they have released including the four singles from Resurrection. They could very easily be one of the only bands to be able to pull off a five-song encore and still have security provoke people to leave the venue.