"The Holy Ghost Tour," named in honor of Modern Baseball's titular third album, has covered nearly 34 venues and featured openers Thin Lips and Joyce Manor for the entirety of the tour. This show felt like a bit like a passing of the torch. If Brand New was the cult-like voice of emo and indie rock for generations past, Modern Baseball's jubilant yet introspective spirit has set the standard for the new generation. There's something special, something profound and unique about their music, and seeing it performed live is enough to make anyone a believer. To add to this already memorable occasion, the show at Orpheum was the tour's final stop, and the energy displayed on this night was absolutely palpable, not an easy feat from artists that have spent more than a month on the road.
Thin Lips opened with a markedly warm sound, easing the crowd into some upbeat songs with gigantic hooks and fantastically frantic energy. Hailing from Philadelphia, a cultural hub for a variety of music, their potential was on full display in a non-stop setlist that felt far too short.
Joyce Manor didn't break stride taking over for Thin Lips. If anything, the Cali band continued to build off the intensity and camaraderie that filled the room, capturing everyone's attention with rambunctious and infectious pop-punk packages that roared and churned with anthemic vocals, and intense pauses between each track. There was quite a mosh pit during the majority of their set, and it was refreshing to see the tradition carried out with a degree of collective safety and care for others that is often times far too absent.
This show was nearly sold out, and it showed. Orpheum was close to capacity when Modern Baseball prepared to take the stage. The crowd gave a colossal roar of cheers and applause that urged their entrance.
After their very first track, it was immediately clear why the band inspired such massive adoration and why that adoration was earned. When a band is truly talented, experimentation outside the expected genre is a given. Modern Baseball has, over three albums, taken a similar path, slowly gravitating away from easy emo genre identifiers towards the fixtures and soundscapes of indie rock and folk, reflecting lyrically on themes larger than simple relationships or broken hearts. They ponder, they reflect, they grow. Like their fans do. And the culmination of their journey so far was on display tonight. The majority of the tracks came off Holy Ghost, which, as their most mature work to date, provided a great buffer to the explosive sounds of tracks off Sports and You're Gonna Miss it All. There's still a fondness from both the fans and the band for the gang led/alternating vocal harmonies of past outings, best exemplified during "Your Graduation."
Modern Baseball delivered a unique brand of heart-on-your-sleeve therapy throughout the night, and with a degree of sincerity that's far too rare these days. Since it was the last day of the tour, all the bands came out together at its conclusion to celebrate the birthday of Thin Lips' drummer and toast to a great show. It was an intimate human moment, and everyone in the room that night was lucky to enjoy it.
This article appears in Jun 30 – Jul 7, 2016.