Review: In St. Pete, The Get Up Kids stage apologetic opening set at Jannus Live [PHOTOS]

Not every gig an artist does is going to be ideal, but there are some that are so disappointing on all ends that you just remember it for months.

“If you came to see us three months ago across the Bay, forget about that,” Get Up Kids guitarist Jim Suptic told a Manchester Orchestra-ready crowd at Jannus Live on Monday night. “That never happened.”

On Aug. 11, the emo pioneers opened the first show of the All-American Rejects’ “Wet Hot Summer” tour with New Found Glory at Tampa’s MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre. But due to a plethora of technical issues, the boys got a late start that lasted for 15 minutes before it got called off.

To say that The Get Up Kids made up for their last show here would be an understatement. In fact, the only similarity between the two gigs was the opening shot: 2019’s “Satellite,” with drummer Ryan Pope segueing it into “I’m A Loner Dottie, A Rebel.”

Suptic took lead vocals on “Better This Way,” off of the 2018 EP Kicker, which stemmed from the group getting tired of playing nothing but old material. Later, lead singer Matt Pryor dedicated “Action & Action” to the showgoers who had to deal with what happened at the old Gary last summer. Thankfully, even with the rapid guitar opening that marked the transition from “Don’t Hate Me” into “Walking on a Wire,” there ended up not being a sound issue in sight.

Manchester Orchestra’s headlining set was incredibly silhouetted and featured half of its 2009 sophomore album Mean Everything to Nothing, including “My Friend Marcus,” which hasn’t been performed live since before COVID-19. Before “Dinosaur,” lead singer Andy Hull was struggling to get his guitar to sound right, and caught sight of someone’s boyfriend in the front row not enjoying himself while making the adjustment.

“That’s one of the funniest parts of this job,” Hull remarked, hoping that his guitar finally behaving could bring some enjoyment to said fan’s night.