Brittani Wert
- Apr 21, 2019
- 2 min read

20 Years of Taking Back Sunday at Crystal Ballroom

Updated: Aug 22, 2020

Friday night kicked off the Portland dates of Taking Back Sunday’s massive year-long world tour celebrating their 20 year anniversary as a band.

Taking Back Sunday, recognized internationally as a genre-defying rock band, released a 21-song compilation entitled Twenty earlier this year. This includes songs from all seven of their full-length albums, as well as a few new recordings.

Each date of the anniversary tour, the band plays 2002’s Tell All Your Friends in its entirety. On stops that run two nights in the same city, the band gives fans a different experience and setlist each night, all depending on the flip of a coin – either playing 2004’s Where You Want To Be or 2006’s Louder Now from front to back.

On night one of two, the band played TAYF, with hits like “Cute Without the E” and “You’re So Last Summer,” in addition to Where You Want to Be, courtesy of a coin flip by Keaton Lazzara.

Taking Back Sunday’s performance on Friday night only gives more evidence as to why they have been cemented as one of the staple pop punk bands of today. Their 20+ song set was filled with lazers, endless crowd surfing, and consistent energy from start to finish. The band made the spanning ballroom feel like a small club packed with excitement, something not easily achieved.

Prior to Taking Back Sunday’s headlining set, Arizona-based band The Maine kicked off the show as the only opening act. Having seen them live a few times before, their pop-rock filled sets are always incredibly fun and energetic and this was no exception. Hot on the heels of their recent release, You Are OK, the band had plenty of new material for fans, but also included hits spanning their own 12 year career. During their catchy older hit “Girls Do What They Want,” the band even brought up a fan to sing the famous lines in what turned out to be his first concert ever.

Check out the gallery below to see all the action from the show!