Photos and words by Samantha Skapin

Last week I got the chance to check out The Menzinger’s After The Party Tour at the House of Blues in Cleveland, Ohio. They had some great support which included Rozwell Kid and Jeff Rosenstock.

Rozwell Kid opened up the show with their song “Weirdo“. I had heard of these guys before, but I hadn’t actually checked them out yet, so I was excited to hear what all the buzz was about. These guys had a ton of energy on stage and seemed like they were having a blast. They sound a lot like The Menzingers mixed with a heavy influence of Weezer, which was an awesome source for some nostalgia. They played a good amount of their set list off of their 2014 release, Too Shabby and their newest release Good Graphics, which the crowd seemed to love. After the show, I listened to these guys more and fell in love, so if you haven’t checked them out you definitely should! You can listen to Good Graphics here (you’re welcome).

Next up was New York’s own Jeff Rosenstock. Again, this was another name I had heard from multiple people but hadn’t checked out yet. After some extensive Googling on my phone before his set, I learned Rosenstock was in bands such as The Arrogant Son of Bitches and the collective group Bomb the Music Industry! (this I’ve actually listened to, so I was stoked). The band started off the set with the song “We Begged 2 Explode” off of their 2016 release Worry. The song starts off slow, but once it began to build up, the crowd went insane. The crowd seemed to be totally into these guys, singing all the words back the entire set, which was great to see for such a talented group. These guys had a sense of humor to them as well, which made their entire set even more entertaining to watch. I would definitely recommend checking out their newest release Worry if you haven’t, because it really a fun listen.

Next up was the most anticipated band of the night, The Menzingers. These guys have already kicked off the new year by putting out their new release After The Party, which has gotten a great response so far. They came out to the infamous “Intergalactic” and went straight into their song, “Tellin’ Lies” (one of my personal favorites) off of the newest release. The crowd immediately was insane, with a ton of crowd surfing and moshing right off the bat. These guys were so much fun to watch play because they seemed genuinely happy to be playing and sounded incredibly crisp. They played a lot off of the new record, but were also sure to include some songs off of previous releases, such as “Good Things” and “I Don’t Wanna Be An Asshole Anymore“. They ended their set with their song “In Remission” off of Rented World, which was a perfect end to the night. If you get a chance to catch these guys, make sure to take it because they put on a great show. Be sure to check out After The Party as well, because it’s truly a banger.