New Found Glory
House of Blues – Chicago, IL
April 25, 2009
Jordan Pundik (lead vocals)
Believe it or not, this past Saturday I saw New Found Glory live in concert for the first time in my life. That is pretty amazing to me, seeing as how this band has been around since 1999 when I was a freshman in high school! New Found Glory has now officially been on the map in the music industry for a decade. I still cannot figure out how I went ten years not catching the fivesome from Florida in concert. I suppose there is a first time for everything and I shouldn’t be so hard on myself. But really, come on! I felt like such a slacker not knowing any of the words to NFG’s songs performed the other night. Honestly though, I only have New Found Glory’s latest record Not Without A Fight, so I was familiar with songs like “Don’t Let Her Pull You Down,” “Truck Stop Blues,” and “Listen To Your Friends.” I have come to realize that Mark Hoppus is responsible for my newfound (pun intended) spark of interest in New Found Glory. Hoppus’s blog/website always turns me on to new artists. Well, new for me that is. Most of the bands Mark blogs about have been around for years, but for some reason or another, I never listened to them in the past. I need to meet Mark some day so I can thank him in person for helping me discover new music – good music too!
Moving on to the actual show… I admit, I was very impressed with the energy of NFG. Apparently, Chicago was the only show on the band’s current Not Without A Fight tour that SOLD OUT. Yay Chicago! I think that fact helped the band keep up their enthusiasm to be playing at The Windy City’s House of Blues for 1,400 adoring fans. It was song after song after song – no boring wait time in between. And when there was lag time, the boys took turns telling stories about each other from back in the day. I learned that Jordan Pundik (lead vocalist) and Steve Klein (rhythm guitar, lyrics) used to work at Red Lobster in the kitchen together. Jordan also worked at Walgreens for a bit after Red Lobster. Been there, done that: I used to work at Olive Garden as a hostess. Blah. HATED that job. It was refreshing to hear that these guys used to have normal so-so jobs as teenagers and young 20-somethings to pay the bills. I could truly see how grateful New Found Glory is for their career during this show. Lead guitarist Chad Gilbert thanked the crowd profusely before and after NFG’s “fake last song” and after the night’s encore. You are welcome!
More photos of New Found Glory after the jump…
Chad Gilbert (lead guitar, vocals)
Steve Klein (rhythm guitar)
Ian Grushka (bass)
Cyrus Bolooki (drums)
Popularity: 1% [?]
I think this article definitely represented nfg in a great way! I’ve been seeing new found glory ever since i was 15 and always make it point to see them as many times on a tour as i can. Their live show is always killer and leaving you after the show saying ” damn!”
They always cut right to the chase and get down to the music are are ALWAYS so grateful for everything their fans have given them . Basically if you want something whether it being on stage, a pick anything make a sign or ask them they will deliever. IT’s great to see bands like this actually being able to make a living for simply just being themselves
<3 a plus article!
The NFG show was awesome and Bayside did a great job as well! It was my first time seeing both of these bands and I would see them again because it was so much fun!
This was a really great line-up. the pictures are awesome, Jennifer- we need to get you NFG’s other albums! so good!
actually nfg has been around since 97′they have an older e.p. before nothing gold can stay called its all about the girls. nice article though! that show was amazing!