On Tuesday April 7, the Buffalo RiverWorks crowd was treated to the Boys Like Girls pop-rock sound after not playing in the city for 15 years.
The classic 2000’s band made a revival in 2023 after an 11-year hiatus with their album “SUNDAY AT FOXWOODS”. Last year, they joined the Jonas Brothers on their ‘Jonas20: Greetings from Your Hometown’ as an opener. Now this year they’re back as a main act to celebrate the “Boys Like Girls” 20th anniversary and “Love Drunk” 17th anniversary.
Their tour, ‘The Sound Track of Your Life Tour’, U.S. dates featured openers Arrows in Action and iDKHOW (i don’t know how, but they found me). Crowds gathered outside the venue in the fresh-fallen snow to support them as they opened the night.
Arrows in Action started the night with high energy. Singer Victor Viramontes-Pattison told the crowd, “One of the first albums I bought was Boys Like Girls”, extending their thanks to the band for opening the show. ‘Cheekbones’ was a hit for the night, earning an eruption in the crowd.
Next, iDKHOW lit up the stage with their classic theatrical style of exaggerated movements. Their hits were played back to back, but Dallon Weekes decided to “rewind the clock” and play the song ‘Visitation of the Ghost’ from the early 2000’s from a band called The Brobecks, which Weekes was a part of.
As the crowd waited for Boys Like Girls to enter the stage, fans threw a paper airplane from the pit to the balcony, cheering each other on as songs from the 2000’s played in the background, amping everyone up for a set of throwbacks. The venue went dark as ‘Heart Heart Heartbreak’ went through the speakers, and the band members came out with cigarettes in between their teeth.
Lead singer Martin Johnson spoke to the crowd, “Buffalo came out on a nice cold fucking Tuesday. Two albums back to back, one night.” They did just that by playing the album “Love Drunk” in its entirety first. Throughout the set, fans jumped, danced, and sang with the band, but as soon as ‘Two Is Better Than One’ started, you could see couples across the crowd grow close and soak in the moment with one another.
The band also made sure everyone knew that “not lost on us” all the support they’ve been given by fans over the past two decades. A 10-minute intermission followed before starting the album “Boys Like Girls”, screens around the venue started playing videos from classic shows and movies, but the most nostalgic was early performance clips of the band starting.
As they played through the album, the crowd never dipped in energy. From the balcony, you could see a sea of fans just enjoying music from their teens, remembering when they found BLG. “Quick survey: how many of you illegally downloaded this album?” Johnson asked, looking across. “Sick 100%, on Wednesday morning, you’re going to show up in your new BLG shirt,” he joked, saying it was payment for back then, but with interest.
Closing out after both albums were through, they came back for one more surprise. One more play through of the song ‘The Great Escape’ and ‘Love Drunk’, ending their return to Buffalo on an unforgettable high.
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