Boys Like Girls End 10-Year-Long Hiatus with Satisfying Boston Show [Photos]

Boys Like Girls came back from a 10-year hiatus to bring the Speaking Our Language tour to Boston’s MGM Music Hall on October 26th. This stop on the tour had a plethora of openers, including Senses, Lolo, The Summer Set, and State Champs. The tour itself carries other nostalgic emo bands like Four Year Strong, 3OH!3, and The Ready Set and has several openers at each stop, giving it a mini-festival feel.

The tour gives concert-goers a view back in time to the likes of a late 2000s Warped Tour lineup. My angsty teenage self would have argued back and forth with Mom and Dad for weeks to see this show. I arrived for The Summer Set to take the stage. Lead singer Brian Logan Dales donned a leather jacket and white t-shirt, offering up some serious Danny Zuko vibes. The set was covered in flashy backlighting and colourful rays.

The band carries a very early 2000s boy-band sound and was heavily contrasted by State Champs, who followed shortly after. State Champs came out screaming and kicking, reminding the crowd that this was a moshing and crowd-surfing-friendly show. The crowd acted accordingly, with attendees immediately starting to flow atop their peers and pour in waves over the barricade. Their heavier sound was perfect to get the crowd hyped for the headlining Boys Like Girls.

Boys Like Girls then came on stage psyched up for their hometown show. Lead singer Martin Johnson rocked a full biker fit, complete with fingerless gloves. The whole band resembled The Lost Boys with their black leather outfits and with bassist Gregory James rocking the signature Kiefer Sutherland blonde hair.

They opened with “SUNDAY AT FOXWOODS,” the title track to their new album just released last month. They then dove head-first into the 2009 hit “Love Drunk.” The energy stayed high throughout the set as the band went back and forth between their pre-hiatus hits and their new album’s highly anticipated tracks. They even brought out Derek DiScanio of State Champs and Brian Logan Dales of the Summer Set to perform “THE OUTSIDE.” They ended their regular set with one chorus of “The Great Escape,” allowing the crowd to pull out their phones and record before asking they be put away to be present for the full version of the song, which ended with another snippet of “Love Drunk.”

The band then disappeared for a short while before returning for their encore where they performed the slow ballad “Two Is Better Than One.” If you’re into late 2000s emo rock, this was the show for you. With various rotating openers, I would have seen this show again and again. It completely fulfilled the angsty teen in me.

Boys Like Girls (w/ State Champs, The Summer Set) @ MGM Music Hall at Fenway (Boston, MA) on October 26, 2023

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