Before heading out on a month and a half long tour supporting Say Anything and Motion City Soundtrack, Saves the Day, the Princeton indie-rock band, played a one-off for the students at Ramapo College of New Jersey.
The Jersey natives were supported by Light Resolve, high energy rock trio from New York City, and Cartel, the pop-rock super power from Georgia.It seemed to be the band’s first time playing a show with either band, but they seemed to question why they hadn’t shared the stage with Cartel ever. Saves the Day took the stage cautiously, almost as if they haven’t been around for the last 15 years, which they have been. Singer Chris Conley, opened the set with a crown pleaser, “Anywhere With You”. From then on, the set was made up of equal parts nostalgia and new: “Cars & Calories”, “Third Engine”, “Freakish”, and “Shoulder to the Wheel” for the older set of fans; “Firefly”, “Bye Bye Baby”, and “In Reverie” for the younger set of fans. The fan factions seemed to coalesce during the last song, “At Your Funeral”, when fans of all ages crowd surfed their way to the front for a chance to be up close with the band. The set was relatively short for a Saves the Day show: 17 songs and no encore.
Cartel followed Saves the Day on the bill for the evening. Will Pugh, the 26-year-old singer for Cartel, made it a point during the set to say that Saves the Day was the first band that he had ever seen in concert. Saves the Day literally stole the show with a great live performance, great live set and an unparalleled energy.