Modern Baseball stops in Pawtucket on tour

The alternative rock band Modern Baseball swung through Pawtucket Tuesday night while on their 2015 tour, selling out The Met with enthused fans and college-esque jokes.

Tiny Moving Parts, an indie-rock family band from Minnesota, took the stage first, and lead vocalist Dylan Mattheisen seemed genuinely happy to play in Rhode Island for the first time. Mattheisen, along with members Matthew and Billy Chevalier, kept the crowd hyped for the rest of the night with their high-energy beat and lyrics.

Unfortunately, the Canadian punk-rock band PUP had to cancel their remaining five shows on tour, including Tuesday’s performance. Lead singer Stefan Babcock said he played 27 shows until his body finally “gave out,” and after doctor’s orders he was forced to rest his vocal chords to prevent permanent vocal damage. Although the other three bands on tour were upset to see PUP drop, Modern Baseball’s friends Sorority Noise agreed to play the fill in for the final dates.

Sorority Noise blew me away more than I expected. Although I had never heard of them before Tuesday night, their sound was edgy with a perfect blend of soft vocals and loud bass undertone. Lead singer Cameron Boucher spoke about his depression in between songs, claiming that just because you can’t see a person’s illness doesn’t mean they’re not walking around with it every day. The audience was very receptive to Boucher’s words.

Their lyrics were all relatable, since the members have just recently graduated college. They played some of their top hits including “Using,” “Nolsey,” and ended their set with “Your Soft Blood.” Throughout the final song, all of the members were getting really intense as they danced and jumped all around the stage until the final line, when they all slowly fell to the ground. By far, Sorority Noise was the best performance of the night.

Jeff Rosenstock performed next and offered a heavier sound. His music was particularly hard to get used to if you had not heard it before, but he kept the crowd entertained with jokes and quirky dance moves. Rosenstock said that every night on tour he plays a different cover song, and the members of Modern Baseball encouraged him to sing a Van Halen cover. Modern Baseball vocalist Brendan Lukens and guitarist Jake Ewald were invited onstage to join in.

Lastly, Modern Baseball was well-anticipated by the crowd, and after the long wait, started their set with one of their most popular songs, “The Weekend.” Modern Baseball continued the night with songs “Re-Do” and “Tears Over Beers” off of their 2012 record “Sports”, and “Your Graduation” and “Rock Bottom” off of their most recent album, “You’re Gonna Miss It All.”

The band also played songs off of their 2015 EP entitled “The Perfect Cast,” and a new song off an upcoming album set to release next year.Throughout their set, the crowd was electric and danced alongside one another, belting the well-known lyrics back to Lukens. After their “final” song, members came back onstage for an encore cover song by The Killers, making sure to to end the night on a light note. Modern Baseball is a band that I’d like to be friends with; their lyrics are incredibly relevant to a college lifestyle with genuine, heartfelt feelings.

Modern Baseball will continue their tour through Dec. 12, making stops in New Haven, Connecticut, Amityville, New York, New York City and Philadelphia.