Tuesday night, the Saves the Day tour, promoting the band’s new
CD, In Reverie, made a stop at the Pageant, bringing Moneen
and Taking Back Sunday. The floor at the Pageant was packed with
fans, many who knew the words to every song.

Moneen kicked the evening off with a set of powerful alternative
rock, including hits like “I Wish I was There to See…,” “Why
Bother Wondering” and “Passing of America.”

Moneen’s sound–“aggressive melodic pop,” as lead singer Kenny
Bridges labels it–is as unique as the band itself.

Moneen played to the audience the entire set. Bridges would
often stop between songs to talk to individual members of the
audience. After their set the members of Moneen could be found
hanging out by the backstage door, talking to fans and signing
autographs.

Taking Back Sunday took the stage next. The band came out and
pumped up the crowd with “Bike Scene,” then followed with a set
loaded with their rock/emo sound, playing songs like “Great
Romances of the 20th Century,” “Your Own Disaster,” and the top 100
hit, “Cute Without the ‘E’.”

The band members were full of energy and were jumping around,
throwing themselves off of set pieces and tossing around their
instruments.

Their energy transferred to the audience, who were jumping up
and down while singing, sometimes drowned out the band.

The highlight of the evening came when Saves the Day took the
stage. The lyrics of “At Your Funeral” seemed to pour from the
mouth of lead singer Chris Conley: “This song will become the
anthem of your underground.” The stage then exploded with brilliant
light; the bright yellows and blues were a sharp contrast from the
previous two bands, and the band’s music reinforced that
contrast.

It’s very difficult to categorize Saves the Day’s music, because
it’s constantly evolving.

“Hopefully our fans have learned that we’re a band that’s
constantly moving forward,” bassist Eben D’Amico said. “We’re
always taking steps up and evolving our sound.”

The band mixed songs from its older albums, including “At Your
Funeral,” “Freakish” and “This is Not an Exit,” with tracks from
their new CD, In Reverie such as “Anywhere With You,” “In My
Waking Life” and “Wednesday the Third.”

The songs for In Reverie were penned while the band was
on the tour promoting their last album, Stay What You
Are.

“[In Reverie] is just a collection of songs; any one song
could have been written at any time,” said D’Amico. “The album was
years in the making.”

The tour was in Columbia last night for a show at Mizzou,
wrapping up its Midwestern swing.

“[The tour] is amazing, everything’s been great–better than we
expected,” said D’Amico.

Fans of Saves the Day, Taking Back Sunday and Moneen should
expect more great things in the months and years to come.

All three have moved from their indie roots to sign with Vagrant
Records.