Weekly Playlist #26: I Wish They Still Played That!

Sometimes a song disappears from a band’s live arsenal, never to be heard of again. Well, if you don’t count that drunk guy behind you screaming its title in your ear whom you only wish you could ignore as well as the musicians onstage do. Here are a few songs we’ve noticed are painfully absent from a few bands’ live sets.

Contributors:
Scott Heisel [SH]
Brian Kraus [BK]
Brittany Moseley [BM]
Cassie Whitt [CW]

ANBERLIN – “Adelaide”

It makes perfect sense that a prolific band like Anberlin just can't cram everything their fans want to hear into their sets with the arrival of each new album cycle. Out of all the songs weaned out over the years, “Adelaide” is easily one of the most missed. Last spotted in set list rotation back in 2011, it’s home to Stephen Christian's soaring choruses and delicate balance of sassy and gentlemanly verses. As the best representative of Cities, it deserves a permanent seat at the table. Bring it back! [BK]

FOALS – “Cassius”

U.K. math-rock act Foals burst out with their debut full-length, Antidotes, in 2008, and an absolutely killer first single in “Cassius.” It's the kind of track you'd imagine Bloc Party would write if they formed a supergroup with Minus The Bear. Yet when I finally got to see Foals live in 2011 supporting the also-excellent Total Life Forever, I was stunned that while they played a whopping six cuts off Antidotes, they neglected what is likely their most popular song (at least in these ears). After consulting with setlist.fm, it appears that the song only made occasional appearances on that tour, and has seemingly been retired for good following the band's December 30, 2011, performance in Manchester, U.K. To that, I say bollocks. [SH]

FURTHER SEEMS FOREVER – “Pride War”

Further Seems Forever's reunion is all about Chris Carrabba. The two-time frontman's footprints are all over the setlist—a good thing—but it reads more like a completist’s guide than a greatest hits package. Surely some lesser-known songs can be skipped to include a Jason Gleason-era highlight like “Pride War?” Carrabba probably isn't keen on covering the other guys, but not everyone was fortunate enough to see those songs performed in their natural habitat. While their third album Hide Nothing is completely muted from the current live show, its more memorable precursor, How To Start A Fire, doesn't fare much better with only one recent inclusion (“The Sound”). Guys, watch your Hellfest 2003 video again and reconsider! This is an era worth celebrating, too. [BK]

JIMMY EAT WORLD – “Opener”

I've been a fan of Jimmy Eat World since 1996 or so, from the first time I heard “Seventeen” on a free CD sampler for Surge soda. (Marketing used to be a lot weirder in the ’90s.) That song became my go-to white whale when it came to JEW setlists—what were the odds the band would ever play a relatively obscure track from their major-label debut with guitarist Tom Linton on lead vocals, not current frontman Jim Adkins? Well, I had to eat my words when in November 2004, the brand broke out this golden oldie for the first time probably since Static Prevails was originally released, and I got to witness it live in Madison, Wisconsin. (It's since made about two dozen more appearances in JEW's setlists but appears to have been re-retired after 2008.) So! Since that fateful November night in 2004, I've since had to update my JEW white whale to “Opener.” It was the opening track to the first installment of The Emo Diaries compilation series, and it is an absolute banger of a track. It's in my top five all-time favorite Jimmy Eat World songs, and to the best of my knowledge, it has never been played live. This is a goddamned travesty. Once again, it's a Tom Linton-fronted song, so apparently that guy is too afraid to step up to the mic. I hereby pitch the idea that JEW should do a small tour (one that preferably plays Cleveland) with setlists comprised exclusively of Tom's songs. “Opener,” “Seventeen,” “Blister,” “Rockstar,” “Action Needs An Audience,” the list goes on. Who wouldn't want to see that? [SH]

SAY ANYTHING – “Total Revenge”

As much as I love …Is A Real Boy, the seven tracks that make up …Was A Real Boy, the bonus disc from its 2006 reissue,are some of my favorite Say Anything songs. “Total Revenge” encompasses everything Max Bemis was dealing with during that murky and completely messed-up time in his life. That’s probably why it’s such a powerful song. (Then again, you could say that about every track on …Is A Real Boy.) With Say Anything’s upcoming Rarities And More Tour, it looks like Bemis is on a bit of a nostalgia kick, so here’s hoping he decides to dust off “Total Revenge” for a not-so-distant show. Might I recommend the Cleveland stop? [BM]

SENSES FAIL – “187”

They may have retired it only 11 days ago, but that this song is gone forever from Senses Fail’s setlist is a jarring thought for anyone who has attended their shows throughout the pasted decade or so. “187” was often the huge sing-along closer for the night, much like Alkaline Trio’s “Radio.” And it’s just gone now, guys. You’re never going to hear it while smushed between a bunch of sweaty, emotional man-bros barking their throats out about poison darts and their hearts. [CW]

TAKING BACK SUNDAY – (Anything from New Again)

New Again became Taking Back Sunday’s bastard child not long after it was released. (That’s a long story, and you can find it in our massive Oral History Of Taking Back Sunday.) You’re lucky if you managed to hit a TBS show within just the right timeframe to experience the aggressive, pulsing fury of a crowd during “Carpathia,” or fear Adam Lazzara was verging on a breakdown during “Everything Must Go.” Brilliant songs like “Swing,” “Lonely, Lonely” and “Cut Me Up Jenny” can now only be heard live as they cry from the forgotten song orphanage. [CW]

YELLOWCARD – “October Nights”

Everyone knows Ocean Avenue is the album that put Yellowcard on the map, and because of that, the band tend to ignore anything before their 2003 breakout record. It’s a damn shame too, because their earlier releases have quite a few standouts. “October Nights” from 2001’s One For The Kids—the band’s third full-length but first with Ryan Key on vocals—is a straight-up pop-punk jam full of heart-on-sleeve lyrics (“I wish the sun would hide its head so I could watch you dream some more”), loud guitars and Sean Mackin’s violin prowess. It may be 12 years old, but this song would fit into the band’s current setlist quite nicely. [BM]