Oct 7

Oct 7 Show Review: Four Year Strong at Cornerstone - Berkeley, CA

Four Year Strong performing at Cornerstone in Berkeley, CA. September 27, 2017. Photo: Jared Stossel

Four Year Strong
w/ Seaway, Like Pacific, Grayscale, Life Lessons
September 27, 2017
Cornerstone
Berkeley, CA

Photos and review by Jared Stossel

I love attending pop-punk shows as of lately. I love attending them because standing in the back or watching the crowd below from the balcony reveals nothing but what I’d like to call “happy chaos”. Essentially, here’s how I break down “happy chaos”: a packed room filled with people, solely there to have a great time, chaoticly moshing, forming circle pits, hardcore dancing, whatever it may be, all while screaming back the lyrics in an almost religious manner to the band that might be onstage.

I’ve seen The Story So Far perform a hometown show at 924 Gilman Street in Berkeley. I’ve seen countless Set Your Goals shows throughout the Bay Area, and I’ve played witness to a myriad of other punk rock and pop-punk acts. Adding to this resume of acts is none other than Four Year Strong, the East Coast pop-punk quartet. This time around the band made a stop at Cornerstone in Berkeley, CA to perform their highly celebrated debut album in its entirety, Rise or Die Trying.

With support from an eclectic group of openers (all rooted in the pop-punk genre), including Life Lessons, Grayscale, Like Pacific, and Seaway, the stacked lineup provded to be highly entertaining. Without slowing down for even a moment, Four Year Strong powered through a massive setlist, which was built off of the entirety of the Rise or Die Trying album. Tracks from each of their previous studio records made appearances throughout the evening, including notable tracks from 2010’s Enemy of the World.

It’s interesting to watch Four Year Strong perform. They don’t move around too much when onstage, channeling laser focus into making sure they perfect each note and rhythm. Yet the intensity that’s channeled into the music reverberates throughout the venue, causing the aforementioned moments of “happy chaos” I described above. If they’re coming through your town any time soon, take some time out of your day to go and see the show, particularly if you’re a fan of the genre.

Four Year Strong Set List
What the Hell Is a Gigawatt?
Who Cares?
The Take Over
Prepare to Be Digitally Manipulated
Abandon Ship or Abandon All Hope
Heroes Get Remembered, Legends Never Die
Wrecked 'Em? Damn Near Killed 'Em
Catastrophe
Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Hell
Bada Bing! Wit' a Pipe!
Beatdown in the Key of Happy
If He's Here, Who's Runnin' Hell?
Maniac (R.O.D.)
We All Float Down Here
Find My Way Back
One Step at a Time
It Must Really Suck to Be Four Year Strong Right Now
Wasting Time (Eternal Summer)