The Starting Line – Somebody’s Gonna Miss Us

Philadelphia’s The Starting Line really lucked out when they started up back in 1999.  New Found Glory and Taking Back Sunday were finally getting the public recognition they were working towards, and masses of young teens were ready to throw themselves at the next wave of pop punk upstarts.  So when The Starting Line released their first record, Say It Like You Mean It, the band’s catchy hooks and big choruses fit the bill.

Consequently, there isn’t much setting The Starting Line apart from its peers – the group just happened to get into the scene at just the right time.  They were never infectious enough to reach the mainstream the way Fall Out Boy did but have still amassed quite a following throughout their career.  Nowhere is that more evident than on their recently released live CD/DVD, Somebody’s Gonna Miss Us, where the band captures their “final” show in their Philadelphia hometown back in 2008.  The band touted the performance as the final show until 2011, after which point The Starting Line would go their separate ways for some breathing room before a planned regrouping.  But even with the promise of reunion, both the band and the audience interact as if it’s a final farewell.

The set list clocks in at an impressive eighteen tracks, maxing out the CD’s seventy minute run time.  The tracks span the band’s entire three-album career, but mostly focus on early material – and based on the audience reaction, the band hit all the fan favourites.  There’s the nasally pop hit “Inspired By The $,” the bubbly classic “Surprise, Surprise,” and the instant crowd pleaser “Up And Go.”  Much like contemporaries Something Corporate, The Starting Line may have built their career around the pulling the heartstrings of young teens, but when they revisit those embarrassing early hits like “Bedroom Talk,” the fans entirely give themselves to lines like “I’m gonna tear your ass up like we just got married.”  The band even makes a couple comments acknowledging how ridiculous these lines really are.  Towards the end of the set the band hands over choral duties to the crowd during “Island” and “Best of Me;” and teases their fans with “Somebody’s Gonna Miss Us” before an obligatory encore.

The package’s DVD portion also contains the live set, as well as a career-spanning documentary.  While the video will no doubt please fans, the real treat rests in the documentary.  The nearly hour-long journey contains some of the most honest interviews ever recorded.  Particularly when talking about their time signed to Geffen, the band disregards all restraint.  From calling out the president of Geffen for his controlling agenda, to the events leading up to their hiatus, a band seldom comes across this human.

Obviously Somebody’s Gonna Miss Us is a targeted release.  If you haven’t taken an interest in The Starting Line yet, then their live album isn’t going to do too much to change that.  But as a parting gift for loyal fans, Somebody’s Gonna Miss Us couldn’t be more complete.