Four Year Strong headline “Enemy of the World” Tour

A line wrapped around the block of Gramercy Theatre on Feb. 12 for a sold out “Enemy Of The World” Tour sponsored by “Shirts for a Cure.” Moshing, circle pits and fist pumps were the theme of the evening.

 Openers Title Fight, looking no older than just out of high school, took to the stage and looked a little out of place in somewhere other than one of their parent’s garages.

Despite their appearance, the Kingston, Pa. natives had some followers singing along. With fast instrumentals and vocals verging on screaming, their sound had an unfinished feel but was well received nonetheless.

 This Time Next Year were more of a pop-punk band. Front man Pete Dowdalls had vocals similar to that of New Found Glory’s Jordan Pundik. Their songs contained amp shaking drums and bass. Jumping in unison, the guitarists and bassists read each other well and didn't seem foreign to performing to an audience.

 Song "Alex in wonderland" got the crowd moving while "Sweetest Air" contained alternating vocals and solid bass and drums that kept the energy going.

 A little bit of Richmond, Va. was present with punk hardcore band Strike Anywhere. Vocalist Thomas Barnett came out with full energy and immediately began jumping around, causing for his head full of dreads to fly about.

Unison hand claps from the band and audience gave their songs a very grassroots atmosphere with Barnett jumping back and forth from the stage to the barricade and singing with crowd members.

 Using both hands to grip the microphone, Barnett carried his voice at full force for some songs, like "Infared” and “I’m Your Opposite Number.” 

 The crowd immediately filled left and right as chants for Four Year Strong (FYS) began. Steady moshing and pushing started before the band even stepped foot on stage. The anxious and eager crowd took it upon themselves to get the show started and began singing until the guys finally appeared.

Like a rally, the crowd hung onto every word said. From demands for clapping to jumping, the crowd never stopped moving. The five Massachusetts natives have a chemistry that can only come from years of working together, seeing as members constantly changed in their earlier years up until recently.

Drummer Jackson Massucco seemed to be getting a workout as his arms and hands were a constant blur throughout the set, while synthesizer Josh Lyford moved to and from the stage and audience.

 Playing "Vanity," off of their last album Rise or Die Trying, the crowd began singing and found themselves carrying the song all on their own. Crowd surfers were being moved one after another, with someone constantly being handled to the front or falling somewhere within the audience.

 With a cover of Third Eye Blind’s "Semi-Charmed Life," FYS gave this classic song a punk rock twist, with those who may not have been familiar with the band could at least sing along being familiar with the song.

  "Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Hell" was an old fan favorite while "Wasting Time (Eternal Summer)," one of the newest songs off of their upcoming album Enemy of the World, acted like a breathe of fresh air to the crowd, getting them ready to move and ready for more.

 "I want to see you open this place, wall to fucking wall! Back to front!" Lyford said. "I want to see the biggest circle pit New York City has ever seen."

 The circle pit quickly opened again as FYS played "The Takeover." The band ended with another fan favorite off "Heroes Get Remembered, Legends Never Die."

With choruses of "Team up! Team up!" even those new to FYS couldn't help but cross their arms in the air and shout along.

 More like a small basement show, there was intimacy between the audience and bands as they jumped between the stage and crowd.

Guards were seen holding up shoes, shirts, jackets and even pants lost from crowd surfers, waiting to be claimed by their rightful owners (or just someone at least).

 With an ambulance waiting outside for an injured concertgoer — even though there were probably plenty more from the intensity of the night— smiles could still be seen on their faces from a show they’ll probably never forget.