New Found Glory | Portland, OR
New Found Glory put on a stripped-down performance at Aladdin Theater in Portland, OR for their Make the Most of It tour. The tour takes on the name of their recent acoustic album. Guitarist Chad Gilbert explained that the name of the album and tour came to him as he pondered how to make use of the “crap that he was going through.” In 2021, Chad was diagnosed with pheochromocytoma, a type of rare cancer that many don’t survive because they are misdiagnosed. He continued on, telling the crowd that part of the proceeds from the album and tour went to spread awareness about the rare illness.
The sold-out show opened with singer-songwriter, Leanna Firestone. She donned a cardigan that a fan had made and started with the light-hearted “Google Translate”. Most of the songs were about breakup and love but mixed with humor and stories in between. It was clear some of the fans were there for Leanna and sang along, especially excited when she ended with the song, “Smitten”.
New Found Glory took the stage as all of the members except for singer, Jordan Pundik, took a seat as they opened the set with Get Me Home. The band remained seated for a handful of the first songs as they joked that the crowd wanted a mosh pit event or an acoustic show. The drummer, Cyrus Bolook, had his hand in everything - playing the guitar, keyboard, and the occasional drum throughout the show. Will Levy from The Story So Far joined the band on guitar for the remainder of the set. The famous “My Friends Over You” came early, the crowd singing along and going as hard as an acoustic show could go. Ian Grushka stood out, not only on bass guitar but on a triangle with a few short solos during “Too Good to Be”. The set included covers of The Goo Goo Dolls’ “Iris” and Edwin McCain’s “I’ll Be”. The crowd sang along with just as much heart to those as the rest of the set. Before the encore, the band played “Kiss the Floor” from their latest album as a reminder that we are so anxious about our futures but that we should live in the moment each day.
Before the encore, the band had a little girl come up to pick the winner of a Taylor guitar. They had been raffling off a guitar for each show. Leanna Firestone joined the band on keys as they played a handful of songs ending with “Dream Born Again”.
