Review co-written by Stephanie Cincinnati and Ryan Piers
Last year, Youth Fountain brought his tour to Baltimore at the notable Ram’s Head Live, now revamped and appropriately renamed Nevermore Hall. This year, he brought his tour to Metro Gallery with friends Sad Park and Good Terms, and for a Sunday night, it was a packed house. This show was extra special because I’m the photographer for the opener, Gabe Woodrow.
I remember Gabe talking about how he’d love to open for Youth Fountain since he’s a huge fan of his work. We were on a four-show run with some other MD locals when we were sitting in his truck in Newburgh, NY, and he got the email confirming it. Gabe started his career as a solo acoustic artist, and in the last two years, he’s added a full band, which brings his down-to-earth, edgy, real-life songs to another level. After getting injured as a professional motocross racer, he retired his bike and traded it in for a six-string guitar. Gabe’s music is the epitome of the phrase “Music saved me,” and he shares his transition story at each show. My friend Ryan Piers, reviewer/writer for New Noise and Alt Press magazines, was at the show, and asked if he could include a little bit of his own experience, and I was happy to get another’s input.
Ryan Piers: “Gabe Woodrow’s incredibly dedicated fan base showed up on Sunday night. His people sang along to every song while jokingly yelling for their beloved artist to ‘take his shirt off’ between tunes. This has been a staple at shows from the beginning whenever Gabe’s hometown friends come out. Another friend yells, “That’s my friend!” In between songs. “The Annexation of Puerto Rico,” Woodrow’s newest and most downloaded song, highlighted his set. The anthemic, opening riff sailed through the room; the song’s melody and lyrics leaped off the stage, bouncing through the crowd. You could feel the emotion in the room rise before erupting during the song’s chorus. “My heart is full,” Woodrow said halfway through the set as the crowd cheered. You could tell he really meant it. Another staple of Gabe and his fan base is during “Live Laugh Toaster Bath,” when the band stops playing during the bridge, and the crowd yells “Feels Like Home!” which is part of the lyrics.”
This night of music kept going as it was time for Good Terms. Ryan also wrote about them while I was busy snapping photos.
Ryan Piers: “One of pop-punk’s heat-seekers, Good Terms, followed. From the moment the foursome huddled on stage before the set like a basketball team in a timeout, you knew something special was about to happen, and it did. Good Terms delivered song after song as they ripped and kicked through their 30 minutes in the spotlight.”
By the time they played “Old Friends,” the second song of the set, you could tell the crowd was hooked. A circle pit broke out at the demand of Brian McShea during “Hear Me Out.” They were clearly playing in front of fans as dozens were belting out the lyrics to their most popular track, “Cough,” at the end of the set. For the second act in a bill of four, Good Terms made it feel like the show belonged to them. Their set was high-energy with lots of jumping, solos, high notes, and breakdowns.
Up next was Sad Park, a four-piece alternative emo-punk band from Los Angeles. I hadn’t heard of the band until this tour, but it didn’t take long for me to get into their music. Their set was energetic and engaging, as about half of the set was from their latest 2023 release, “NO MORE SOUND.” Songs included “ALWAYS AROUND,” “GOOD LUCK,” “MONEY IN THE BAG” and CAROUSEL. Singer Graham Steele has a very powerful voice, and he’s able to pull off the screams from the album live, which was amazing to hear. The album is pretty restless, as it explores the meaning of being a human in this world.
Overall, I really enjoyed their set; they have really good stage presence, and they blend some heavier, intense moments very well with some softer, melodic bits. I would definitely come out to another show of theirs to experience it again.
Youth Fountain closed the night, but unfortunately, it wasn’t as energetic a performance as Tyler Zanon is known for. Since 2020, Tyler has handled the songwriting, guitar and vocals after Real Friends frontman Cody Muraro departed. This night, we learned that he was resting his vocal chords a little bit, so there wasn’t going to be as much yelling or force behind some of the songs. Metro Gallery is a smaller, open venue, so the other bands and I were sitting off to the side as we were watching Tyler’s VIP session. He sang two acoustic songs for the VIPs and shared his vocal issues before doing a short Q&A.
Even with this bit of strain on his voice, Tyler still put on a great show. To my surprise, Good Terms was his backup band on the run, which was really fun to watch. Tyler mostly stood still at the mic while singing, as the guys of Good Terms were moving around, singing along and having a good time. Youth Fountain can be described as a blend of emo, pop-punk, and alternative rock, and his lyrics about life and hard truths are reflected in each song, urging his fans to sing along with every word. At the end of the set, cheers were loud as he thanked the crowd for sticking with him through the show and music journey, then walked off stage.