With three openers, all of whom could be considered more hardcore than Senses Fail, the musical veterans took to the stage at around 11 on Friday night to a crowd already pumped for their appearance. Playing at the Black Cat on October 25, it was clear, as lead singer Buddy Nielsen mentioned, that they have been at it for eleven years. Senses Fail delivered a well-formed set of some of their biggest hits and fan favorites.

The band came out to a crowd that had been moshing for hours before their appearance on stage. Immediately everyone moved forward and the room seemed that much bigger. The circle pit that had been present for the three openers closed up. Senses Fail launched into their first song and the crowd responded with just as much energy as Buddy and his band members displayed on stage. They played for well over an hour, delivering songs from throughout their career, some well-known and others more obscure. Frontman Nielsen made the most of the free space on stage jumping from place to place and putting on a very expressive performance.

In between some of the numbers, Nielsen took the time to speak to the crowd. One of his more interesting interludes touched on the career of the band and how they have gone from being absolute nobodies to quite famous and now to only being moderately well-known. He mentioned that some of his favorite shows have been those that the band played in the past couple of years in smaller venues and that he’s had a ton more fun with the band “once they stopped trying to be the biggest band in the world.” Obviously with time in the industry comes a sort of wisdom that many younger bands on the scene could learn from.

Senses Fail were part of the post-hardcore movement during the early 2000’s that paved the way for many of the bands that have now found quite a bit of fame within the Warped Tour circuit. It’s clear from the performance the band put on Friday that their huge amount of fame during that time period was no fluke, but well-deserved. Although the crowds have dissipated a bit, they’re still putting out great music and delivering a really energetic, loud and aggressive live show that puts a many newer touring bands to shame.