Loyal Fans Come Out For The Ataris

Maxwell's was sold-out on Wednesday as the club hosted Washington Square Park, Don't Panic and The Ataris—a bill that celebrated sing-a-long harmonies with fast, loud guitars.

Opening band Washington Square Park is the brainchild of Max Rauch, 21, of nearby Verona. After stints playing in previous bands, Rauch finally found his footing with Washington Square Park, which recalls late 90s heart-on-a-sleeve pop-punk and emo music.

Listing influences such as New Found Glory, Lifetime, Saves The Day, the Get Up Kids and Jawbreaker, Rauch said, "The music comes from real situations. I've gone through a lot as a person, and the songs reflect that."

Though the band is releasing a full-length LP in June and has been approached by major labels, Rauch insists that the group wants to take it slow.

"We're a new band, and we need time to tour," he said. "Kind of make it a grassroots thing, rather than overnight."

Rauch, who had asked The Ataris to be their opener in an e-mail, was excited about the prospect of playing the packed club. "I've never played a sold-out show before," he said, grinning. "All of the hard work, this is the payoff. It means so much to me."

As the first opener, Washington Square Park played a short set of three songs, but still blistered through "No Medication," "Asleep," (from their 2009 self-titled EP) and a new song from their upcoming album, which Rauch dedicated to "all of the people in the front," who were singing and dancing along to old songs.

Don't Panic, based out of Stroudsburg, Pa., were the next opener, chosen as official support for The Ataris on the tour. The four-piece, of Ted Felicetti on vocals and guitar, AJ Larson on guitar, Keith Slader on bass and Zhach Kelsch on drums, play straightforward, no nonsense rock 'n roll music, which made them a curious choice on the bill. Still, songs off of their debut album, "My FairWeather Friend," managed to get the punks nodding their heads.

The band lists Foo Fighters, Queens of the Stone Age and the Toadies as influences, which could be heard in their brash—though fairly radio-friendly—guitar-driven rock. The band even covered the Foo Fighters hit "This is a Call," and warned the crowd that if they didn't recognize the song that they could, well, do something unprintable.

They ended their set with their single "Caroline," which some may have recognized from its fair local radio play.

"They play that on some stations, so now you can be like, 'I heard that terrible band live!" laughed vocalist Felicetti before launching into the song.

It was close to 11 p.m. by the time The Ataris, led by only original member Kris Roe, took the stage. Formed by Roe in Indiana in 1995, the band has seen numerous line-up changes in their 15-year career, which has so far spawned six studio albums.

Shortly after diving into the first few notes of their set, a mosh pit had erupted, which pushed some fans to the back. Throughout the set, crowd surfers sailed over people's heads, and without a proper bouncer—well, hopefully they made it somewhere safe.

Most of the crowd of fans looked to be in their early 20s, barely teenagers when The Ataris struck gold with their album So Long, Astoria, a mainstream success that produced radio hits like "In This Diary," "The Saddest Song," and their cover of Don Henley's "The Boys of Summer." It was indicative of this success that the former two got the biggest crowd reaction and subsequent sing-a-long (and thankfully the band didn't indulge in the cheesy cover of Henley's hit.)

The band also played "1*15*96," off of their '99 album Blue Skies, Broken Hearts... Next 12 Exits, which Roe introduced as saying, "This one's about making decisions you're not prepared for."

The band brought a fan up to play bass on "San Dimas High School Football Rules," and yes, he was wearing a fake San Dimas High School t-shirt.

Other highlights included a cover of The Misfits "Skulls," as a sort of homage to their punk rock roots.

The band ended with "Your Boyfriend Sucks" and "I.O.U. One Galaxy," before the crowd, sweaty and probably a bit deaf, stumbled out of the club.

"I've just loved them since high school," said Azizza Scordo, 24, of Clifton. This seemed to be the prevailing sentiment for fans who have stuck with the band for so many years.