Two years after getting the keys to our new HQ in Beverly, Mass and just six months after opening our record store here on Rantoul Street, Bridge Nine hosted our inaugural fully-plugged-in live performance with the band New Found Glory, who very graciously kicked off our first Warehouse Matinee just hours before doing double-duty at their sold-out show at the 900-seat Somerville Theatre.
Deciding to open a record store was a conscious effort to engage with people more. Our last HQ was hidden away in an industrial complex. Now that we’re on a busy street in a cool downtown area, we wanted to create opportunities for people to get together. And what better way then by inviting one of our favorite bands to perform for the most intimate of audiences?
New Found Glory performing LIVE at Bridge Nine on 3/16/23. Photo by Chris Padgett
Bridge Nine has had a long history with New Found Glory, going back to when we first met them in 2004, in Australia of all places. Chris B9 was with a band doing a club tour, and New Found Glory had just landed in the same city about to start their own tour the following day. Once they realized an American hardcore band was playing in town, they came to the show to check it out and say hello. We stayed in touch, and three years later when NFG guitarist Chad Gilbert produced our first release for H2O, the Nothing To Prove album, we started talking about releasing something for International Superheroes of Hardcore, the heavier alter-ego of NFG. That turned into the dual-release Tip Of The Iceberg 7” and ISHC LP, which came out in the spring of 2008, and the first of eleven different releases with the New Found Glory camp over the next five years.
New Found Glory performing LIVE at Bridge Nine on 3/16/23. Photo by Chris Padgett
New Found Glory is currently on tour supporting their new album on Revelation Records called Make The Most Of It, which is an acoustic album written by the band in the wake of Chad Gilbert’s cancer diagnosis. He has been receiving treatment for a rare form of cancer called Pheochromocytoma, and has sat out the second half of the tour, with Dan from Four Year Strong filling in for him. We had asked Chad if NFG would be down to play our store, and the band agreed to do it, so we created an exclusive cover for their new album in homage to the famous Judge Chung King Can Suck It LP and updated it with the Cancer Can Suck It slogan that Chad had been using on tour. These LP’s were made in a limited quantity, hand-numbered, and only available in-person at the Bridge Nine store. The bonus though, was it came with admission to see the band perform fully plugged-in less than a week later!
New Found Glory’s Make The Most Of It with limited-edition Cancer Can Suck It cover
To get the warehouse ready, long-time supporter Larry Kelley built a drum riser and tracked down a drum set and much of the backline that was needed for the band to perform. Chris picked the band up at the Somerville Theatre in a 12-passenger van, and rushed them back to the Bridge Nine store. After a short sound check, they ripped through twelve songs in just over thirty minutes.
Everyone here at Bridge Nine wants to thank New Found Glory for playing our store and warehouse, and wish Chad Gilbert well as he continues to receive treatment for Pheochromocytoma. You were missed, and we hope you can make it out to the B9HQ on your next tour!
Did you miss out on the NFG show? Don’t miss our next event! Make sure to follow us on Instagram, and get on our Mailing List!
New Found Glory performing LIVE at Bridge Nine on 3/16/23. Photo by Dominic DiNardo
New Found Glory performing LIVE at Bridge Nine on 3/16/23. Photo by Elena de Soto
New Found Glory performing LIVE at Bridge Nine on 3/16/23. Photo by Dominic DiNardo
New Found Glory performing LIVE at Bridge Nine on 3/16/23. Photo by Elena de Soto
New Found Glory at Bridge Nine on 3/16/23. Photo by Ana Massard
