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Matt Fazzi ushers in Taking Back Sunday's new era

Glenn Gamboa | DROPS

May 8, 2008

After being holed up in a Williamsburg rehearsal space for the past two months, Taking Back Sunday is eager to try out some new material tomorrow night in that intimate little setting also known as Madison Square Garden.

It'll be the first official show for the band in nearly eight months, and the first for new guitarist/singer Matt Fazzi, formerly of the band Facing New York. But that's not the only difference: Bassist Matt Rubano has taken on vocal duties as well. That means that TBS classics such as "You Know How I Do" (which kicked off their "secret" show Monday night at the Crazy Donkey in Farmingdale) will now have three singers - along with Adam Lazzara, of course - as well as the usual mosh pit chorus.

It'll also be one of the smallest official shows they do for a while, as they hit the festival circuit in August, doing the Reading and Leeds festivals in England and the Virgin Mobile Festival in Baltimore on Aug.10, where they will be on the main stage opening for Bob Dylan and Kanye West.

The Rockville Centre-based band's focus these days is working on its fourth album, which guitarist Ed Reyes said is sounding great. "We're going for some new stuff and some things are a little more aggressive," he said, backstage after the Donkey show, which raised money for the Sean McGrath Fund. "The feeling is almost like going back to the old days. It's kind of like going back to the old TBS - the energy and the groove."

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The two new songs the band played Monday - neither of which is titled yet, though Lazzara did call one "That Is Quite Enough" - showed an aggressive side, with a meatier guitar sound than usual and booming drums from Mark O'Connell.

Despite the band's huge upcoming shows, Rubano made a promise onstage that drew a huge ovation: "We always start our tours on Long Island, and we always will."

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