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The band came up from the Boston scene in the mid-2000s with sugar-rush pop rock and big, clean guitars.

From basements to big hooks

After a quiet decade following 2012's Crazy World, they returned with 2023's SUNDAY AT FOXWOODS, sharpening the hooks and adding sleeker synth colors. That comeback arc frames this era, and you can hear a steadier, less bratty tone while still chasing the same rush.

What you might hear tonight

Expect legacy anchors like The Great Escape, Love Drunk, and Hero/Heroine, with a newer spark from Blood and Sugar. The crowd skews mixed age, from early fans in vintage tour tees to first-timers who found the band through playlists, all singing the top lines with ease. Frontman Martin Johnson also writes for other artists, which shows up in the tightened vocal phrasing live. A lesser-known note is how the guitar duo often mirrors album melodies rather than shredding, letting the choruses breathe. Just so it is clear, songs and staging mentioned here are informed guesses based on recent patterns, not a promise.

The Boys Like Girls Scene, Then and Now

You will spot layered flannels, beaten-up Converse, varsity jackets, and a lot of mid-2000s tour tees pulled from closets with pride.

Mid-2000s flavor, modern polish

People swap stories about school dances and first car drives tied to these songs, and the tone stays friendly and low-key. When The Great Escape hits, the room often claps on the downbeat and yells the final lines as one big block. Thunder tends to spark phone lights, but it feels communal rather than showy, like a neighborhood sing.

Shared rituals, zero pretense

Merch leans retro with varsity fonts and photo-collage art, and you will see old wristbands and pins pinned to jackets. Couples and longtime friends post up near the back to belt harmonies, while newer fans rush forward for the newer singles. It all reads like a scene aging into itself with grace, keeping the joy but skipping the drama.

How Boys Like Girls Build the Big Chorus

Martin Johnson's tenor sits bright and a little raspy, and the band stacks two and three-part harmonies to widen the choruses.

Big chorus architecture

Verses are lean with tight palm-muted guitars and a drum pattern that snaps on the snare, then the pre-chorus opens the hi-hat to lift tension. Live tempos run a notch faster than the records, which makes the big hooks hit sooner without feeling rushed. Guitars favor clear overdrive with a touch of delay, leaving space for bass to carry the low melody and keep the songs dancing. A smart move is dropping to acoustic or half-time on bridges, so the final chorus feels like a genuine jump rather than a repeat.

Small touches that change the feel

Lesser-known but common on older cuts, they play a half-step down, which warms the tone and keeps the vocals in a comfortable pocket. They also extend a few outros, turning the end of The Great Escape into a double-time chant before snapping back to the final hit. Visuals stay clean and color-driven, matching chorus peaks with bright washes and saving strobes for drum fills.

If You Like Boys Like Girls, You Will Click With These Acts

Kindred choruses, different accents

Fans of All Time Low will feel at home with the polished bounce and shout-back hooks. If you lean toward earnest melodies with a darker tint, The Maine rides similar guitar gloss and grown-up themes. Mayday Parade brings the same story-forward writing and ballads that swell into room-wide harmonies. For sunlit nostalgia and bright gang vocals, We The Kings sits in the same corner of radio-ready rock.

Where scenes intersect now

These bands favor clean tones, crisp tempos, and choruses that land on the first listen. That overlap means fans who chase melody-first sets and friendly crowd energy will likely click across all four.