The Front Bottoms at FIVE, Jacksonville (December 16, 2025)

Acclaimed New Jersey band The Front Bottoms sold out their appearance at FIVE, in Jacksonville, Florida, last night. The line to get into FIVE stretched around the block and I spent about 30 minutes to make it to the front entrance.

Opening up the show was Montreal’s NOBRO, an all-girls band led by Kathryn McCaughey and Karolane Carbonneau. They’re touring in support of “Doomtown”, the follow-up to their 2023 Set Your P*ssy Free (Dine Alone Records)… which won the Rock Album of the Year for the JUNO Awards in 2025.

The girls looks like they’re having the time of their lives, touring America. “You didn’t know Canadian girls cuss so much, did you?” as vocalist/bassist Kathryn McCaughey drops the F-bomb like no tomorrow. They sang songs about sexbots, about setting pussy free, and, of course, doing drugs.

They had a French song on their set called “Bye Bye Baby”, which was mostly handled by Karolane Carbonneau. This was about the time that their keyboardist took over bass duties… which gave McCaughey more freedom of movement and dance. She couldn’t wait to start hopping around all over the stage. Then gets on top of the bass drum and launches herself into the air. What a way to end on a high note.

The Front Bottoms closed out the evening. We previously saw the band on their original Back on Top tour in Nov 2015: “Maybe it’s the energy. Each time I have seen these guys, I have been blown away by the amount of energy they have and the energy the crowd gives off. It definitely helps that their music is upbeat and you can’t help but to jump and bounce to it. I swear it must have been close to 100 degrees in the Varsity Theater last night just due to the sold-out crowd being unable to stand still… They are quite a bit more popular than they were, their songs are now on the radio and they are selling out venues so they don’t just hang around the merch booth anymore. I still felt some connection to the guys as they played their hearts to the sold-out crowd.”

Now the band is celebrating the tenth anniversary of their album Back on Top (Fueled by Ramen), and, as promised, the band played the entire album, start to finish – including the double outtake songs “Tighten Up” and “Joanie” to close out the Back on Top set.

This was the band’s first major label, and as a result, their songs were played on radio stations, making their third album, their most popular. Everyone at the show owned or heard the album, so you can tell which songs were their favorites when you hear the audience singing along… particularly “HELP” and, surprisingly “Cough It Out”.

With a little time left on their set, the band played a variety of fan favorites and rarities for their second part of their setlist, including “Vacation Town” and “Rhode Island”.

Remaining tour dates:

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