SAYREVILLE, NJ—Best part of the holidays is having all the national acts from New Jersey home and playing shows to give you an excuse to avoid visiting family members. To kick off the Christmas weekend, I was out to what became a full house for the Senses Fail and Saves The Day holiday show. Proceeds from ticket sales were going to support the upkeep of the Court Tavern in New Brunswick.

I entered the venue just as Balance & Composure was taking the stage, and I was excited to finally be seeing these boys live. They were pretty much fresh off the plane from a European tour, but they didn’t let it show. They gave a strong performance and while I wasn’t surprised at the amount of fans there for them, I hadn’t seen a packed house for an opener in quite a long time. Playing songs mainly off their current full-length, Separation, they dedicated my favorite, “Quake,” to Senses Fail.

Saves The Day was up next and I faded into the back of the venue. For me, they are one of those bands of which you are a fan of or don’t really care to take notice. Tell…