Something old, new in Taking Back Sunday reunion show

It was all smiles at the Taking Back Sunday reunion of the lineup that pushed the Long Island music scene into the international spotlight and launched the career of the area's most successful rock act since Billy Joel.

Though it's been seven years since guitarist-singer John Nolan and bassist Shaun Cooper angrily left the band, the chemistry among them and singer Adam Lazzara, guitarist Eddie Reyes and drummer Mark O'Connell seemed just like it was when they were touring to support "Tell All Your Friends."

"It's an absolute pleasure to be here this evening," Lazzara said. "This is real special for us. It's been a long time coming."

Beneath a giant American flag, the band rolled out songs from throughout its chart-topping career, starting with "Cute Without the 'E'," which the capacity crowd screamed along with so loudly, Lazzara and Nolan just stopped singing and looked at each other laughing.

The band also tackled "Existentialism on Prom Night," a song by Straylight Run, the band Nolan and Cooper formed after leaving Taking Back Sunday.

They unveiled "Best Places to Be a Mom," the hard-rocking first sample of the new material the Rockville Centre-based band has been working on since its surprise announcement in April that the band had reformed. It's likely one of the songs they will record when they head into the studio in Los Angeles to record with producer Eric Valentine after this short tour.

The set wasn't just a sign that the new/old version of Taking Back Sunday wasn't just reliving its heyday, but looking to build something new - perhaps bigger and louder than before.