Local Hamden venue, The Space, was packed to near maximum capacity on Oct. 13 when Bayside frontman Anthony Raneri played a solo acoustic set.

The cozy, basement-like venue was filled with loyal Bayside fans who did not mind the absence of the other members. The crowd that Raneri drew was so dense that those in charge actually asked everyone to stand up to fit more people inside, rather than sit down on the floor as regular Space-goers might do on any other acoustic-based evening.

Raneri took the stage and announced his lack of confidence, pleading the audience to sing those songs that they might know the words to.

“Please sing, because I’m gonna mess up, and if you guys sing you won’t hear it,” Raneri said.

His set consisted of covers, independently written songs, and acoustic versions of Bayside songs, which took up the majority of his stage time. It was during those songs that the energy in the room flourished as the crowd loudly sang along with him.

Despite the many jokes he made about constantly “messing up,” the show was essentially flawless and remained so as the night went on.

The audience participation made for an intense, emotionally-involved environment that captivated everyone in the room, including Raneri.

It seemed that, as the crowd sang louder, he found himself more and more detached from reality and lost in the world of his own music. In turn, the passion he put into his performance seemed to nearly bring his fans to tears.

Even someone who may not necessarily enjoy his style of music regularly would have to admit the strength of his performance that night. Anthony Raneri’s effect on his audience ranks the quality of his show.