Like any teenager in the early noughties, the sound of emo pop punk was thriving if you were into that kind of thing and I definitely was. I was obsessed, like most people in the emo/scene subculture, with bands such as Fall Out Boy, Panic! at the Disco, Simple Plan, You Me At Six, Bring Me The Horizon, A Day To Remember and Paramore.
Two other bands that were amongst my regularly played on my old iPod were Good Charlotte and All Time Low. So when my friend excitedly text that she had impulse bought tickets to see All Time Low (with support from Good Charlotte) and would I go with her I immediately said yes. Or rather typed 'YESSSS, omg when where how'.
The day before the gig I remember feeling a level of excitement I hadn't felt in a while leading up to a gig and kept saying I couldn't wait to relive my teenage self for a night. And that was exactly it, I could not wait to hear songs live I listened to repeatedly in my bedroom for years.
I was so impressed with Good Charlotte as a support act and they did not feel like they were supporting anyone. Even though I wasn't as familiar with their new material as I was with the classics it was still great fun. A small highlight was looking round to the crowd around me and seeing fellow twenty-ish year olds screaming the lyrics to Keep Your Hands Off My Girl. The set passed by so quickly and as we waited in the interval for All Time Low we discussed how great they were live and how much we would like to see their own headline show when it came to the UK.
Likewise All Time Low really held their own, especially in such a large venue as the O2, and had a great stage presence with lots of crowd engagement and cheekiness. Along with cranking out all the old hits like Dear Maria, Remembering Sunday and Weightless it was so nice to hear the new music and sound they are going for. I think its great that the bands that helped shape and form my most formative years are having a resurgence almost a decade after the pop punk heyday and by mixing up their sound they are staying relevant whilst true to themselves.
Looking back at this evening I am filled with such a lovely warmth of nostalgia where, for a few hours on a miserable February evening, I was transported back to my teenage self who could relate to the songs that were saying the things no one else was saying. However, this time it was with little less teenage angst and hell of a lot more fun. I hope I have more evenings like this one where I get to go and listen to pop punk in such a large scale with wonderful company.
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