Concert Review: All Time Low

Alright, enough gushing about the band, what about their concert? This evening dubbed the Dirty Work Tour by the headliners showcased the brightest upcoming talent in the pop-punk genre and brought back an old favourite to town. One watching The Summer Set and Hey Monday (both repping some kickass females – one on drums, one as a front woman) might wonder what was so “dirty” about the evening. Needless to say these openers played squeaky-clean tracks about love, loss, and having fun your friends. Both acts certainly didn’t command the audience to their fullest but it was evident they had fans in their midst. Don’t be surprised to see either of the bands loop through Toronto again headlining their own dates before year’s end.

It was the return of Yellowcard to the stage since their 2008 hiatus that definitely had the older fans in the audience anxious. It’s impossible to compare a veteran touring band like Yellowcard to the young opening acts, and the audience’s reactions were like night and day between the two. The band buzzed through a forty minute set covering their old hits including “Only One” and “Ocean Avenue” to mass sing-alongs and debuted a few new tracks to receptive ears.

It was when All Time Low took to the stage that it was evident who the crowd was there to see. In a never disappointing fashion, All Time Low put on a show that covered their classics from their debut EP including crowd-pleaser “Jasey Rae” to tracks off their new album, Dirty Work (out June 7), including the single “I Feel Like Dancin’”. Within moments of lead singer Alex Gaskarth chatting with the crowd parents quickly realized the tour’s name didn’t just have to do with the band’s new album, but the content of the band’s discussions. Think along the lines of classic Blink-182 jabber or imagine what twenty-something aged males would talk about when it comes to anatomy. From a long-time fan’s perspective, the band could have used less new songs and brought back more oldies but despite set list critiques, All Time Low did not disappoint.

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After witnessing a nearly hour and a half long set from All Time Low to a capacity crowd at The Sound Academy on April 25 it’s easy to see why the band have become somewhat of pop-punk royalty in their scene. Not only do they have three, going on four, full length records under their belts, these four “kids” from Baltimore, MD can draw nearly 3000 males and females of all ages on a Monday night in Toronto….with absolutely no radio airplay behind them and very limited support from MuchMusic. Now that’s a feat.

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