Concert review: All Time Low makes it rain with hit songs and confetti

Judy Won
Thu, 14 May 2015 19:45:08 +0000
Campus, All Time Low, Game Boy, issues, Jack Barakat, LC Pavilion, Pokemon, tonight alive, Tyler Carter

When you’ve seen a band in concert seven times before, there isn’t much left that they can do to surprise or excite you. ?When I saw Baltimore-based pop-punk band All Time Low at the Lifestyle Communities Pavilion Wednesday, I felt like I was transported back in time to being a teenage girl seeing her favorite boy band.

I made my way downtown at 7 p.m. under the assumption that doors were at the regular 7:30 time. Little did I know, the doors opened at 5 p.m., with State Champs taking the stage at 6 p.m. ?By the time I got to the venue, Tonight Alive had already wrapped up their set and Issues was getting ready to take the stage.

The majority of the crowd seemed to be teenage girls and boys with a mix of adults who brought their kids.

Shortly after I entered the venue, Issues, a metalcore band, took to the stage. There were decorations made to look like the classic Game Boy Pokemon games and actual Game Boys themselves. ?The banner hanging across the back of the stage featured the band members as cartoon Pokemon characters.

The crowd loudly cheered as each band member made their way onto the stage. When clean vocalist Tyler Carter appeared, the loud shrills of hundreds of girls intensified. ?They opened up with “Life of a Nine” and rolled into “Stingray Affliction.” It’s easy to say that Issues was the heaviest band on the bill with their heavier guitar riffs and screaming.

As the stage was being set for headliner All Time Low, the crowd randomly started screaming and cheering. As I looked toward the stage, guitarist Jack Barakat was nearly naked with only a pair of grey boxer briefs while getting a piggy back ride from someone. ?His quick appearance gave the 3,000 or so concert goers a dose of energy.

At 8:45 p.m. the lights dimmed and the background music faded away. A sea of phones could be seen throughout the crowd as All Time Low made their way onto the stage. ?They opened up with “Satellite,” the first song off of their sixth studio album “Future Hearts.” Prior to the release of “Future hearts” in April 2015, they hadn’t released music since October 2012.

All Time Low’s set list was comprised of “Lost in Stereo”, “Stella”, “Damned If I Do Ya (Damned If I Don’t)” and “Therapy.”

After years of performing, frontman Alex Gaskarth proved to have great chemistry with the crowd as he received loud cheers after everything he said. Gaskarth started off “Weightless” with a guitar-only intro of the song, with the crowd singing along the entire time. ?He performed an acoustic rendition of “Therapy” accompanied by a sea of fog and purple slights. ?He told the crowd they “sing so good,” while also noting his lack of grammatical skills.

Gaskarth then began to sing “Missing You” by himself and was gradually joined by the rest of the band, adding more electronic instruments to the song all while keeping the upbeat campfire sing-along feel. ?Barakat moved his hands in the air like a conductor during “The Reckless and the Brave,” instructing the crowd to clap along to the song.

While “A Love Like War” featured Vic Fuentes of Pierce the Veil, Jenna McDougall of Tonight Alive graced the stage with her upbeat dance moves and pop-punk vocals. ?Like past All Time Low shows I’ve attended, this proved to be similar with the night being filled with a plethora of jokes dealing with boobs, weiners and orgys, all said by Barakat. ?He loved his weiner jokes, making suggestive hand gestures throughout the entire show with various stage props.

During “Time-Bomb,” Gaskarth picked out eight fans to jump around and sing with the band. When one of the fans grabbed Barakat’s microphone, bras with random notes that had accumulated around the stand fell to the floor. I remember when they headlined Warped Tour back in 2012, they accumulated over 10,000 bras by the end of it.

For their finale, they performed “Something’s Gotta Give” with green lights flooding the stage. ?After they finished, everyone walked off the stage in the same “we’re finished but we’re not actually finished” attitude and left the crowd in the dark for a few minutes. ?After they came back out, Barakat started playing the intro to “American Idiot” by Green Day. To my surprise, they actually covered the entire song. I was singing and dancing along the entire time.

By the end of the night, if you happened to be near the LC Pavilion and haven’t heard of All Time Low before, you definitely walked away knowing “Dear Maria, Count Me In” due to how loud the crowd was singing along. Cannons exploded with confetti as the crowd belted out lyrics to “Jasey Rae” and “Dear Maria, Count Me In.”

Even after the show was over, as I was walking to my car, confetti still lingered in the air, giving everyone a perfect end to the night.