Review by Richard Henry for MPM
The rescheduled show finally hits Belfast nearly a year later, decent crowd in here tonight for this on a bank holiday Monday, a double dose of California punk tonight, first up….
The Story so Far
The six piece from California are up first tonight, I’m going to be honest I did not know about them at all, they deliver a maybe slightly harder edge version of Blink and i Would say that it’s more Orange County hardcore in a way with a healthy slab of pop punk in there are well, I wouldn’t say the most mobile band ever, with all the guys sort of staying in their area so all focus is on singer Parker, although man of the match for me is definitely drummer Ross, I have a feeling this will be a night for the drummers!
Not a massive amount of banter in between songs, the guys just tearing in one song to another, again lots of energy from the guys musically, although as they said they don’t normally play places this size, three guitar players and a bass player though is a flex, decent sound tonight in the venue as well always good at these bigger places, solid set from the guys!
Blink 182
Well I wasn’t expecting the undertakers intro music to come on, but there you go as the guys make their way onto the stage!
Feeling This – Travis kicking this one off, great sound from the off to be fair, Mark and Tom trading vocals on this one, blinding banks of lights behind the guys, crowd participation right from the off but then you wouldn’t expect anything less! Triple screens keeping views on all the guys as well, good production!
The Rock Show – Well I mean everyone knows this one, is this the most well known song, interesting move putting it so early in the set? You would assume this would have been a later one, little bit of pyro off on this one, well timed at the break after the chorus, thing is the songs fly by so quick as well, more pyro!
Man Overboard – Bass intro and then when it breaks its into a nice thrashy beat, love the screen on Travis all the time, makes it easy to see what is going on back there and the man is busy, defiantly more energy from these guys, great light show as well, definitely a stadium production!
Aliens Exist – Lovely drum intro as well to that, Tom letting the crowd know how Stiff Little Fingers was a huge influence on his guitar playing and how he was happy to be playing in their hometown, the lasers are out for this one, love the uptempo parts in this one as well and sorry to bang on but some of the parts Travis is playing back there are just awesome, great track!
Dance with Me – Lovely little guitar part to start this one over a lovely little high hat groove, the build up on the toms into the chorus, biggest singalong so far from the crowd in here, lovely drum fill into that last chorus!!
Bored to Death – Almost drum and bass groove to start this one off; that’s a slamming chorus part to be fair and a heavy as hell drum groove to go along with it, again lovely drum part in that verse, big if audience participation on this one and Belfast gladly joins in with the guys!
Edging – Travis is starting this one as well, lovely swing groove to hit this one off, a real bouncer if the crowd with a few souls in there with the hands in the air, nice mix on the graphics at the back with a black and white mix with palm trees matching the lyrics, blink and it’s over (pun intended)
Up all Night – Like the whole guitar intro to this with that sort of textural thing going on as the groove crashes away behind it, the build up with the guys trading vocals in the middle and then it builds back up into that last chorus!
More than You Know – Piano intro coming over the Pa before the band slam into another one, don’t know what it is in this one but the guitar seems to be getting a bit lost in the Knox during the verse part, live the double bass in the verse of this one, really kicks it up a gear, probably the heaviest track so far tonight!
Stay Together for the Kids – Guitar starting this every cellphone flashlight is a home we wrecked apparently, as Tom asks us to get the phones in the air, the pyro is out for this one, bombing across the stage, you can feel the heat, it’s probably the first break in intensity all night in this one and a welcome come down in intensity of the set!
Not Now – Blue lasers out for this one as the radio/donor noises come in before Travis breaks into a Tom groove to propel this one in, and the pyro explodes as the band kicks into this one, the band looking for the crowd to get involved singing this one, nice drum solo section in the middle of this, I mean the guy is a legit drummer for anyone who has watched any footage of him!
Can’t go Back – Dum and bass groove to kick this off, with the guitars just playing a little part over the top, crowd is sort of quiet on this, some great harmony vocals on this from Mark and Tom, really nice blend, song has to be on a click track as there is the piano part playing along with it as well, dark red moody lighting for this one, and yeah in the break you can hear the tracks!
I Miss You – Love that groove with the accents on the side of the drum, so cool live, again it’s great pacing in the set being it down after all the intensity of the last few tracks, again this is a massive song and as expected the crowd has a massive singalong to it as well, well done Belfast, that was loud, pretty sure the set must be on a click, you can hear the piano part on this one as well!
Down – Nice phased guitar into before this one slaps in, love the offset groove as well, all the fists are in the air for the chorus of this one as The SSE once again comes to life, that drum break at the end of the song though, lots of drum fills in there, again all eyes on Travis!
When your Heart Stops Beating – You really hear that bass at the start of this one and that is a serious bass tone, really love Marks vocal at the start of this one, moody track but it really hits hard, then when the beat comes in it’s a serious song live!
There is/FuckFace– Great groove to this one, really delicate and loads of ghost notes in there as well, then you get slapped in the face!
Anthem PT3 – It’s fast it’s furious it’s to the point and well this is California pop punk at its best, again with the pyro and it’s so warm, Mark getting around the stage to say hello to the far corners as Tom has the vocal on this one!
Always – Really bouncy one this and there is a bit of action in the front section of the crowd and there is a lot of singalong as well, everyone around me getting involved, I got to say again the sound is spot on in here tonight, but of problem with Marks guitar pack before this one but all good, the ticker tape explodes from the roof as the last chorus hits on this!
What’s My Age Again – Not the age it was when this was released although Tom says he has a perfect body, let’s face it this one was always going to be a loud one with everyone out of the seats singing along with the band on this one, another massive hit from back in the day, huge roar for that
First Date – Well I mean it’s going to be a massive song, drum intro with a Ramones reference, all the pyro went off there, again we are into the huge song part of the set and the whole place is alight and moving away to this one, great energy in the place with lots of vocal participation!
All the Small Things – I mean cmon, you know this is going to be the loudest most singalong song of the whole set and Belfast gives plenty on this one, it’s a real back to teen years for loads of people in here given the age group, what a track, just when you thought the place couldn’t get any louder well I was wrong, it all went up another level!! You forget how many massive songs these guys actually have!
Dammit – Bang right into it and then pyro goes again, I mean this is what these guys are known for, good time pop punk anthems and we just keep rolling on with them with this, everyone in up out of the seats for this in the stands and on the floor, oh we have the po go people in the pit for this one, with a brief hint of no scrubs as well, the pyro and ticker tape is every where as is the fireworks at the end of this one!
One More Time – Last song is the evening, and after all the madness we kick off with a slower number just to bring it out, actually really like that, it sort of lets you know it is the end instead of another barnstormer of a track, good hour and a half set from the guys tonight to a massively appreciative crowd at the SSE, great set!
Photography by Darren McVeigh for MPM
