All Time Low

So I went to one of my favorite band's show, All Time Low, this past December. Yes I know that they aren't the best quality band but sometimes frivilous fluff is nice to listen to. So anyways, I wrote this review, but due to people's stupidity (no hard feelings) it never got published for my school's newspaper. So, here it is...

All Time Low perhaps not all that low

The first snow fell oddly in the background of the long lines facing in either direction of the All Time Low show at Northern Lights 12/05. This punk boy band sold out all of their December shows, according to their myspace, this show was to be no less. The frigid weather outside contrasted sharply to the small arena of northern lights, where hundreds of teenage girls and boys stood, pressed up against one another, each pushing to get a better view than the other. Doors opened at six and the opening act, around seven. The first band, Friday Night Boys, another batch fresh to the punk scene, played. Their arrogant vocals and whiny lead singer with hair artfully stuck out like a porcupine landed on his head sounded a bit too familiar to every other boy-band trying to make it big with a pop hit. Songs like High School had the familiar feeling of Bowling For Soup’s song, High School Never Ends and in the end didn’t leave much of an impression.

The second up was We The King’s, a mop top bunch full of love songs with a bit of an edge. They even introduced, Heaven Can Wait, a newly released song off their upcoming album Smile, Kid. One of the most memorable parts was when they covered the famous Jimmy Eat World song, Middle. Those who didn’t know much of We The King’s stuff, and even those parents who hung out in the back got into the action, throwing in their vocals to this timeless song. Following We The King’s Act was the last warm up band, Hey Monday. The only band of the night featuring a girl, and what she lacked in testosterone she made up with enthusiasm. She darted up and down the stage trying to incorporate everyone into her catchy dance singles, but at times the songs seemed too big for her chipmunk-like voice.

Finally, it was time for the long awaited main event, All Time Low. The rambunctious group got off to a fast start, cramming three songs in before catching a breath. The group, infamous for their lack of maturity, proved yet again that they weren’t afraid to express their five year old selves and that seemed to suit everyone just fine. They continued to crank out songs in quick secession, sticking mainly to their new CD, Nothing Personal that was just released this July, but doing some throw backs to older stuff like Six Feet Under the Stars and Jasey Rae. Half way through their performance there were several problems with guitar strings, so the lead singer, Alex Gaskarth, went solo, taking out an acoustic guitar. Probably one of the best songs performed that night, there were no distractions or gimmicks to him, his voice was poignant and clear as he sang Remembering Sunday. Cassadee from Hey Monday came back out to help complete the duet. He also went on to sing one of the only slow songs on their new album, Therapy, before the rest of the band returned with more dance numbers and a mosh pit ensued. They came back for an encore, ending the night on a high note with their hit Weightless and an old time classic Dear Maria, Count Me In. The concert was a good balance of fun and energy with actual talent which kept the many performances from getting stale and was what the night was all about.