Familiarize Yourself

I’ve been a fan ­of All Time Low’s since their 2006 tour opening for Amber Pacific. It was my first time hearing of the boys from Baltimore and they caught my attention with their high energy and catchy tunes. Since then, I’ve been to many more All Time Low concerts and enjoyed their Put Up or Shut Up EP and first full-length release, So Wrong It’s Right, on many occasions.

Photo: Alex Gaskarth of All Time Low © 2009 Gali Firstenberg

This summer the band promoted the release of their second full-length, Nothing Personal, by playing three cities across the country in one day. That was the first taste I got of their new songs live (or nibble, rather, as the set was only 45 minutes), but when the Glamour Kills tour passed through Chicago this past Monday and Tuesday I was able to get a better feel for how these new songs manifest themselves in a live setting, as well as a chance to see some bands I’d never seen before.

Opening bands Friday Night Boys, Hey Monday, and We The Kings strengthened the show with their energetic, make-you-wanna-move tunes. I discovered ATL as an opening act so I thought it rather fitting that this headlining tour exposed me to one of my new favorite bands – Hey Monday.

Photo: Cassadee Pope of Hey Monday © 2009 Roxane Pahldad

I like to think of them as All Time Low with a female vocalist and my roommate has said some of their songs recall Avril Lavigne. After a week listening to their album Hold On Tight I was pleased with how the band performed the songs but slightly disappointed by singer Cassadee Pope’s vocals. In concert, Pope dances around the stage with the energy of a three-year-old* as she sings about strength, love, loss, and loneliness in songs that are jam-packed with infectious drum beats and powerful guitar riffs. The girl definitely has talent but while her high adrenaline and clear passion for the songs produces a great energy that’s easy to feed off of the combination also causes her to exert a little too much energy dancing, leaving her vocals, which sound great on the record, just a touch underwhelming as she catches her breath.

Watch & Listen: “Homecoming” – Hey Monday

Meanwhile, We the Kings’s Travis Clark navigates his way flawlessly through heart-warming and heart-breaking vocal melodies (note: far less on-stage dancing on Clark’s part).  Since last seeing them in January 2008 Clark’s voice has improved by leaps and bounds lending a quality to WTK’s songs that is often missing in this genre. In addition to the songs from their album, We The Kings played a new song called “She Takes Me High,” a clever and catchy tune in which Clark croons about a series of dreams involving adventures with the object of his affection.

Listen: “She Takes Me High” – We the Kings

Photo: Zack Merrick of All Time Low © 2009 Gali Firstenberg

Finally All Time Low hit the stage playing a solid mix of oldies, goodies, and newbies. After opening with what is shaping up to be the Nothing Personal favorite among fans – “Lost In Stereo” – All Time Low alternated between songs from all three albums. Midway through their set guitarist Jack Barakat, bassist Zack Merrick, and drummer Rian Dawson left the stage while singer Alex Gaskarth took a seat with an acoustic guitar to play “Therapy” (NP) and “Remembering Sunday” (SWIR). I hadn’t really taken to “Therapy” when I first heard it but Gaskarth’s performance of the song gave me a new perspective on it. His personal investment in the acoustic song is impossible to miss and easy to get lost in. Needless to say, the upbeat songs were equally engaging and had me dancing all night and singing at the top of my lungs.

A feeling of collaboration permeates the tour as Pope joined Gaskarth on “Remembering Sunday”; Barakat joined We The Kings on guitar for one song; Dawson played drums on a Hey Monday song; and Clark and others joined All Time Low on vocals for their big closer, “Dear Maria”.

Photo: All Time Low © 2009 Gali Firstenberg

All in all, I give it nine out of ten. If you’re lucky enough to live in one of the cities the tour hasn’t hit yet, I highly suggest you get your butt in that venue. And if you were there, drop a comment; let us know what you think!

The remaining dates:

10/27 Milwaukee, WI

11/28 Cincinnati, OH

11/29 Detroit, MI

11/30 Columbus, OH

12/3 Boston, MA

12/5 Clifton Park, NY

12/6 Philadelphia, PA

*Note: that’s a complement.