Page 52 - Black Velvet Rock Music Magazine Issue 92

BV92 pg52_BV92 pg52 22/03/2017 00:13 Page 1

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ALL TIME LOW / SWMRS / WATERPARKS – BIRMINGHAM O2 ACADEMY, 16.03.17
Three-piece pop-punk/rock band Water- The set slows down for ‘Therapy’, which sees
parks are back in the UK – this time support- the crowd cheer loudly and Alex perform the Alex Gaskarth (All Time Low)
Photo By Shari Black Velvet
ing All Time Low. We last saw them opening song on his own, while ‘Missing You’ goes out
for Good Charlotte at the Institute, although to anyone with an addiction, or anyone that
frontman Awsten Knight forgets this as he tells knows someone with one.
the crowd they’ve played Birmingham once – For the most part, as always, it’s a fun,
that being Slam Dunk 2016. party atmosphere and the encore of ‘Lost In
We, it seems, have a better memory and Stereo’ and ‘Dear Maria, Count Me In’ is the
can remember exactly the Good Charlotte icing on the cake. Some things never change
show, as Mikey Way (My Chemical Romance) and this sold out All Time Low show being
stood in for guitarist Geoff Wigington, who had some of the best entertainment money can
injured himself at Warped Tour. This time buy is as expected and wholeheartedly deliv-
though, Geoff is fighting fit and the trio give the ered as usual.
UK the full Waterparks experience – which is YYYYY
a set oozing with bouncy, buoyant tunes in the SBV
form of ‘Crave’, Stupid For You’ and ‘Mad All
The Time’. They go down well with All Time
Low’s pop-punk-loving audience and leave
the stage with lots of new fans.
SWMRS from Oakland, CA, stick out a lit-
tle though. They’re more 90s alternative indie-
grunge than pop-punk. They know how to
intrigue the crowd though, with frontman Cole
Becker rolling over backwards on the stage at
one point. ‘Miley’, a song about Miley Cyrus
being a punk rock queen, is a fun song, while
before ‘Figuring It Out’ we’re told “Rock ‘n’ roll
won’t save your problems, but it’ll help you fig-
ure them out”. The band is obviously one
spurred on by what’s going on in the real world
and current issues with ‘Silver Bullet’ about
fighting fascism. A band with a message, not
just doing it for fun.
We’re definitely eager for some fun from
All Time Low though, and, as always, they do
not disappoint. Kicking things off with ‘Kicking
& Screaming’, the band bring their rays of sun-
shine to the venue. Guitarist Jack Barakat
jokes that Rian has named it ‘Thong Thursday’
and tells the crowd he has an empty bathtub
in his hotel room. He and Alex joke about
killing someone and mention daggers and ma-
chetes in joke chat-up lines to pull females.
Beach balls are thrown into the audience dur-
ing ‘Something’s Gotta Give’ and Alex gets
fans to sit on friends’ shoulders. New song
‘Dirty Laundry’ is echoey and atmospheric.

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