The thing that seems consistent about punk rock bands is that they enjoy playing music as much as the fans enjoy watching them. At least that was the vibe at the Entertainment Centre on Tuesday night for headliners Simple Plan and their support acts.
Jax was up first and won the crowd over with her pop influenced singing. Having found success on American Idol she showed the Adelaide audience what she was made of. Particularly well received was her billboard hit “Victoria’s Secret” as well as “Teenage Dirtbag”, sung from a female perspective.
Shortly after, We the Kings took the stage and seemed genuinely surprised that so many in the audience knew them and were fans. “When We Were Young” was one of the audience favourites before they launched into a cover of Oasis “Wonderwalls.” The energy of the band translated into energy from the audience and whoever wasn’t a fan before became one now. Some early microphone issues were quickly resolved and the band keep the show going without too much effort.
The full house of 2000 people crammed into the theatre was made up of a variety of young and old, including several younger kids with their parents. Singer Travis Clark made everyone crouch down for “I Feel Alive” before jumping up for the chorus. In a touching moment he told us that he would be sending video of the moment back to his daughter in the US.
Next up, Boston rock band, Boys Like Girls stormed the stage, with a wall of jangly guitar and a screen full of imagery. Opening with “Love Drunk” from the same titled 2009 album, the fans were clearly in raptures. They followed up with “Five Minutes to Midnight” from their debut Boys Like Girls album before launching into “Blood and Sugar” from their latest release “Sunday at Foxwoods”. Once again, the band fed off the energy in the room, with their own dynamic performance.
But when it all came down to it, Simple Plan as the headliner was who everyone in the room was there to see. They opened with a massive splash of confetti and jets of CO2 with “I’d Do Anything” from their 2002 album No Pads, No Helmets … Just Balls. “Shut Up” was next before lead singer Pierre Bouvier got the whole room jumping to “Jump.”
Guitarist Jeff Stinco showed off his incredible guitar skills with a solo and Jax came back on stage to duet with her song “Iconic.” Introducing “Summer Paradise”, Bouvier told us that Australia was like a summer paradise compared to the cold Canadian winter they’d left behind. Suddenly the room was filled with streamers and huge inflatable beach balls. He signed one and launched it into the crowd where it was quickly souvenired.
Song followed song, “Astronaut” with a moon scenery backdrop, “Million Pictures of You” with dozens of photos of fans from shows around the world, and a mashup of “All Star”, “Sk8er Boi” and “Mr. Brightside”. “What’s New Scooby Doo?” had girls dressed as Scooby Doo dancing on stage. Really, the whole show was a fun night out, as Travis from We the Kings came back on stage to help sing “Where I Belong”.
But the night didn’t end here. After a short break the band, including Sébastien Lefebvre on guitar and Chuck Comeau on drums, came back to start a massive five song encore, including a cover of the Angels “Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again.” The night finished with all stops out with “Perfect.” Literally a perfect ending to a perfect night of pop punk rock and roll.
Photo by Tony Polese
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