Photos: Abigail McNatt
Review: Chris “Oberrated” Ober
Another year, another All Time Low show, another review of one of the hardest working bands in the business today. Fresh after releasing their newest album just over a month ago, Everyone’s Talking!, All Time Low has been on the road and ripping a world tour with the likes of Mayday Parade, Four Year Strong, The Paradox, and more in tow. For this stop, the Everyone’s Talking! tour visits the UPMC Events Center in Moon Township? Coraopolis? Pittsburgh? Who knows. The crowd didn’t and the band didn’t, but we’ll do the Pittsburgh thing and just call it Pittsburgh.
Starting off a night primed and ready for pop punk and punk rock was The Paradox. If we’re talking pop punk and punk rock, The Paradox has the vibe down perfectly. Hailing from Atlanta, Georgia, this band has been on a trajectory aimed for the stars with no slowdown in sight. If you listen to them, they instantly deliver that early 2000s vibe so many of us grew up on, along with that internal band banter and crowd work covering the usual pop punk topics. You know, losing the girl, drugs, and masturbation. The usual stuff. Among all of that, the most important pieces of The Paradox’s pop punk style were the fast drums, fast guitar, and infectiously catchy songs that wormed their way into your head.
Next came the heavier portion of the night. No strangers to injecting a crowd with energy and movement, Four Year Strong stormed onto the stage. The Massachusetts natives were welcomed by a crowd that was more than ready for them. They hit some of their best tracks like “Get Out of My Head” and “It Must Really Suck to Be Four Year Strong Right Now.” It took no time at all for the mosh pit to start and it would stay active the rest of the night. The energy they blasted into the room was exactly what everyone needed leading up to yet another legend in the pop punk world.
That legend was none other than Mayday Parade. I might sound like a broken record, especially since the last time I reviewed an All Time Low show it also included Mayday Parade, but we need to talk about a few things. First and foremost, the pop that comes from the crowd each time these legends hit the stage is unreal. I will never get tired of hearing the energy erupting from everyone, just as I’ll never get tired of a Mayday Parade set. The band delivered their usual mix of full instrumental songs and acoustic moments, always performing with full emotion and passion. The only band that could possibly rival the loudness of the sing-along during “Jamie All Over” was the headliner themselves, All Time Low.
As I said before, only so many bands have the longevity and consistency that All Time Low has. Year after year they release new projects, they are always touring, and the quality of the music rarely falters. It is undeniable that those in attendance will always get a great and entertaining show from these guys.
Just as their latest album Everyone’s Talking! opens, the show did the same with “[cold open]” where Alex appeared on stage alone with an acoustic guitar, serenading the anxiously excited crowd. After a quick couple of minutes, he raced offstage and returned with the full band to a colorful, blocky set that matched the album’s aesthetic. The crowd finally got what they had been waiting for once two new tracks, “Oh No!” and “SUCKERPUNCH,” kicked the show fully into gear. I have to say, “SUCKERPUNCH” might be one of my favorite and most fun new songs to watch performed.
This night at the UPMC Events Center was home to yet another electrifying All Time Low performance. The setlist barely scratched the surface of their deep discography yet still showcased some of its very best and infected the crowd with nonstop jumping and dancing. All Time Low filled the gaps between songs with hilarious and entertaining banter among themselves and with the crowd. A favorite moment of mine will always be the back-and-forth with a Pittsburgh audience over the infamous Steelers vs. Ravens rivalry, which prompted a “Here We Go Steelers” chant that the band found hilarious.
As quickly as you could blink, the show moved into the encore stretch with hits like “Monsters,” “The Weather,” “Lost in Stereo,” and finally “Dear Maria, Count Me In.” Remember when I said only All Time Low could challenge the sing-along power of Mayday Parade? It was close, but I think All Time Low took the win once “Dear Maria” blasted through the airwaves.
Even though everyone may be talking elsewhere, on this Wednesday night in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, everyone was listening instead and having the time of their lives with their favorite band. All Time Low shows no signs of slowing down when it comes to delivering undeniable pop punk classics.
