Weekend of Concerts 2: Rapid Fire (Night 1/3)

I did it again. I went to a bunch of concerts. This time I did three nights in a row. I was painful. I was sick. Please don't ever do this. Let's get into Night One.

(Oh no! Bad formatting!)

Me, my two friends Hot Dog and Bacon, and some guy we met at the concert

Night 1 (October 31st)

(Order in Decline Tour @ The Palladium in Worcester, Massachusetts)

Before I get into the bands, I want to note that I went with my two friends. Since it was Halloween, I made all three of us dress up. This drew a lot of attention to us.

The Plot in You

This is one of the bands I was super excited for. It was actually my fourth time seeing them, but I love this band so much. Their two newest albums are put together with a feeling that is artistically pleasing to the listener. 'Happiness in Self Destruction' is a dark album that outlines vocalist Landon Tewer's struggles. 'Dispose' is equally as dark, but the music is more accessible. Anyway, they normally only play songs from these two albums. They opened with 'RIGGED,' the first song on 'Dispose.' Right before the drop hit in the song, I turned to my friend and said, "What if I ran through all of these people?" He replied with, "Do it, you won't."

So, naturally, I did.

The crowd didn't seem to know this band too well, but a few people were really into them, myself included. The band played mostly stuff from 'Dispose,' though they did play 'My Old Ways.' They also played 'Crows,' a song which they hadn't played on this tour, despite this show being their last night. I was the first crowd surfer, too. I had a great time with these guys, and I am looking forward to seeing them again!

The Amity Affliction

This is a band I don't like too much. I'd seen them two or three times prior to this, one of those times in passing at a festival. I saw them in January, as well. They were okay. My friend Alan loves them. I had started to like their music a little bit more just prior to this show. Surprisingly, they ripped this time. They killed it. Solid performance from the band, great mixing, and super energetic crowd. They played mostly good songs, too! They played their new song 'All My Friends Are Dead,' which is a sort-of return to form for them, after their screw-up of an album in 2018. They called for a wall of death at one point (link to video below), and they called for a circle pit. They really got the crowd warmed up, and I am happy to say they've managed to change my opinion of them with this show. I wouldn't go out of my way to see them again, but I wouldn't be opposed to seeing them again, either.

(video is from their 2018 European tour)

https://youtu.be/xaG4NrXUwAk?t=93

Sum 41

THIS is the band everyone came to see, and it showed. Canada's finest pop punk band put together this tour for the release of their album 'Order in Decline,' which came out in July 2019. This album is the band's most well-received album since 2004's 'Chuck.' Coincidentally, this year is the 15th anniversary of 'Chuck,' so the band decided to pull out a few deep cuts from that album. This made for an unforgettable show.

The crowd didn't wake up until the band played the second song in their set, fan favorite 'The Hell Song.' This is when the crowd exploded with energy. The whole floor was moving! Well, not literally, but there was a big mosh pit. Throughout their set, both the band and crowd displayed unrelenting amounts of energy. The band played 'Chuck" deep cuts like 'The Bitter End,' the band's only full thrash metal, as well as fan favorites like 'Still Waiting' and 'Fat Lip.' They also played a couple new songs. One of the highlights of the night was when vocalist and rhythm guitarist Deryck Whibley called for a circle pit for 'Out For Blood,' the first single from the band's new album.

Pain for Pleasure

Who is Pain for Pleasure? Well, they are actually Sum 41. After Sum 41 had performed, and after they had done their encore, the house lights were brought up, and a good amount of the crowd had left. My friends and I were about to leave. Then, the house lights were brought back down, and a narration started to play over the speakers. We were confused. Sum 41 came out in costumes reminiscent of 80s rock bands, and they played their song 'Pain for Pleasure.' This is a sort-of 80s hair metal type song, similar to a Poison or Whitesnake song. They did not play this song once. They did not play this song twice.They did not play it three times. They played the song four times. Good news is the song is only about a minute and change. Then, they threw kit kats into the audience.

I did not get a kit kat.

I was sad. Part two of this blog will come shortly.