The Tabernacle is a popular music venue right in the heart of Atlanta that hosts some of the biggest concerts not quite big enough to be in Phillips Arena. Last Friday it was transformed into pop-punk heaven as the Glamour Kills Tour descended, featuring headlining act All Time Low.
All Time Low is a band from Baltimore, Maryland that very much appears to be living the dream. They formed in high school and were given their first recording contract with Hopeless Records right before graduation. Since then they have released three studio albums, with their latest, , reaching number four on the Billboard 200.
Trading college for a tour bus, they have headlined numerous successful tours, including the 2009 Vans Warped Tour. Their influences range from Blink 182 to Jimmy Eat World to Green Day, and they are quickly becoming one of the biggest names in the pop-punk scene.
Their success can mostly be attributed to the fact that they are just plain good at what they do. It probably doesn’t hurt either that all four members are extremely good looking. One of the best live bands out there, Alex Gaskarth’s vocals sound just as good live as they do on the CD. This was no exception at the Glamour Kills concert, where he even opted to do some acoustic sets that had all the girls screaming.
Equally popular with fans is Jack Barakat, the lead guitarist and widely known as the only single one. Every concert he manages to accumulate an impressive collection of bras from over-eager fans, which he hangs from his microphone until it is in danger of tipping over. He is also known for his energetic stage presence, rushing from one end of the stage to the other. This concert was no exception.
Barakat’s energy could only be matched by the energy of the frenzied crowd. It was a sold-out show, and the mosh pit was stuffed to the brim. There were plenty of crowd surfers, and one girl even made her way on stage at one point, to be quickly dragged off by security.
Accompanying every song was the roar of the crowd singing back every word. Their songs are about partying and hooking up, something almost every teenager can relate to. Such staples as , , and all elicited a huge response from the crowd, especially when All Time Low appeared to finish their set without playing “Dear Maria,” one of their biggest hits. The crowd chanted “one more song” until the band came back out and played it, along with a few other songs.
Besides the fun party songs, what makes their shows so entertaining is the way All Time Low interacts with the crowd, mainly Gaskarth and Barakat. This pair of best friends kept the audience laughing with countless crude jokes, as well as hilarious back and forth banter. Younger children should probably steer clear from one of their concerts, as they do not censor themselves much at all.
Some of the criticism surrounding fellow rock groups such as Fall Out Boy is that they no longer feel the need to interact with the audience, instead moving mechanically from song to song with pre-rehearsed speech here and there. All Time Low’s rising popularity has not affected them in that way at all, at least not yet. They are still as funny and interactive as they were three years ago.
Also along for the ride were pop punk groups The Friday Night Boys, Hey Monday, & We The Kings. The Friday Night Boys did a commendable job, considering they are relatively new on the scene. Their stage presence wasn’t as relaxed as All Time Low, and their songs sounded a little like watered down versions of themselves. Hey Monday did an amazing job; lead singer Cassadee Pope can definitely sing and she even joined All Time Low for the acoustic song Remembering Sunday.
As always, We The Kings were very good. This group hails from Bradenton, Florida and their singles Secret Valentine and Check Yes Juliet have received significant airplay in the Atlanta area.
Travis Clark, the lead singer of We The Kings, even came out during All Time Low’s set bearing shots for all of them that consisted of coconut rum and corn flakes. It was pretty gross, but such antics are to be expected at an All Time Low concert.
All Time Low will be going on tour to Europe until early 2010, but you should definitely go see them when they return to Atlanta. In the mean time, check them out on I-tunes.