Alkaline Trio At The Academy, Dublin – Monday 26th August 2013

‘Pop punk is dead’ is a moniker you hear thrown around a lot on the music scene today. Two decades in, eight albums and a legion of dedicated fans, wearing their heart skull tattoos proudly on their sleeves, Alkaline Trio shoot down this impression, with a career spanning set list from the kings of the genre.

A nod to their time on the scene, the jam packed Academy was treated to fan favourites, opening with Private Eye, before breaking into Clavicle, from their first album.

Matt Skiba, who bases his entire lyricism and songwriting on broken hearts and darker times, seemed in high spirits as he took to the stage, relishing in the atmosphere, clearly in his element in front of a crowd.

Considering the band’s latest release is less than five months old, a set list comprising of My Little Needle, This Could be Love, and Crawl, among many others, were not what many of the crowd expected on the dossier.

The fans seemed to largely comprise of an older crowd, dotted with youthful smiles throughout, those who could very well have been with Alkaline Trio since their early days, in the mid ’90s. The band kept the tightly packed room moving throughout the show, with their tight riffs and basslines.

Pogo jumping, raised fists and Skiba almost screaming in his mic, mimicked drummer Derek Grant’s beats, with crowd surfing to match. After years of touring, Alkaline Trio have achieved a perfect balance in their sound, no small feat in translating from venue to venue, night after night.

Dan Andriano addressed the audience early on stating “we’re here to disappoint”, before breaking into a song of the same name.

They did quite the opposite in fact. Ending on fan favourite, Radio, the set comprised of the best 2-3 minute tracks in their repertoire, finishing up the show before half ten, with their legion of fans satisfied and longing for their return.

Almost twenty years in the making, and Alkaline Trio still show the youthful vigour that got them started in the first place.

Alkaline Trio at The Academy

Photos: Alessio Michelini