Review by Craig McDonnell
Photos by Relentless Energy Drink
Kerrang! Tour, a chance to see what new up and coming bands are being listened to by the younger generation. Or so you would think. For the second time in 2 weekends, I found myself at an all-ages gig in The Academy listening to young girls screaming as the lights go down and 4 american bands take the stage. 3 of which (The Wonder Years, Framing Hanley and Four Year Strong) have only started stepping into the spotlight recently, even if some of them have been around for quiet some time. The fourth? Well let’s just say they’re not as baby-faced as the rest for now.
For opening act The Wonder Years, for example, this was their fourth time playing Ireland (and the third time I have seen them) but they only recently got signed to Hopeless Records. The first time I saw them was in front of a small crowd in Eamonn Dorans and now, seeing them play in front of a sold out Academy, it seems the only way is up for these Philadelphia pop-punkers. With the show starting earlier than usual, I missed out on the majority of their pretty short set. If you are a fan of incredibly honest lyrics being backed by a brilliant band, The Wonder Years are a band not to be missed out on.
Second up was Framing Hanley. These were the only band on the night that I had not listened to before and after a few songs it became clear why. Nothing I heard excited me in any way, although their good looks and cheesy moves certainly seemed to excite young girls. After a few songs, the cacophony of music on stage mixing with girly screams off it became too much to take so I headed for the Green Room, disappointed to have missed out on one of my current favourite bands but to have been able to see these.
Four Year Strong were the main support act for the tour. I had also seen these live before at Slam Dunk festival in Leeds last summer. Back then, I did not know too much about them, but a lot of my friends were into them so I checked them out. From that day on I became a big fan of theirs. Not only are this five-piece from Massachusetts playing K! Tour, they have also been announced as support for Blink 182 on their UK arena tour. They will definitely sound amazing in an arena too, as they are one of the tightest bands I’ve seen live.
As I alluded to earlier, the headline act can’t exactly be called up and coming. In fact, they formed in 1996 and had a #1 single 9 years ago with a track called ‘Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous’. Good Charlotte came to the stage and if I’m being honest, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Starting off with two old tracks, The Anthem and Girls and Boys I was instantly impressed. Frontman Joel Madden still had all the charisma, and more importantly the voice. The set contained a great mix of old and new songs and the high energy was maintained throughout. The highlight of the set however, had nothing to do with the band. During their second last song I Just Wanna Live, a girl dressed as a banana was summoned on stage. While she was dancing around, she managed to fall backwards and land right on her …. well, you know. Finishing with their aforementioned 2002 breakthrough hit, Good Charlotte were most impressive and proved why Kerrang decided to get them to headline their UK and Ireland tour.
