Flashback to the early 2000’s when pop punk was a go-to genre and there were songs about skater boys and trying to remember what your age was… again. It was a simpler time filled with brightly colored spiked hair, baggy pants and the occasional half-shift (both guys and girls alike). Jump a few, or 12, years into the future and here everyone is, on a Tuesday night, jammed packed like little bundled sardines patiently awaiting Sum 41 to grace Sacramento with its presence.
The show opened up with NYC band Hunter Valentine. The venue was full at 7:00pm which is rare with doors that open at 6:30, but due to their recent tour coupled with a performance at SXSW and coverage from the much popularized Showtime program The Real L Word, it was expected. And as Kiyomi McCloskey, lead vocals, started singing, it was clear the audience members singing along were not trying to meet some reality TV stars, they were actual fans of the band. After a short, but sweet set by Hunter Valentine, Iamdynamite took the stage. For being a duo only consisting of vocals, drums, guitars, this band has sound bigger than anyone expected and from the look of the audience, and the abundance of head-bobs, the guys were doing just fine the way they are. With a sound remnant to late 1990’s emo, a modern Alkaline Trio if you will, the crowd was switching gears, getting ready to sing some songs they know like the back of their hand.
Enter Sum 41. It may have been over twelve years since Does This Look Infected was initially released, but as the boys walked across the stage and grabbed their instruments, the crowd transformed from a mix of twenty and thirty-something’s to a sea of angst ridden nineteen year olds. As promised, DTLI was played in it’s entirety, along with a handful of other fan favorites. In an ode to 90’s punk shows, Deryck Whibley, lead vocals/guitar, reached out into the crowd and cherry picked a handful of excited, and sweaty, fans to join the group on stage. Shortly thereafter, the madness began. Crowd rushing the stage? Check. Mosh pit? Check. Crowd surfing? Check, check, check.
The show ended with a much appreciated encore where the guys may have picked the best three songs ever: a cover of Queen’s We Will Rock You, Beastie Boys’ Sabotage, and their own Fat Lip. It doesn’t matter that the group is well into their thirties or that some say, “punk is dead,” the show was a hit. Fans of young and old showed up, high-fived, rocked out, and went home with a song from a different era stuck in their heads. And if they played their cards right, that song continued to play in the back of their minds while at work the next day.
For more information on Sum 41: www.Sum41.com
For more information on Ace of Spades: www.aceofspadessac.com