LIVE REVIEW: Alkaline Trio and Taking Back Sunday @ O2 Academy, Birmingham

If the reception to When We Were Young Fest is anything to go by, the Elder Emo demographic is certainly a large and powerful force. And if the queue snaking around the street for tonight’s co-headline show with TAKING BACK SUNDAY and ALKALINE TRIO is anything to go by, that subculture is certainly alive and well in the UK’s second city.

Punters are still slowly filing into the venue as southern Californian punk rockers DESTROY BOYS take to the stage. But the sparse crowd doesn’t dampen the band’s spirits as they whip the crowd up with their irreverent brand of garage rock. Feeding off the energy of the hardcore fans in the front-row, the band deliver an energised and enjoyable set.

Rating: 7/10

After a delay to allow all ticket-holders to the sold-out show to gain entry to the venue, the first of tonight’s co-headliners take to the stage. Without delay TAKING BACK SUNDAY kick into What’s It Feel Like to Be a Ghost?, the blaring opener from their beloved 2006 album Louder Now and as is expected, it slays. 

Despite numerous addresses to the crowd from effervescent frontman Adam Lazzara – all delivered in his trademark southern drawl – the momentum rarely slows. After a procession of early-career fan favourites, Liar (Takes One to Know One) sees the crowd erupt. Here, John Nolan (lead guitar) and Shaun Cooper (bass) shine with their backing vocals that perfectly underscore Lazzara’s soaring lead.

It’s a lean set that plucks the best from the band’s 20-year career, delivered with all the energy of a victory lap. For the most part, the quartet has the crowd eating out of the palm of their hand, with the possible exception of a couple of tracks from their rock ‘n’ roll-flavoured 2016 record Tidal Wave, which don’t quite gel with the emo that the band are best known for. Even so, the band have the good sense to finish the set with the one-two-punch of their breakout hit Cute Without the ‘E’ and (arguably) the best song they have ever written, MakeDamnSure.

Rating: 9/10

The crowd is well-and-truly in full-party mode when tonight’s closers ALKALINE TRIO finally emerge. Aside from an appearance at last year’s Slam Dunk Festival, it’s been quite some time since the Chicago punks visited the UK, and they wisely choose to kick off their set with an old favourite – Private Eye. It gets the sing-alongs going, but it doesn’t quite light a fire under the crowd quite like their next song We’ve Had Enough, which ignites the mosh pit with its higher-tempo and scream-along chorus. 

The setlist favours 2003’s Good Mourning and its follow-up, 2005’s Crimson, with a smattering of tunes from more recent albums and some choice cuts from their 1998 debut Goddamnit. After recent stints with BLINK-182, frontman Matt Skiba looks eminently more comfortable performing his own songs, relishing in the chemistry with bassist and co-vocalist Dan Andriano. At 46, however, Skiba visibly struggles to deliver the vocals on some of the more demanding songs – luckily, the fans are there to sing every word of his wry and blackly comic lyrics back to him loud and clear. 

After a bumper set filled with hits, the three-piece return to the stage for a two-song encore. Angsty anthem Radio sets an electric atmosphere with just about every voice in the house raised to its loudest volume. But it’s the closer Time To Waste that really blows the house down. This song captures the darkest moments of Skiba’s storytelling, combined with frantic guitar work and a downright menacing rhythm section. Mosh pits spring up throughout the venue for this bruising finisher. Despite a mid-set lull, this has been a welcome return for the veteran pop-punkers, aptly whetting the appetite for new music that may be to come.

Rating: 8/10 

Check out our photo gallery from the night’s action in Birmingham from Em Coulter Photography here: