This was my second time attending the mighty Kerrang! Tour, and what a line up again : Biters, Roam, Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes and the return of punk rock legends Sum 41.

We get in slightly late and only get to see the end of Biters' set, blame Southern Rail AGAIN. They seem like they have enough energy to make the world turn backwards and they have enthusiasm by the truckload, their music is catchy, but it simply is not to my taste. They are not a bad band, I just didn't fall for it, and if I had had to witness one more stereotypical "we like rock music so we drink beer and we are badass" gimmick, I would have cried and probably set the building on fire.

Next up is Roam, who I could describe as "one of these bands that I love but never fully realise how much I ACTUALLY love them". I fell for their catchy pop punk and undying energy at the Flapper, in Birmingham, and I was dying because of the heat, and they had a bodyboard for crowdsurfers (can you bring it back, please?) and I loved it so much that I left the place with a CD AND a vinyl. (By then, I should have known that if I still manage to fall for a band when I have an atrocious headache, it's forever, but I was young and naive)




A year and a half later, and following the successful release of their long awaited debut record Backbone, they are supporting none other than Sum 41, and the tears that I shed are, without a doubt, proud ones. On stage, the Eastbourne natives and my almost neighbours are energetic as always, doing their absolute best to sell their catchy hooks to an audience who doesn't know them. The crowd warms up to them and the singalongs are fairly impressive during tracks like Head Rush, and it made me incredibly happy. (That is probably when the aforementioned tears happened). Playing the Forum has, without a doubt, been a career defining moment for Roam, and I am the happiest I have attended it. I hope that a whole lot of people left the venue just as convinced as I have when I left the Flapper in July 2014. They deserve it.




The third band of the night was Frank Carter & the Rattlesnakes, and before I go any further, I have the same question I had after seeing Kevin Devine & the Goddamn Band - is it a band or an artist with a band, what kind of pronouns am I supposed to use? If someone sent help, that would be lovely.

Frank Carter is one of these names I have heard everywhere for ages, mostly because he fronted both Gallows and Pure Love, both of which are bands I've never ever heard a bad thing about. The same goes for Frank Carter & the Rattlesnakes - their (his?) debut Blossom, released in 2015, has been praised by, pretty much, everyone, and what should I say about the live performances? They were apparently a must-see. Sometimes, I don't do well with hype and feel like running away from it because "why are you all pissing me off with this or that?", but this time, I was extremely eager to finally have a chance to understand what was the world going on about.





Easy peasy. Frank Carter's performance hit me like a brick in the face. Rarely have I seen an artist more sincere, genuine and honest on stage. No bullshit, no gimmicks, no catchphrases, NOTHING - just pure honesty and nothing else. And that got to me. And that gave me goosebumps and made me cry my little life out when he played Beautiful Death in the middle of the crowd, the room mostly lit up by phones. Let me tell you, I wasn't okay after this. I think that's what struck me the most about Frank Carter - his ability to be the most honest frontman possible. It's all raw and true and I think that's what makes the live performance such a must see, and why everyone is raging on and on about him. There is also how hard hitting his lyrics are. And his sense of humour.
Yeah. I get it, now. You were all right. Definitely see you next tour.






Oh, Sum 41. Where do I start? I, pretty much like every person my age, discovered their existence with In Too Deep. It was the summer of, what, 2001 or 2002, and this now absolutely iconic pop punk tune was on music channels all the time, along with two other tracks that have stuck to me back then - Avril Lavigne's Complicated and Michelle Branch's Everywhere. Back then, I was eleven or twelve, on the verge of starting my teenage years and probably thinking I was such a badass, edgy kid for liking that kind of music. (I also still adored Britney Spears, so there's that)

Nine years after that fateful summer, I got the chance to see Sum 41 in the now burnt down Elysée Montmartre, in Paris, for the Eastpak Antidote Tour (now we're on to that, can the Eastpak tour make a come back? I loved it) and it was a whole lot of fun. After that, the band was supposed to do forty-one shows in France (for one obvious reason and so many less obvious ones) and Deryck's problems happened and I thought I'd never see them again.

And that is probably why I cried as soon as they walked on stage. These tears, they caught me by surprise. You know, I know that when bands talk about things that hit me hard, or when they play sad songs, or when they play enormous gigs, I will shed a tear (or five hundred). And yet as someone that cries pretty much all the time, I didn't expect to cry when I saw Sum 41 walking on the stage of the Forum. I just didn't. I was just incredibly happy they were back, and smiling, and doing their thing, and that my childhood and one of the bands that stuck with me for the longest weren't dead. That's it, really.





Performance wise, there's nothing bad to say about the Canadian outfit. They have become legends for a reason, and they are back with a vengeance after going to hell and back. I don't think I really need to tell everyone how catchy their songs sound and all these things. It's SUM 41 we are talking about. You know. You all know.

So I'll just tell you how happy I am I got to do a little dancing with one of my best friends in the world to all these songs, how happy I am I have Sum 41 back, how happy I am I did a sing on all these songs, how happy I am I was lucky enough to be thrown back to one of these summers when nothing really mattered apart from my writing and turning on the TV and seeing a bunch of guys, their super catchy punk rock song and their shenanigans in a diving centre. That's how this show felt like.

I don't know what the future holds for Sum 41. No one does. They themselves probably don't. I'm just glad they're back. I'm just glad the images of Deryck lying on a hospital bed, on the verge of death, are not the last I got to see of them. I can't say I am their biggest fan - I don't know every word to every song and I'm not even sure how many records I own. But they have stuck with me for over a decade and that's what matters the most. I know, this is not a review. This is just me telling you how a show made me happy beyond belief.



I, though, just want to use this space to call out the Forum about something very important, in my opinion.
To whoever it may concern : this show was oversold and you know it, it would be completely silly to try and argue it wasn't. There was next to no space to walk around the place and I should not have to fear for my safety whilst I am at a gig. There was no way to get out of anywhere and the amount of people who have fallen on me while walking up four stairs is incredibly alarming. I'm going to be dramatic (and I feel allowed to do so as it hit close to home) but if something similar to Paris had been planned to happen in your venue no one would have been able to escape, and this is not something that should ever, ever cross my or my friends' minds during a gig. EVER. Please stop over selling your gigs and please think about our safety, thank you very much. (Also, thanks for never replying to my email, fully appreciated)