These past two days have seen me watch two of the most important bands of my adult years. On Sunday, there was A Day To Remember, and on Monday, Four Year Strong.
The venue isn't full yet when local band Atlas For Home takes the stage. Having lived outside of the country for over a year, I haven't seen them a lot, but I have seen their name on gig line ups regularly, and they have played alongside bands like Moose Blood and State Champs already. When they walk on stage, the very few people that have arrived are shyly standing up on the sides, clutching a beer and not daring making a move, but it's all forgotten in a couple of minutes, thanks to the Parisians' extremely catchy alt-rock tunes. They sound very tight and professional considering they are just getting started, and it seems they already have a knack at writing songs that get in your head and under your skin in a matter of seconds - closer Feeling Alive and the "Alright, alright" line of its chorus were echoed by the crowd as one, and it ended up being stuck in our heads even after the band was finished playing. Just writing about it is bringing it back to my brain in full force. Hello, Paris, support your local scene - I promise you, it's worth it.
Unless you've been living under a rock, if you're into pop punk (and especially British pop punk), you've heard of Boston Manor. Their début album, Be Nothing, was critically acclaimed when it was released last year, and they've been on the way up in the scene for a while, now, just waiting to explode. I'd seen them supporting Speak Low If You Speak Love a year ago, and their sensitive, delicate cover of Brand New's wonderful Jesus Christ had stolen my heart. Their electric set in support of Moose Blood at Koko had solidly got me on board, and it was nothing short of a pleasure seeing them on my side of the Channel.
The thing is, I never know what to expect from French crowds. To quote the famous Forrest Gump, we're like a box of chocolates and you never know what you're going to get. One day we will be the terrible, cold crowd that no one wants to play for, and the next, there will be moshpits raging from wall to wall. Boston Manor's first ever Parisian show luckily got the latter kind of chocolate, the crowd being all singalongs and limbs flying in the air. The band was fully deserving of such a reaction, of course - their set was absolutely flawless, energetic and engaging from the first to the last second, the perfect balance between a band who wants to make their mark and give the audience a good time and yet, make it seem effortless and easy to play for the country with the worst reputation. Thanks to this set, I've moved on from "solidly on board" to "full time fan searching for a nickname à la Moosey B, Trashy B and consorts for them", and it's exactly what I'm asking for from a support band. See you soon, and stuff.
I started listening to Four Year Strong some time in 2009, thanks to the pop punk masterpiece that is Rise or Die Trying. I suppose it isn't too hard to imagine my reaction when I found out they were doing a ten year anniversary tour - I hadn't seen it coming, and even if I had, I would have thought it would only happen within the borders of the United States of America, including maybe a short stint in Canada, but nothing I could attend. Imagine my joy.
It's hard to believe Rise Or Die Trying is a decade old already. While some albums and bands carry the weight of the trends that have stayed in the later part of the noughties, sometimes for the best (like waistcoats, neon sunglasses and unnecessary keyboards), Four Year Strong's early music is as relevant now as it was back in the day. If we're honest, if it wasn't for the Americans and if it wasn't for an album like Rise or Die Trying, there would be no pop-punk as we know it today, simple as that. They aren't the biggest band in the world and yet their influence is beyond compare.
On stage, Four Year Strong is a formula that works year in, year out. They are just themselves, no tricks, no trends. They are solid, they are a band that never disappoints and probably never will. They do their thing, and do it perfectly, they are masters at what they do. They play fast, loud and heavy, they interact with the crowd, and the only thing they want is for you to team up, team up with your mates to the sound of anthems Heroes Get Remembered, Legends Never Die or Maniac (R.O.D), but yet, they'd never ask you to open this shit up or keep this energy going. When they hear the first notes of opener The Takeover, the crowd opens this place up without being asked, and when Prepare to Be Digitally Manipulated kicks in, everyone spontaneously keeps the energy going - and they will during the rest of the show. For a little over an hour, the audience is relentlessly moshing, singalongs are being heard, there is an awful lot of crowdsurfing and a certain member of the public is writing this review with a sore right arm from too much angry finger pointing, in true pop-punk fashion.
After offering us the stunning album that made them famous on a plate, they bring us dessert in the form of five extra songs : 2016's We All Float Down Here, from the band's self-titled album, and four tracks extracted from 2009's Enemy of the World. Everyone was there to listen to Rise or Die Trying, but no one will say no to more music, and there is still so much energy in that crowd you'd think the gig has just started. It Must Really Suck to Be Four Year Strong Right Now is yet another explosion from both the audience and the band, and Wasting Time (Eternal Summer), sees guitarist Dan O'Connor calling everyone to the stage. It's safe to say I didn't stay nicely on my little bench and next thing you know, I was rocking out to my favourite song, on stage with one of my favourite bands in the world, alongside fifty other people or so.
Not a lot of gigs compare to what I have experienced last night.
Nights like these are what I live for, no more, no less.