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| Photo By: Gemma Harling |
‘The Young & The Hopeless’ gathered in Birmingham for the Kerrang Relentless Tour 2011 to see the amazing line-up this year’s tour had to offer.
‘Girls and Boys’ crammed into the O2 Academy in Birmingham on the 17th February for the annual Kerrang Relentless tour featuring pop punk titans Good Charlotte, alongside Four Year Strong, Framing Hanley and The Wonder Years.
First to take to the stage was the late addition to the line-up, The Wonder Years. The pop punk band from Philadelphia did not feature on the tickets for the gig; however this did not affect their attitude or performance. As soon as the house lights went down the band were ready to wake the restless audience, pumping tracks that, although unknown to most of the crowd, caused movement on the O2 Academy floor. The band ended their set grateful for the audience’s response to them and generally enthusiastic to have performed as part of an amazing line-up.
Next the Nashville rock band, Framing Hanley, strolled onto the stage to the accompaniment of high pitched screeching. Tattooed frontman Kenneth Nixon has become a popular favourite with the female fans, most of his vocals being inaudible above screams; those that could be heard were powerful. The majority of the set seemed rushed due to the long line-up, the band pushed song after song, making the most of the short time they had. Despite the hastiness the band performed songs from both of their albums creating maximum reception from mainly the female audience, yet the male proportion also seemed to enjoy the set. The instrumentals of the band were at their peak, intense guitar playing, particularly the chilling riff at the beginning of the Lil Wayne cover ‘Lollipop’, accompanied by strong drumming for their entire performance.
Third band of the night was Four Year Strong, yet another American band who took control of the Birmingham audience. The band turned out to be extremely popular with the crowd sparking surges of energy, causing the heavier rock fans to mosh and crowd surf. Although they too are described as a pop punk band, Four Year Strong performed tracks which were a lot heavier than the usual songs in the genre. The band definitely packed a punch both lyrically and musically, leaving the crowd hot and ready for more.
Lastly the colossal pop-punk-rock band from Maryland, Good Charlotte, stormed the stage. The unofficial ‘headliners’ of the tour have gathered a massive fan-base over their nearly 15 years of performing, the majority of the rock fans inside of the Academy had announced that they were there to see Good Charlotte, and received more than the show they were expecting. The ‘Introduction to Cardiology’ announced the arrival of Good Charlotte onto the Birmingham stage before driving straight into ‘The Anthem’; fans surged forward at a chance to get on the barrier to be closer to the American rockers. The band performed tracks from all five of their albums, including the most recent addition, Cardiology, which was released late last year. The music from Benji, Paul, Dean and Billy reflected the true pop-punk sound the band are known for. Joel’s vocals remaining strong throughout the night, blasting old and new tracks stirring the audience to a frenzy of pushing, moshing and crowd surface, to the point where the O2 Academy barrier was feeling the full force of the Good Charlotte fans. ‘Keep your hands off my girl’, ‘The River’ and the new ‘Sex on the Radio’ were just some songs the band played as part of their impressive set.
It was clear to the crowd that the band considered their audience interaction as important as their musical performance. The Madden twins charming all of the girls in the room with claims of seeing many attractive women in Birmingham, only hyping the female audience members up to submit the same energy as the male members. All the time joking and laughing, looking genuinely thrilled to be playing their music to Good Charlotte veterans and first timers. It is often a rare thing to see a band with as much energy as Good Charlotte had as late on in the tour as the Birmingham date was. Although the majority of the spotlight was on Benji and Joel, the band have amazing chemistry and love for old pop-punk values similar to bands such as Blink-182 and Green Day. Instead of going off for an encore Good Charlotte took requests of older songs before ending the night with ‘Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous’.
Those who did not come to see Good Charlotte left loving them. The charisma Good Charlotte possesses is something that a lot of new bands lack; they have not forgotten that the fans are as important as the music they play, the albums they put out and merchandise they sell.
The Kerrang Relentless Tour 2011 had a line-up which got the blood pumping and the sweat dripping of every crowd member, setting a bench mark for the 2012 tour.
‘Girls and Boys’ crammed into the O2 Academy in Birmingham on the 17th February for the annual Kerrang Relentless tour featuring pop punk titans Good Charlotte, alongside Four Year Strong, Framing Hanley and The Wonder Years.
First to take to the stage was the late addition to the line-up, The Wonder Years. The pop punk band from Philadelphia did not feature on the tickets for the gig; however this did not affect their attitude or performance. As soon as the house lights went down the band were ready to wake the restless audience, pumping tracks that, although unknown to most of the crowd, caused movement on the O2 Academy floor. The band ended their set grateful for the audience’s response to them and generally enthusiastic to have performed as part of an amazing line-up.
Next the Nashville rock band, Framing Hanley, strolled onto the stage to the accompaniment of high pitched screeching. Tattooed frontman Kenneth Nixon has become a popular favourite with the female fans, most of his vocals being inaudible above screams; those that could be heard were powerful. The majority of the set seemed rushed due to the long line-up, the band pushed song after song, making the most of the short time they had. Despite the hastiness the band performed songs from both of their albums creating maximum reception from mainly the female audience, yet the male proportion also seemed to enjoy the set. The instrumentals of the band were at their peak, intense guitar playing, particularly the chilling riff at the beginning of the Lil Wayne cover ‘Lollipop’, accompanied by strong drumming for their entire performance.
Third band of the night was Four Year Strong, yet another American band who took control of the Birmingham audience. The band turned out to be extremely popular with the crowd sparking surges of energy, causing the heavier rock fans to mosh and crowd surf. Although they too are described as a pop punk band, Four Year Strong performed tracks which were a lot heavier than the usual songs in the genre. The band definitely packed a punch both lyrically and musically, leaving the crowd hot and ready for more.
Lastly the colossal pop-punk-rock band from Maryland, Good Charlotte, stormed the stage. The unofficial ‘headliners’ of the tour have gathered a massive fan-base over their nearly 15 years of performing, the majority of the rock fans inside of the Academy had announced that they were there to see Good Charlotte, and received more than the show they were expecting. The ‘Introduction to Cardiology’ announced the arrival of Good Charlotte onto the Birmingham stage before driving straight into ‘The Anthem’; fans surged forward at a chance to get on the barrier to be closer to the American rockers. The band performed tracks from all five of their albums, including the most recent addition, Cardiology, which was released late last year. The music from Benji, Paul, Dean and Billy reflected the true pop-punk sound the band are known for. Joel’s vocals remaining strong throughout the night, blasting old and new tracks stirring the audience to a frenzy of pushing, moshing and crowd surface, to the point where the O2 Academy barrier was feeling the full force of the Good Charlotte fans. ‘Keep your hands off my girl’, ‘The River’ and the new ‘Sex on the Radio’ were just some songs the band played as part of their impressive set.
It was clear to the crowd that the band considered their audience interaction as important as their musical performance. The Madden twins charming all of the girls in the room with claims of seeing many attractive women in Birmingham, only hyping the female audience members up to submit the same energy as the male members. All the time joking and laughing, looking genuinely thrilled to be playing their music to Good Charlotte veterans and first timers. It is often a rare thing to see a band with as much energy as Good Charlotte had as late on in the tour as the Birmingham date was. Although the majority of the spotlight was on Benji and Joel, the band have amazing chemistry and love for old pop-punk values similar to bands such as Blink-182 and Green Day. Instead of going off for an encore Good Charlotte took requests of older songs before ending the night with ‘Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous’.
Those who did not come to see Good Charlotte left loving them. The charisma Good Charlotte possesses is something that a lot of new bands lack; they have not forgotten that the fans are as important as the music they play, the albums they put out and merchandise they sell.
The Kerrang Relentless Tour 2011 had a line-up which got the blood pumping and the sweat dripping of every crowd member, setting a bench mark for the 2012 tour.
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| Photo By: Gemma Harling |
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| Photo By: Gemma Harling |
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