After a hugely successful co-headline tour with You Me At Six, All Time Low capped it off with a headline show at Wembley Arena. With tonight’s show selling out within a week it was clear this was going to be a special one for All Time Low.
First up though were Real Friends (6) who seem a little lost tonight on the huge stage at Wembley Arena. The room is already quite full by the time they arrive on the stage and the crowd responds well which does help the band ease into things. Their music might be sad but the band seem very happy to be playing tonight, even if their between song banter comes across as very awkward. Next up are Neck Deep (7) who are greeted by screams so loud you could almost mistake them for a headliner. It’s immediately clear that Neck Deep have become a very big deal and as they kick into opener Losing Teeth most of the crowd immediately starts jumping and singing along. The band seem at home on the bigger stage tonight despite being more used to playing in smaller rooms. The only thing that really holds Neck Deep back tonight is a lack of great songs, the band show a lot of potential but they just haven’t delivered on it yet. Still A Part Of Me is a genuine moment tonight as Wembley Arena is lit up by all the thousands of phones.
Finally it was time for All Time Low (9) and all of the ear piercing screams that greet them. During opener A Love Like War the band show off the fantastic production they’ve brought along tonight, with pyro constantly going off and a huge screen covering the entire back of the stage. Following this fan favourite Lost In Stereo leads to even more screaming and probably a few tears. This kicks off a career spanning setlist packed with the huge fan favourites and even some lesser known cuts. Weightless is played surprisingly early in the set and afterwards the band disappear from the stage, moments later Alex Gaskarth appears on a second stage at the back of the arena for a short solo performance. Remembering Sunday leads to even more tears (even from certain members of Rock Sins), especially when Alex is joined by Cassadee Pope for the first of tonight’s guest vocal slots.
The band return to the main stage with new single Kids In The Dark, which despite only being released a few weeks ago it seems like everyone already knows the words. The band are then joined by Josh Franceschi for Outlines which causes the loudest screams of the night (again from a certain member of Rock Sins). All of these moments added together to make tonight a really special show for the band. If I could make one slight criticism it would be that the between song banter is quite awful at times and the band trade the kind of dick jokes that Blink-182 might be ashamed of. Still this is something All Time Low have been doing for a long time and most of the crowd tonight love it. The band wrap up tonight with a fantastic encore which even see’s them go back to their first EP to play Jasey Rae before Dear Maria, Count Me In ends the night and cements itself as a modern pop-punk classic. Some people might argue about All Time Low’s place in the rock scene and whilst they might walk a fine line between rock and pop they’ve worked their way up to the top and deserve their place headlining arenas. Tonight was certainly an unforgettable night for the band and their die hard fans, and with it being filmed for a DVD it is one they’ll be able to relive. Tonight just confirmed All Time Low’s position as one of the modern giants of pop-punk.
