Live Review: Simple Plan - Eventim Apollo, London 16/02/2024
With a superbly stacked Iine-up of pop punk powerhouses, in the forms of State Champs, Mayday Parade, and Simple Plan, as well as alt-pop newcomer AIR YEL, Hammersmith was lucky enough to bear witness on London’s behalf.
First up came the relatively unannounced support of AIR YEL. With only a short set, the singer had to cram a lot of emotion and passion into her brief time on the stage; but a cover of Coldplay’s ‘Yellow’ — the phone flashlights already a-swaying — plus a smattering of originals, from the falsetto-laced ‘WONDERING’ to the bass-heavy ‘PLEASE’, helped deliver a whistle-stop tour of the Canadian’s particular brand of alt pop. And, with the show being sold-out, the venue was already heaving; you couldn’t want for a more receptive and excited audience than a thousand plus Simple Plan fans.
With the joint support duo of State Champs and Mayday Parade alternating each night, this London leg, the final night of the UK/EU tour, saw State Champs up first. Each of the band’s four albums got a fair showing, excluding ‘The Finer Things’ and its token airing of ‘Elevated’— although, with State Champs pledging to play that particular gem in full at Slam Dunk, fans haven’t got long to wait to see it receive some deserved justice. Fans new and old happily screamed along, hands bobbing and crowd members surfing throughout, as their forty minute set served crowd pleaser after crowd pleaser. It was closer ‘Everybody But You’ that tore Hammersmith asunder, however: rarely does a support act get thousands butchering a pop punk rap verse, and the band just lapped it up.
Closing with a promise that, after getting home from the tour, they would begin recording their fifth album — to a ridiculous degree of excitement from their adoring audience — State Champs had finished… but the night was far from over.
Enter, Mayday Parade. From that very first second, frontman Derek Sanders walking on stage and breaking into the melancholy opening lines of ‘Oh Well, Oh Well’, with the rest of the band traipsing on stage after, Mayday Parade had set the scene.
Though, with the emo sensibilities present throughout, it should probably have a capital S.
Squealing guitars and pounding drums, breathless vocals ever-left on the cusp of a scream, and the afore-mentioned pure-blooded emo sensibilities gave a nice change from State Champs’ hard-hitting, pure pop punk; yet, even with the often pensive sounding songs, the crowd’s joyful voices screaming along kept the set feeling celebratory, particularly the hard hitting final foursome of ‘Black Cat’, ‘Kids in Love’, ‘Jersey’ and ‘Jamie All Over’. A fantastic set, and a band living up to the love and adoration of a ferociously loyal fan base.
Though, of course, none of the three acts could hold a candle to the Canadian quartet of Simple Plan. Emerging on stage to the triumphant tones of the Star Wars Theme, and a sanguine warp-speed blur of space behind them, the four quickly flew into ‘I’d Do Anything’, arguably the song that started it all of in the first place, the opener of their debut album. With offerings of smoke geysers and confetti cannons, even before the final note had rung out, the party had started. And that, as they say, was it. A setlist full of hits; songs you know intimately, and songs catchy enough that even never having heard them before you’re happily singing along by the second chorus. Streamers, stage invaders and Simple Plan emblazoned beach balls, which devolved somewhat into a volleyball competition between the crowd and frontman Pierre Bouvier, were just the start of it. There were medleys of old songs, medleys of covers — including the sort-of English national anthem of ‘Mr Brightside’, despite obviously not being English — and a medley of Dereks arriving on stage for ‘Where I Belong’; and, of course, a whole host of Scoobies for their childhood-defining ‘What’s New Scooby-Doo’, including what appeared to be miniature ones being thrown into the crowd.
The night just felt celebratory. Few bands have been as impactful in the modern era as Simple Plan; between the afore-mentioned ‘What’s New Scooby-Doo’ being the childhood soundtrack for a generation, to the bona-fide anthems of ‘I’m Just A Kid’, ‘Welcome To My Life’ or ‘Perfect’, Simple Plan are a band that have stood the test of time and emerged triumphant. With the likes of Canadian pop-punk contemporaries Sum 41 calling it a day, the fully sold-out “Hard As Rock” EU/UK tour, culminating in Eventim Apollo, only goes to prove that Simple Plan still have a hell of a lot more to offer.
Words by James O’Sullivan
Photography by Sam Strutt
