REVIEW: All Time Low @ Brixton Academy, 31.3.17

Chloe-Mai Parfitt
Apr 3, 2017
5 min read

As I arrive at the venue, I groan to myself at the sight of the queue. Having been to Brixton Academy more times than I can count, I'm no stranger to the absurdly long line that wraps itself around the entire block in a patchy circle. Reluctantly, I join the back of the line and wonder why I came an hour before doors.

All Time Low have been touring the UK & Ireland for the last three weeks, and tonight is the final show of the tour. I'd already been to two other dates: London Eventim Apollo on the 10th- the first night of tour- and Southampton Guildhall on the 13th.

As the hour drags on, I become more and more impatient with the people around me, and the thought "I'm getting too old for this" crosses my mind more than once. When the clock finally hits 7, the queue begins to move forwards as we're herded and squashed into the venue like cattle. The line comes to a sudden halt and I glance at the wall next to me, covered in sharpie. Various names, bands and twitter handles have been scrawled into the brick, and my eyes land on one in particular. "ATL-13.3.11", and my own twitter username. My first ever All Time Low show at this very venue. I stand and reminisce for a moment and think about how much has changed since then. Now at 20 years old, and about to attend my 15th All Time Low show, it's fair to say I've done a lot of growing up since then.

We're inside the venue by 7:20- surprisingly quick for Brixton Academy- and awaiting the arrival of the first support act, Waterparks. I find myself a decent spot in the crowd, and I'm surrounded by excited chatter, anticipation and the occasional scream that erupts every time someone thinks the band is about to walk on stage. Finally, 15 minutes behind schedule, the lights go down, and the three-piece make their entrance and launch straight into their first song 'Made In America'.

It's clear from the reactions of those around me, they're relatively well known, despite frontman Awsten Knight declaring "This is the biggest show we've ever played!" at least three times throughout the set. Since being introduced to them at the first show of tour, I'd been obsessively listening to their recently released debut album 'Double Dare' on Spotify, and could now comfortably sing along to their set. They whizz through their 6-song-set and as they walk of the stage I find myself promising to get tickets to their next headline tour.

Next up, it's SWMRS, a band who, if i'm being brutally honest, absolutely can't stand. Having had to stand through two of their sets already, I'm just willing for it to be over quickly. A lot of noise later, and singer Cole Becker starts his speech about fighting fascism and learning to think for yourself, before confessing his love for Miley Cyrus. They play a song where the only lyrics I can decipher is "Miley you're a punk rock queen." and by the end of it I'm ready to give up and go home. Thankfully they only play one more song and exit the stage.

By this point in the evening, the crowd has grown restless and are just willing All Time Low to come on stage quickly, myself included.

At 9:30 on the dot, the lights go out and the crowd explodes with excitement. All Time Low enter the stage and go right into their opening song 'Kicking and Screaming.'

"Good evening Brixton!" leading man Alex Gaskarth hollers, and is met with a fierce throng of screams. "On the first night of this tour, we played a new song, Dirty Laundry for the first time. As you guys know, last week we released another song from the new album. We thought it was only right that we played another song for the first time on the last night of tour." Before the first few notes have even rung out, the place is going wild. 'Last Young Renegade' gets the loudest sing-along of the night, and quite possibly the tour. At this point of the night, it's clear to me that All Time Low are showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

They play through their set, stopping in between songs to converse with one another, usually something inappropriate from guitarist Jack Barakat. 'Something's Gotta Give' sees fans climbing on each others shoulders, and beach balls being dropped onto the crowd, and 'Kids In The Dark' shows off parts of the audience who are covered in UV paint.

"You mind if we slow things down?" Alex asks, as the rest of the band members walk off stage, leaving him standing alone in the spotlight armed with an acoustic guitar. Anyone who's seen All Time Low before knows it's time for tear-jerker 'Therapy' and there's a noticeable shift in the mood as everyone sings along in unison. Lighters and phone lights and lifted to the sky, and it's a beautiful moment.

"So this next song is about Addiction." Alex speaks into the microphone, and there's not a single sound in the room. "This song goes out to anyone struggling, or anyone who know's someone struggling. There is a way through it, and there is a way out of it. This song is called Missing You, it goes like this." There's truly something special about being a part of a crowd singing along in unison to an acoustic song, and this one is no different. One by one, the band members rejoin the stage and by the bridge they're playing full band once again.

Things speed up again in time to play 'Guts', 'Dirty Laundry' and 'Take Cover' before they exit the stage for the encore. At this point, members of the audience begin to leave the crowd and I find myself wondering if they really don't know that the show isn't over. The venue begins to chant, and eventually the band come back onto the stage to play 'Lost In Stereo.'

"You didn't think we were done just yet did you?" Alex laughs into the mic. "This entire tour we've had people begging us to play Jasey Rae and as it's the last show of tour we thought.... nah!" He laughs as the crowd boo's. "Just kidding!" The audience reaches new volume levels and 'Jasey Rae' proves to be a crowd pleaser.

Every time I've seen All Time Low live they've ended with 'Dear Maria' and tonight was no different. As Alex and Jack climb into the crowd for the final verse, confetti cannons explode, showering us in flakes of red and white tissue paper that stick to every part of us and I just know I'll still be finding them falling out of my pockets for the next week.