10 years ago pop-punk band All Time Low released their first album So Wrong It’s Right. From December 19-21 they played that album in its entirety at Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, New Jersey. Selling out within a matter of hours, having to add two more shows because of how fast it sold, and having fans travel from all over the country, shows that even after 10 years a band and an album can have a huge impact on someone.
On Wednesday night I had the opportunity to see this milestone show. Even though I was only 9 years old when this album came out and didn’t discover All Time Low for another 3 years, this experience was nostalgic. It was like a time warp. I was immediately brought back to middle school when I would sit in class and sneakily listen to their music. I can only begin to imagine what this show did for someone who was 15/16 years old when this album was first released.
The show itself was very intimate and personable. Starland Ballroom, being such a small venue, allows you to be much more personal with your favorite artists compared to an arena such as Madison Square Garden. I was standing towards the back of the crowd on the side by the bar and I was still close enough to the stage that I could make perfect eye contact with Jack Barakat.
Before All Time Low came on they had a radio show called The Gunz Show open up for them. He got the crowd pumped with some of our favorite pop punk songs both old and new. He opened his set with Mayday Parade’s song Jersey. This was more than appropriate solely because of the fact that this show took place in New Jersey. I had a lot of fun during his set. I never know what to expect with opening acts, especially ones I have never heard of before, so having a DJ who played songs we all know and love was a great way to open the show.
At about 8:30 the lights went down and a recording started playing through the speakers. This recording warned the crowd of everything that was about to happen during All Time Low’s set, for example “a desperate need to prove that after 10 years of So Wrong It’s Right the magic hasn’t died a tragic late 2000s pop punk death.” The humor and goofiness behind this announcement foreshadowed the madness that was about to unfold on stage.
Now, I had never seen All Time Low headline before. I have listened to them for 7 years but have only seen them one other time before last night and that was when they opened up for Blink 182. I had no idea what to expect from the show, all I knew was they put on a fantastic set when I last saw them live. Needless to say, I was not disappointed.
From the very start the energy was through the roof. All four of them came on stage and put on a show like they were 19/20 years old again. A few songs into the set, the first time Alex and Jack started to talk I came to the conclusion that they remind me of cartoon characters. The way they act on stage and some of the things they said were absolutely ridiculous but I loved every second of it.
They had the entire building singing along at the top of their lungs. The energy didn’t die either when they played Remembering Sunday. A lot of the time when a band plays a ballad the energy in the crowd dies but that wasn’t the case for All Time Low. I’m almost positive you could hear every single person singing along from the street outside the venue.
This show brought together a community; and that’s one of the reasons why it was so special. Not only were they celebrating 10 years of their debut album but they also brought together a group of people who all shared the same love for music. It was a beautiful moment for every All Time Low fan who went to any of these three shows.
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