On Saturday, May 12, Sum 41’s Does This Look Infected? 15 year anniversary tour hit Terminal 5 in New York City. This was my first Sum 41 show and I didn’t know what to expect but the show exceeding any expectations a fan might have had beforehand.
First to take the stage was Super Whatevr. I wasn’t very impressed with their performance. Whether it was a band issue or a technical issue, their sound wasn’t balanced. The backing instrumentals were overpowering the vocals. When the vocals could be heard the harmonies were overpowering the melody. They also didn’t seem very comfortable on stage which caused the audience to not respond very well to them. However, they did have a nice instrumental sound and the band’s emotions ran high when they played their song “Someone, Somewhere, Somehow.” There is definitely a lot of room for growth with this band and they have a lot of potential.
Next up was Seaway. The atmosphere completely shifted when they took the stage. I had never listened to Seaway before the show but had only heard good things about them. I wasn’t disappointed with their performance. The energy was high from the first song to the last and the crowd was completely engaged. Everyone was having fun and enjoying the music which made the set enjoyable for those who hadn’t listened to Seaway before. The band itself was extremely talented and they had an authentic sound. All together Seaway put on a fun performance that was full of energy and excitement which successfully pumped up the crowd for what was about to come.
I could tell the crowd for Sum 41 was about to be insane even before the band even took the stage. The crowd was starting mosh pits to the playlist that was playing while their stage was being set up. But, these mosh pits were only a preview of what was about to happen. As soon as Sum 41 took the stage, the entire crowd turned into a mosh pit and stayed that way for the entirety of their set.
The album Does This Look Infected? is an album that doesn’t have a single slow song on its track list. Which meant the crowd didn’t stop all night. Sum 41 described the show as “a birthday party” but it wasn’t a birthday party for them. It was a birthday party for the fans and this crowd took it to the next level.
From opening with “The Hell Song”, to their covers of Metallica, Queen, and Pink Floyd, to ending with Fat Lip the energy never died. Sum 41 seemed to be having a blast up on stage while the entire audience was having just as much fun watching them. It felt like a big family reunion.
The only negative thing I can say about their set was that some parts of the crowd were extremely rude to those who did not want to be a part of the mosh pit. If someone who didn’t want to mosh was standing by someone who did, they would get shoved around and hit even if they were towards the side walls away from the mosh pit that was happening in the center of the crowd. Some people wanted to stay away from the pits and just enjoy the show but some of the fans around them made it hard.
If you have the chance to check out Sum 41’s Does This Look Infected? 15 year anniversary tour I highly recommend it; and if you are attending but don’t want to join the mosh pit I would suggest standing towards the back.
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