Good Charlotte + Four Year Strong + Framing Hanley @ Birmingham Academy, 17th February 2011
It’s that time of year again as the annual Kerrang Relentless tour rolls into town bringing with them the pop-punk stylings of The Wonder Years, Framing Hanley, Four Year Strong and Good Charlotte. It has all the makings of a great evening and I can’t think of a better way to spend a cold February evening.
The Wonder Years are the perfect remedy for a cold February night and kick off proceedings in style warming up the crowd a treat. Their slightly edgier pop-punk sounds great and hits like My Last Semester and Melrose Diner showcase the bands talents. They’re still fairly under the radar but with performances like this that won’t be the case for much longer.
The screams that accompanying Framing Hanley taking to the stage are ear piercing as the young girls in the crowd let their feelings be known. The performance on the whole though seems to be lacking something coming across a bit lacklustre. The fans though don’t seem to have noticed and are putting their all into it singing along to the likes of Lollipop and 23 Days.
Four Year Strong on the other hand are a completely different prospect and there are a lot of people who have come just to see them play a short but sweet set, 7 songs just isn’t enough. Blasting into Tonight We Feel Alive (On a Saturday) the crowd goes mental raising the temperature in the academy a couple of degrees with sweat dripping off the ceilings and the almighty beard of Dan O’Connor. It’s Heroes Get Remembered, Legends Never Die that gets the greatest response as a huge circle pits opens up encompassing the dance floor. Four Year Strong have are one of the bands responsible for the recent rise in pop-punk and with catchy tunes and meaty breakdowns they are highlight of the evening.
They’re on the 5th Studio album and have been going for over 10 years but still Good Charlotte have always struggled to be taken seriously and I definitely wasn’t expecting much. Opening the set with their huge hit Anthem it’s a blinding way to kick things off, Girls and Boys follows keeping the tempo high and the crowd from front to back are singing along to every word. There is a lot of banter between the Madden brothers and between every song there is proclamations of love for Birmingham, it might just be the same old cliché, every town or city on any tour is the one that’s loved the most but you can’t help but feel they actually mean it tonight.
The only time the crowd is quiet is when Benji goes into a spiel about God and church which introduces The River which is greeted by silence and then a smattering of boos but it’s all forgotten when they actually kick into the song. Towards the end of the set Joel asks the crowd what they want to hear and Hold On wins out, it’s been a marathon of set and they still want to play more asking if they have time for a couple more much to the joy of the crowd. The Story of my Old Man leads into a cover of Blink 182’s Dammit that is played with more prowess then Blink themselves and catches the crowd by surprise taking a couple of seconds for it sink in!
Saving the best till last Good Charlotte go out on Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous giving the Birmingham crowd once last chance for a mass sing along. Good Charlotte have exceeded all my expectations tonight and whether it’s ‘cool’ or not to like them they put on a mean live show and even the most reluctant will find themselves singing along because like it not you know the songs and can’t help but like them.
Review – Hannah Sebestjanowicz
Photos – Ian Dunn