As I got off the train at Richmond station and the fresh autumn air hit my lungs, I observed 2 very different crowds of people on a mission. One group were adorned in their footy colours marching off to the G, whilst the other group were headed in my direction to John Cain Arena to relive their emo youth. Canadian rock band Simple Plan have returned to Australian shores and their fans are greeting them with open arms whilst they tour the country.
The arena was a buzz of excited activity with punters lining up for what seemed like miles to get their hands on some merch, then eagerly finding their prime position ready for the night to begin. As I found my seat and settled in, before me was an ocean of black. Black as far as the eye could see, with the odd dash of plaid for good measure. Black skinny jeans with an obligatory black tee was the uniform for the night, and if anyone dared to wear a splash of colour then they would’ve stuck out like the proverbial sore thumb.
To kick the night off, American Idol alumni JAX hit the stage and got the party started with her fun pop sound with songs like 90’s kids, Victoria’s Secret and a cover of the Wheatus hit, Teenage Dirtbag. A song she wrote about Adam Sandler had me chuckling, but her new unreleased song about a girl in her friendship group being a snake was my personal favourite, and I found myself humming it well after she’d finished.
JAX GALLERY
Next on the bill were Florida locals WE THE KINGS , and god damn did I enjoy their set! Right from their first song, the deep throbbing bass reverberated throughout my entire body and at one point I thought it was going to permanently alter my heartbeat rhythm, but I was completely loving it! Singer Travis Clark then declared that he may never be invited back after what he was about to do, and then proceeded to encourage the audience to crowd surf down to the front of the stage. Never have I seen security scramble so quickly to prepare for what was about to happen. I started to internally panic, wondering how anyone was going to crowd surf safely when everyone was busy holding their phones in the air documenting their entire night. This is how I know I’m getting old when the sensible part of brain overrides the fun part of my brain. A few brave souls took the literal plunge into the crowd, and I held my breath every time I saw someone nosedive head first. But everyone seemed to make it out unscathed. Phew! Their set was finished off with their huge hit Check Yes, Juliet, and hearing this kick started that nostalgia trigger in my head in preparation for the rest of the night.
WE THE KINGS GALLERY
BOYS LIKE GIRLS were up next, and lead guitarist Jamel Hawke appeared to be kicking it old school as he strutted out with a ciggie hanging from his mouth. Now I’m definitely not condoning smoking – ciggies are bad for ya, kids – but I found it entertaining as it took me back to a time long ago where it was common for most artists to light up a dart or 10 on stage during a show. Leather-clad frontman Martin Johnson swaggered out on stage and proceeded to blow the crowd away, and had them singing along to every single word. At one point, Johnson made the fatal error of telling everyone that the AFL team they had decided to follow was Collingwood, which was met by deafening boos from around the arena. Despite being dressed in black, this certainly was not a room of Magpies supporters. Once the group finished their energetic set, the crowd were awaiting the imminent arrival of Simple Plan.
BOYS LIKE GIRLS GALLERY
Council was now in session, and the Emo Elders of the community were well and truly amped as Simple Plan appeared on stage to the iconic Star Wars theme tune. The band kicked off with I’d Do Anything, with singer Pierre Bouvier declaring “Melbourne you’re fucking beautiful”, before the black army was covered in a sea of red, white and blue as confetti canons exploded out into the audience at the conclusion of the song.
Shut Up and Jump followed on and we were asked if we were ready to party, and party is exactly what the crowd did. You Suck At Love was next, which then prompted the stage to be drenched in red lighting to suit the angry mood of Your Love Is A Lie. With its punchy lyrics, every person who had ever been screwed over by love sang along as loud as their lungs would physically allow.
Lead guitarist Jeff Stinco then let loose with a killer guitar solo which was followed up by some old school Simple Plan with Addicted and Welcome To My Life. The crowd went crazy for these 2 songs and everyone seemed to be in their absolute element. Jax returned to the stage to sing Iconic with the boys, with a rainfall of streamers flying over the crowd. After praising our beautiful Australian beaches the band then played Summer Paradise, which was accompanied by about 20 GIANT beach balls being thrown around over the top of the crowd. Naturally, Pierre couldn’t resist cheekily thanking the crowd for playing with his balls.
Take My Hand picked up the pace before things were taken down a notch with the lights fading to black bar one spotlight, whilst the band played through Astronaut. The band then tried to reminisce but couldn’t really remember their last trip to Melbourne due to all the partying they did on that visit. They then ripped out a party medley which included Smash Mouth’s All Star, fellow Canadian pop punk singer Avril Lavigne’s S8er Boi, then topping it off with Mr Brightside made famous by The Killers. The party vibe continued with What’s New Scooby Doo, where the stage was flocked with dancers dressed in Scooby Doo costumes dancing around the band.
Travis Clark then came back to sing Where I Belong with the band, before they then said good night and departed the stage. The sold-out crowd weren’t done yet and they weren’t going to go down without a fight. So it was encore O’clock, and the band returned with one of the most entertaining encore entrances I’ve ever seen – a modified version of the theme tune to the hit kids TV show Bluey. I feel this was a big reality check for the night in terms of aging, because whilst everyone in the audience was reliving their angsty high school years from 20 years ago, the reality of the situation was that most people now were more than familiar with Bluey constantly on their TV’s and would be going home to check on their kids once they left the gig.
Jet Lag brought those nostalgia feels right back, and the crowd took on the vocal part of Natasha Bedingfield for this early 2010’s duet. We were then treated to another mash-up that included Crazy, Perfect World, Save You and This Song Saved My Life. Now I personally love when an overseas artist decides to throw in a song from an Aussie band that they know the audience will lap up, and my little bogan heart skipped multiple beats as the intro to The Angels anthem Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again rang out through the arena. The crowd absolutely loved this, and of course the song isn’t complete without the audience participation in the call and response chorus.
There was another reality check when Pierre so kindly reminded us that Just A Kid was released 22 years ago. Struggling with the concept of time himself, he let us know that “no way get fucked fuck off” was what he thought about that block of time that had apparently passed so quickly. Drummer Chuck Comeau then came out front and decided he wanted to have a crack at crowd surfing, so he encouraged everyone to slowly surge forward and then proceeded to dive in and have the time of his life. Cue my nervous energy again, but everyone made it out alive!
Pierre then picked up his acoustic guitar and gave us a stripped back version of Untitled, before leading us into a half acoustic version of Perfect, in which the band joined back in half way through, with another confetti explosion for the finale. This rounded out the night ‘Perfectly’(pun intended), and the audience appeared to be completely satiated as the band bid us a final farewell.
Simple Plan delivered an entertaining and musically great show, and proved that time certainly hasn’t wearied them in any way. They seem to genuinely adore their fans just as much as their fans adore them, and to prove their love they invited a few lucky fans up on stage for selfies towards the end of the show. It was wonderful to be wrapped up in the thrill, passion and emotion of Simple Plan’s dedicated fans, and seeing them completely lost in the moment belting out every song with all their might brought a huge smile on my face. Thanks for the feels, fun and nostalgia, Simple Plan!
SIMPLE PLAN GALLERY
With thanks to Dallas Does PR for the media accreditation
Images Credit Adam Portelli
