Reliving the good times through live music
Earlier this month, I had a totally new concert experience, which is not something I say lightly after about 17 years of attending live shows at least once a year.
My sister and I went to Cincinnati to see Simple Plan. Afterward, we both marveled at the electric atmosphere and nostalgia it brought.
Simple Plan released its first album in 2002 and I became pretty obsessed with them in fourth grade. As I got older, I stayed pretty faithful with keeping up with their new releases and what’s cool is that they’ve just put out a new album “Harder Than It Looks.”
When I found out they were touring, I just knew I had to go; I had to fulfill all of my fourth-grade dreams.
I got us tickets for the floor because they were cheaper and I had a feeling it would be a fun time. Boy, I’m glad I did because I was so right. We were packed right in there and surrounded with other “milennials.” My whole life, I’ve pretty much only gone to bands that bring in crowds close to my parents’ age so this was the first time I’ve been around my peers.
I quickly noticed it was a special group of people when the venue was playing punk music from the early 2000s and everyone was singing along before the show even started.
The band started with one of their most popular songs “I’d Do Anything” and the performers and the crowd were full of so much energy. Without a doubt, I knew we were in for a good concert.
During one of the songs called “Summer Paradise,” the lead singer, Pierre Bouvier, tossed out several beach balls in the crowd for everyone to hit around. I felt like a kid again, it was just awesome.
The rest of the concert was filled with (safe) crowd surfing, fist pumping, clapping and people singing every word at the top of their lungs. It ended with a couple of their slower songs including their song “Perfect.” Bouvier asked everyone to turn on their flashlights or lighters, which created a magical atmosphere. The whole event had so much positive energy and people unapologetically having fun.
It got me thinking about early 2000s punk and the fact that it’s kind of lost in society. There aren’t any radio stations that play that kind of music and it’s not really talked about. But the cool thing is that, clearly, people still love this music and it created the best nostalgia.
Everyone has bands or artists that take them back to simpler times.
I encourage everyone to take a listen to those albums again. Dig out those records, cassettes and CDs and bring back those great memories.
Even better, get yourself to a live show.
Candice Black is the special projects editor for The Marietta Times. She can be reach at cblack@newsandsentinel.com