On Oct. 12, All Time Low took over the renowned Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado on their “Everyone’s Talking!” tour with openers The Paradox, The Cab and Mayday Parade.
Existing within the pop-punk ecosystem for the last two decades, All Time Low has established their name as one of emos’ brainchilds stemming from the likes of bands such as Blink-182 and Green Day.
Alex Gaskarth, front man and lead vocalist, along with the rest of the members came together establishing themselves as a band during high school in their home town of Towson, Md. Through their shared love of pop-punk aesthetics and emo-rock sounds, All Time Low has been actively touring, putting out music and maturing over their two decade run thus far.
Four piece pop-punk band, The Paradox, hit the stage as the sun set on Red Rocks. The group embodied the attitude of a 2000s pop-punk band – sarcastic, charismatic and defiant. Their infectious energy and distinct identity as four African-Americans in a white dominated genre captivated the audience and set a powerful tone for the rest of the night to follow.
Following The Paradox, The Cab took the stage by storm keeping the energy alive by getting the crowd to jump, move and dance. The Cab played some of their most well-known songs, like “Angel With a Shotgun.” Their fans sang along throughout the night. Even those that weren’t as familiar with their music left knowing some of the words, humming their catchy tunes.
At this time in the night, the moon was starting to shine and the stage lights had become dim. Suddenly, a powerful guitar chord was struck and the five members of Mayday Parade began to emerge from backstage, backlit by the dim lighting on their stage plot.
The crowd erupted into cheers as the band played “Under My Sweater” on their new album titled “Sad.” The band members beamed at each other as frontman Derek Sanders announced that this year marked the band’s 20th anniversary.
All Time Low’s performance was ground-shaking and thrilling, but unfortunately only lasted for about four songs. During a short break between the first few songs, Gaskarth confided in the audience of his untimely illness he had woken up with earlier that day. Throughout the day, he described nourishing his voice to the best of his ability as to not have to cancel the show last minute.
Unfortunately for All Time Low fans, his set of vocal chords were the one thing holding together the entire show because without singing, there couldn’t be a set. It just so happened that after his first few attempts singing three of their initial songs, he had to put an end to the show for the sake of his own longevity and upcoming performances.
While tearing up on stage, Alex described his love and admiration for the fans and the support they have garnished throughout the years, although this one instance of vulnerability and inability to continue landed on that night. Some might have been upset, and maybe even have wanted a refund, but for most, respect for Alex and the bands’ susceptibility in a moment of utter ineptitude through unforeseen inevitability became a shared mentality.
After Alex spread the unfortunate reality of his momentary suffering and inability to continue, they ended the night on a fan favorite: “Dear Maria, Count Me In,” through teary eyes and a scratched voice. Alex raised the microphone to the crowd and their voice carried the burden of what Alex’s voice couldn’t that night.
All Time Low proved to be true performers and adversity reckoners, through the face of calamity.
