That is how I feel about the All Time Low's Future Hearts Tour show in Milwaukee. Like you know that emjoi that is super excited/shocked looking type of face? Yea, that is me right now. This was my 6th All Time Low show and it was by far the best show that I've seen by them since "Put Up Or Shut Up".
This show was held Friday, May 29th at The Eagles Ballroom/The Rave in Milwaukee. Their opening acts were Real Friends and KnucklePuck. This show was a rescheduled show, it was originally suppose to be May 16th, but due to scheduling conflicts, they moved it to the 29th and added a fan signing, one of a kind merchandise item as well as an extra acoustic set included in their normal set.
Overall rating of this concert would be a 5 out of 5 stars for me. I will break down the show and go into more detail below.
OPENING ACT(S):
Opening acts for this show were Real Friends and KnucklePuck. Although I have heard of both of these bands, I have never actually listened to their music before. KnucklePuck was the first to perform (punctual at 7pm sharp) and they really got the crowd pumped for the following acts. Usually for the first band you just see your few fans that go all out for them, but rarely the whole crowd. This was not the case for KnucklePuck, they really demanded attention from people who did not know them and really got them hyped for the rest of the set. Very few bands can do that, so I was very impressed.
Real Friends then came on to a hyped up crowd, which you could tell, really got the band hyped up as well. Its great when you can actually see the crowd and the band feeding off of each other's energy. Its this sense of uniformity, that, even though you may not be a fan of the music or know any of the songs, you can still sense the energy that the band is giving and reciprocate that back.
Overall, I really enjoyed both of these band's live performances and I have them on my list to listen to and hear their studio work.
HEADLINING ACT (OVERALL):
All Time Low, as stated, was the headlining act and holy cow were they amazing! They were really interacting with the crowd in a way that I have never seen a band interact with them. Usually your bands that talk to the crowd but almost in a scripted way. Its like they wrote out on their set list, "okay, between this song and this song we are going to thank everyone for coming. Then after this song talk about the next one." All Time Low was not like this.
Right off the cuff Alex and Jack were talking to the crowd like they were talking to their closest friends. Just straight up shooting the shit. They went off on tangents and off topic constantly. It was a true conversational feeling that really added to the experience.
They even invited a group of fans up onto the stage to rock out with them during one of their songs. It was a great way to see the band connect on that close up level during their show. I saw Jack give his guitar to one guy and let him strum while he fingered the chords. Alex gave some girls microphones to sing into with him. It was a great thing to witness and for sure a moment those fans will never forget!
SET LIST:
Keeping with the new album, Future Hearts, they sang a reasonable amount of songs off the album. Each on was filled with energy and excitement from the fans hearing these songs for the first time live. As a fan, there is always something special, and nerve-wrecking, about hearing a song performed live for the first time. You can't wait to hear it but at the same time you are nervous because what if it doesn't sound or feel as great as the studio recording? That was not an issue here, all the new songs sounded amazing, if not better, than the studio recordings and you could see feeling of complete euphoria on the faces of the fans.
Along with these new songs there was an even blend of songs from previous albums, like Nothing Personal and Don't Panic. All of them, again, filled with the same energy as the new songs, but with a different feel to them. There was a different sense of excitement in the crowd when they busted out with "Backseat Serenade" or "Lost In Stereo". They even snuck in a cheeky Blink-182 cover during their second half of the normal set.
Overall, I thought that the set list was excellently picked for the event and each song came with energy and excitement.
ACOUSTIC SET:
During the middle of the normal set list, they went off and the crew set up for an acoustic set list that was special to the Milwaukee date. This was probably my favorite part of the entire night. This set was riddled with nostalgic songs and was probably the most emotional part for me as well. It started right off the bat with two of my favorite of all time songs by them, "Remembering Sunday" and "Jasey Rae." It was definitely had to hold back the emotions that were swelling up inside me during these songs, especially during "Jasey Rae."
But the nostalgia didn't stop there, they continued to play songs off of their EP "Put Up Or Shut Up" including a song that I would sing religiously everyday to my friends; "Coffee Shop Soundtrack." This set list instantly transported me to my first All Time Low concert and watching them perform those same songs. It was like the room melted away and I pictured myself back at the Rave but in a different room, much smaller, and watching them on stage with cringe worthy haircuts and studded belts.
Overall, I thought that adding songs from their EP was a classic touch and I'm sure I was not the only one that felt true nostalgia during that set.
SOUND & LIGHTING:
Because I'm a bit of a music freak, I pay attention to the sound and lighting at shows that I attend. First off, the lighting was great for All Time Low. The mix of blue, white, and green really worked well with the theme of the album art. But they also mixed in some amazing orange, reds and purple tones as well that created a great ambiance.
The sound was less to be desired from my end. I was in the balcony on the side and at times it was hard for me to hear what Alex and Jack were saying in between songs. But, this is mainly because the speakers are mainly pointed towards the audience on the floor and they don't really have speakers facing the side balcony area. Also, there were times during the acoustic set that the microphones were picking each other up and creating that horrible screeching noise that makes you wrinkle your nose. But, that only happened a few times and it was quickly solved by their team. A sign of a great, quick thinking team, when the sound starts to do that and its fixed within seconds.
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Again, this was definitely one of my favorite shows I've ever been to and definitely my favorite All Time Low concert. It was a great way to start off the summer.
Stay rad my friends,
Stefanie
Real Friends
Real Friends
All Time Low
