Saturday 29 November 2014

Pop Punk Is Definitely Not Dead.


Pop Punk has been a apart of my life for maybe 10 years now (maybe more!) Some of my favourite bands are classified in the pop punk genre and you could say it's had a pretty big impact on my life.
Back in May I brought tickets to this beaut of a tour, and on Wednesday I travelled the not-very-long distance to Portsmouth for it!
Just a warning -this may be quite a lengthy blog post!






In typical me fashion, I arrived slightly late and missed half of the first band- Only Rivals. 
I didn't know them, but, as far as first impressions go, they made a good one. I enjoyed what I did see of them. 
They-re kind of newbies to the pop punk scene and hail from Dublin, Ireland.
Let's put it this way, they've definitely got the songs to go far.
I didn't get any pictures of them so enjoy this one I bound on their twitter. Let me know who the photographer is so I can credit properly please!



Second was Candy Hearts. Again, no photos, soz.
Candy Hearts I had heard about before but never listened to. If you follow Hayley Williams on twitter you've probably seen her posts about them.
This 3 piece (or 4, I don't know, they had 4 members on stage) are from New York/ New jersey, and they basically sound like they should be on the soundtrack to a total 90's movie.
They're dreamy and delightful and just plain fun to have around.
These guys will probably be on my "Ones To Watch" list for 2015.

State Champs- Hard To Please                                           State Champs- Elevated
My Videos.

Next up was State Champs. 
This 5 piece are from Albany, New York and I discovered them at the beginning of the year. 
They very quickly became one of my favourite bands and I've literally been in love for a good few months now. 
Their debut album, The Finer Things, dropped a year ago and it's easily one of the best albums I've heard.
State Champs were the last band to be announced for the UK tour and I literally squealed with delight when I heard the announcement.
They put on a fantastic show and I can't wait for them to come back to England and do a headline tour. 
Please check these guys out because they're so honestly worthy of your time.

The Story So far- All Wrong/ Bad Luck.
My Photo/video.

The last support act was another on eof my favourite bands- The Story So Far.
It was my first time seeing these guys and I'd heard some real good things about their live shows, but I didn't think they would be this good.
They're more on the heavier side of pop punk than the previous bands on the line up, but I quite liked that kind of changed during the night.
This is not a band to ignore. They're raw, energetic and their lyrics hit you right in the stomach.



After TSSF's set I wondered over to the merch table to see if I wanted anything (what I did want was sold out in my size so here's hoping they State Champs put it up online)
Whilst there, I met Derek from State Champs. Ignore my face, focus on his- he looks good, I don't.
He's an absolute sweetheart and I was so happy to meet him.

I also met Tyler from State Champs briefly and Mauriel from candy hearts, although I didn't get any photos with them.


My photo.

The last act of the night were pop punk veteran's New Found Glory.
I apologise again for lack of photos. Security decided that we weren't allowed to take photos during their set for some reason.

NFG are one of the bands that got me into this whole world of punk music.
I think I was 12 or 13 when I first discovered them and they introduced me to world that I could be myself and feel very comfortable in and meet like minded people.
Although, in recent years I've not listened to them a huge amount, they are still a band that I love and respect a lot.

With around 17 years experience under their belts, these Floridians know exactly how to put on a show.
They're energetic and sound even better live than on record.


Wednesday was such an amazing night and I hope they'll be more tours like this in the future coming to the UK.
If you read the blog post before this (or follow me on twitter/instagram) you'll know I also saw 2 of more of my favourite bands on Monday- Tonight Alive and The Summer Set.

This week I've been lucky enough to see some incredibly talented people and came out full of good vibes and love, and with a huge smile on my face.



What more could I ask for?
Much love.
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Listening to: State Champs- Hard To Please.

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