Live Review - All Time Low

All Time Low, SWMRS and Waterparks @ O2 Academy, Birmingham 16/03/17

Usually you walk away from somewhere like the O2 Academy with ringing ear drums from the thudding bass and squealing guitars however, this was one of those shows where you walk away with ringing ears due to 3000 screaming girls excited to see not just headliners All Time Low, but also happily lapping up SWMRS and Waterparks too.
It has been a hell of a year for Waterparks, since popping up on the Fresh Blood stage at Slam Dunk festival the likes of Kerrang and Rock Sound have pegged them of one of the bands of the future. They’re cool and fresh and really do stand out from the crowd, sadly we entered the O2 half way through their set (thanks to ridiculous queues) but caught enough to catch the jist, Waterparks are wicked. 

SWMRS have come a long way since the early days where they were formally known as of Emily’s Army, stepping out of the “son of Billie Joe Armstrong” tag, they are now playing lo-fi garage punk with a maturity which has developed over the last few years. This night saw them create a real “moment” for themselves, if someone walked in not knowing any better you’d have assumed we were all here for them, definitely ones to watch. 

One thing you’ve got to give All Time Low credit for is not letting superstardom go to their heads, they might not be everyone’s favourite band but you certainly can’t argue with the fact that they are one of the biggest bands in the world right now, and they could very easily have smashed out another stadium tour, but opted instead for smaller venues which allows them to do something a little bit different and almost intimate in comparison, well, as intimate as 3000 fans can be.