The Pop Punk’s Not Dead Tour stopped in Philadelphia on Saturday and brought along an army of bands defending the genre of pop-punk.
So what exactly is pop-punk? Well it’s a sub-genre of punk in itself, and the difference between “regular” punk and “pop-punk” is that “pop” tends to be more upbeat, with higher guitar sounds, and catchy sing-a-longs through the songs.
A common stereotype about punk is that every song is just three chords, with fast, yet simple drums and a mediocre singer.
Pop-punk on the other hand tends to have more complicated guitar work, complex drumming patterns, and singers with unique voices. Pop-punk is basically the younger and happier sibling of the older and angrier punk.
This Time Next Year, Man Overboard, The Wonder Years, and Set Your Goals were all lead into battle by pop-punk legends New Found Glory, who headlined the show.
This Time Next Year seemed like the perfect opener for the tour. They sound similar to New Found Glory, and rocked hard enough to get the crowd going.
Not a lot of people seemed to really know their songs, but they managed to win the crowd, and mosh pits, over really quickly.
Man Overboard and The Wonder Years were the “hometown heroes” of the night. Man Overboard, a band from New Jersey, was welcomed very warmly by the Philadelphia crowd, which contained many family members and friends of the band.
The Wonder Years are from Lansdale, but cite Philadelphia as their hometown.
It was easy to tell how much the band loves the city of Philadelphia being as most of their songs referenced the city in one way or another.
They announced that their latest collection of songs was dedicated to the suburban life of the surrounding areas. There were a lot of fans there supporting this opener, and the 200 foot mosh pit was enough proof.
Set Your Goals might have been the most unique band of the night. They are a pop-punk band, but they also have a hint of a “rap group” to them. The band have two lead singers, who went back and for the between lines and verses, all to a double bass drum driven beat.
New Found Glory headlined the show. They have been called the “godfathers of pop-punk” only because they were one of the first modern day bands of the genres. They continue to push forward to this very day.
The band took to the stage in dramatic form, blasting out the intro to their 2004 album Catalyst, a 30 second anti-pop music anthem which also states punk is a lifestyle, not a phase. They followed that explosive start immediately by kicking into the song “Understatement”.
The Electric Factory, who by the way played host to the very first sell-out of the tour, was turned into one giant mosh pit as the living legends played through their set.
Their song selection was a healthy balance of new and old, being as this tour was also a supporting tour for New Found Glory’s’ latest album “Radiosurgery” which was released Oct. 4.
After playing some of the most crowd-pleasing songs of the night, such as “All Downhill From Here” and “Truck Stop Blues,” they ended the show with the bands’ first hit, “Hit or Miss” and then vanished off-stage. After thunderous cheers and demands for an encore, the band returned wearing New Found Glory customized basketball jerseys.
The encore started with a cover of Green Days “Basket Case”, and was followed promptly by a “Blitzkrieg Bop” cover, which was originally done by The Ramones.
After the covers, the band thanked everybody and sent to the crowd into the biggest frenzy of the night by playing their most successful pop-punk anthem, “My Friends Over You.”
The song, which describes a guy choosing his friends over a girl, was accompanied by a shower of confetti that rained down on the crowd during the song.
Pop-punk bands may not ever sell out an arena for 30,000 people, but they will always have an extremely dedicated fan base.
But just how dead is pop-punk? I wouldn’t advise scanning your radio for research on this burning question. On the radio, you’ll find pop artists, rock bands, rappers, country artists, and a lot of Adele.
However, you will rarely find pop-punk on the airwaves and in a weird way; it’s almost as if the genre and the radio would rather be apart.
If pop-punk ever was in danger of dying, the fans will be waiting to give any medical attention that is needed. As Chad Gilbert (guitarist of New Found Glory) said in regards to the fans, “We’re all family.”
Pop-punk is not dead; it’s just staying out of the limelight.