LIVE REVIEW: Alkaline Trio, Taking Back Sunday, Destroy Boys, O2 Academy Brixton, London, 06/03/2022

Photo Credit: Shiona Walker (Glasgow O2 Academy – 2nd March)

Taking Back Sunday and Alkaline Trio announced their co-headlining short tour last year and emo kids, or adults to be more precise, had been eagerly awaiting it since. A queue went right around the block to get into the venue and the buzz of anticipation was in the air. Nostalgia too, as the age of many fans, meant they could remember as far back as the good old days when Taking Back Sunday played the same venue on line-ups such as Give It A Name in 2009. 

This time was sure to outdo those performances of old with the added bonus of Alkaline Trio on the same line-up. First, however fans were introduced to the support band. Southern Californian punk rockers Destroy Boys took their place on stage to play for a small crowd that was growing by the second. But the benefit of playing to an audience that is still making its way into the venue is that the people who are there tend to be the most dedicated fans. The ones most likely to be rocking out to whatever music is thrown at them.

The performance was energised starting out with American River; a garage rock song that went hard. It was the opener that set the tone for their set, although the odd track would peep its head out and bring something a little different to the party. And oh, what a party it was, getting the crowd ready to get down to the co-headliners. It is no surprise to anybody who heard and saw that performance that this band are destined for greater things than support slots. 7/10

Taking Back Sunday were up next and they surely know how to please a crowd, Adam Lazzara especially. Known for being one of the nicest people in the scene he’s also one of the most talented. Opening with What’s It Feel Like to Be a Ghost?, in the same fashion as the 2006 album Louder Now does. Right from the start all of the crowd were singing along and having what looked like a brilliant time on this Sunday night in London.

Other highlights from the show included Liar (Takes One to Know One) and Set Phasers to Stun which sent the fans into a frenzy. In fact, most songs had the crowd insanely happy, which is bound to happen when you have such an amazing back catalogue of two decades to pick your setlist from and only play 13 songs. They closed out their set with Cute Without the ‘E’ (Cut From the Team) followed by MakeDamnSure. Needless to say, the atmosphere was electric at this point and Alkaline Trio had a lot to live up to if they were going to top that performance. 9/10

It was like someone had told Alkaline Trio they had to outdo Taking Back Sunday before they walked out on stage because from the first second, they really went for it. Opening with Private Eye the crowd looked amazing as every person moved, jumping, dancing or just plain trying not to fall over as they got sucked into the festivities. Some people in the crowd would have been lucky enough to have caught the band at Slam Dunk Festival last year but for a lot of people, this is the first time they have seen Alkaline Trio in a long time, if ever at all. So, the pit really opened up as they followed up with, We’ve Had Enough, for which the audience definitely had not!

The rest of the set was wonderful and this band only got better with age, with standout moments delivered by I Wanna Be a Warhol, Radio and many other fan favourites. The crowning moment was Time to Waste which ended the 18-song set and left the crowd begging for more. But as always, the night had to come to an end. 9/10

Written by: Cat Wiltshire

Photo Credit: Shiona Walker (Glasgow O2 Academy – 2nd March)