In the early aughts, if you were “cool,” you always tried to go to the Warped Tour, as it traveled across the country, in hopes of seeing your favorite punk, pop-punk, and emo bands. One of those bands was Simple Plan.
I can’t remember where I’d first seen them—whether it was the Vans Warped Tour, DC’s 9:30 Club, or Philly’s Theatre of Living Arts—but I always tried to see them when they were semi-nearby. They were a band that was “accessible” to their fans, usually making themselves available for photos and autographs after performances. You could spot them at Warped Tour catching other bands’ sets. These were (and still are) the “good guys” on the music scene.
The last time I’d seen them was at the “last ever” Vans Warped Tour in the summer of 2018 at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, MD. There was a noticeable absence…bassist David Desrosiers was still on a personal sabbatical. At the Warped Tour, Simple Plan was among the last of the bands to close the show on the main stage. During the day, I’d actually managed to grab a selfie with them. The line was huge, but it moved quickly; each of the guys seemed to have something nice to say to their fans as they posed together for photos. Again…super nice dudes! I was so excited to see them play on October 30th at the Fillmore Silver Spring. Supporting the band were Northbound, We the Kings, and State Champs.
Northbound consists of Jonathon Fraser and his bandmates (when they can join him on tour) and has been around since 2012. The band’s sound is of the punk/emo genre with a catchy sound and lyrics that most anyone can identify with. Northbound’s new album Soul Kiss will be released on November 22nd of this year. In the meantime, check out “Fade to Black” to get a taste.
Next up was We the Kings, hailing from Florida. They played an upbeat set, with the audience singing along for nearly the whole time…especially when fan favorite “Check Yes Juliet” came up.
Then came co-headliners State Champs from Albany, New York. They began their set with “Mine is Gold” from their latest album, released during the summer of 2018. Their set was full of energy and the fans really chimed in when “Secrets” was performed. There were cryo jets creating clouds of “smoke” to accompany the songs…hyping up the set even more. The fans were dancing, singing, and crowd surfing. As a side note, State Champs recently remade Matchbox20’s “Real World” for Songs That Saved My Life Vol. 2, a charity compilation album that is dropping on November 8th in support for mental health awareness and suicide prevention.
Finally, it was Simple Plan’s turn. The set started with sirens announcing the arrival of all five members of the band to the stage—lead vocalist Pierre Bouvier, bassist/backing vocalist David Desrosiers, guitarist/backing vocalist Sébastien Lefebvre, guitarist Jeff Stinco, and drummer Chuck Comeau. The band immediately went into “I’ll Do Anything,” paired up with bursts of cryo and a singalong portion with Pierre. The guys all seemed psyched to perform for a packed house.
Following their remake of the Scooby Doo theme song, Pierre took a moment to talk to the crowd. He talked about how the band had been together for nearly twenty years and then asked the crowd how many of them had been born in 2002 (when they’d released their debut album No Pads, No Helmets…Just Balls). Quite a few hands shot up…making them (and me) feel kind of old. He then talked about how they had been “super famous”—and then said, “Not really!” and explained that they weren’t even recognized in the local pho joint a few hours prior. But he said they were famous for one thing…saying “dick” on the radio and getting away with it. Then, the band went into “Addicted.”
At another point of the show, Pierre explained that they’d befriended We the Kings and State Champs during 2018’s Warped Tour; they’d all decided that it would be a good idea to tour together. To cap it off, the three bands joined together to produce the song “Where I Belong” to promote the tour. Both singers from the respective bands (Travis Clark and Derek DiScanio) joined Simple Plan onstage to perform it live for the crowd.
Simple Plan ended their set with a perfect trio of fan-favorite songs: “Shut Up,” “I’m Just a Kid,” and “Perfect.” Another perfect ending to the night: The Washington Nationals won the World Series!!! (The Nats’ participation in the World Series had been mentioned throughout the concert. Also, a bunch of the band members had been watching it on tv, after the show’s finish, prior to coming outside to meet and greet fans that waited out back of the venue for autographs and photos.)
