3 gigs. 1 day. I was there.
This entry was posted on January 28, 2008
Simple Plan is my favourite band of all time. I’ve been a fan for nearly three years and it’s been two years since I last saw them play a live show. Sunday, January 27th was their “Camden Takeover” where they played three separate shows in one day.
I was there for the second two of them. Tickets for the first of the three shows all sold out before they were officially on sale (Doom on you, ticket people!).
Long hours of queuing were avoided for the first show I went to, which is good because it was a really cold day in London! The doors opened fifteen minutes late but we eventually made it in. Thanks to being at the front of the queue, I was right in front of the front of the stage (there was no barrier, so it literally was right in front) albeit to the side slightly and hugged up against a pillar.
Chuck (the drummer) wasn’t present for this show - it was an accoustic set and the only percussion was Pierre (lead singer - pictured right) and his tambourine. Seb (rhythm guitar - pictured left) described the show as “part music show / part comedy act” and Pierre was impressed that there was an “accoustic moshpit” going on. They played accoustic versions of songs from their second album, and their upcoming third album.
The funniest part to the show was the fact that no one on stage seemed to know the playlist.
“What are we playing next?”
“I have no idea, you’re asking the wrong person.”
“Does anyone know what we’re playing?”
Seb gave away all of his guitar picks at the end of the set. Despite being right in front of him, I was squashed up against the pillar and wasn’t fortunate enough to get a pick. However, Cassie’s gorgeous other half ended up with two picks, and through either generosity or pity, she gave one to me. (Thank you!)
It was dark by the time we came out of the show, and it was an adventure trying to find the next venue. Luckily, the several hundred strong line of people made it about as obvious as possible. The doors for the last show opened even later, and after a frankly terrible support act, Simple Plan finally came on stage.
Simple Plan have a lot of fans, and a lot of “haters”. Whether you love them or loathe them, it’s impossible to deny that they put on a good performance. They have so much energy on stage and they thrive on the energy from their crowd. It’s a big vicious circle, but in a good way, and the crowd were really enthusiastic for the whole 90-minute performance, jumping around to new songs and old songs alike.
After the show was over and we battled our way out of the venue (through several hundred hot and sweaty people) we said goodbye to the friends we’d made in the queue, offered words of encouragement to a young man called Pete who’d been abandoned by his family, and made our way around to the back of the venue with the hope of meeting the band.
Our hopes turned out to be true, and soon enough, all five members of the band came out and spent twenty minutes talking to fans, taking pictures, and signing autographs. I’m not the most outgoing of people so I didn’t talk to all of them. I did however manage to get my picture taken with David (bassist - pictured left with me), and I did get a hug from Jeff (lead guitarist). That was definitely the best part of the night. When you’re as passionate about a band as I am about Simple Plan, it really means something to be able to congratulate them for a good show and have them give you a hug and say thank you.
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