Despite a 40-minute intermission between bands Sum 41 and Good Charlotte, punk-goers got a treat as the two bands, co-headlining a national tour, rocked New Orleans, Nov. 18 at the State Palace Theatre.
The audience – mostly young females – first got a glimpse of up and coming band Lola Ray, as it opened the concert with songs from its debut album “I Don’t Know You.” The three-man band gave an energetic performance to a welcoming crowd. But before one could decipher the message of the songs, Sum 41 took the stage.
The Canadian punk band gave audience members a taste of its new album “Chuck.” Sum 41 named the album after a United Nations employee who saved their lives while band members were working on a documentary on the effects of war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. While at a hotel in the African nation, shooting erupted and Chuck Pelletier was responsible for safely evacuating the band.
With songs like “Pieces” and “Some Say,” the album is considerably more meaningful than any of their previous albums. In their first single, “We’re All to Blame,” the band shows their growth and artistic transition from a fast-paced guitar battle to a slow vibrato.
Sum 41, however, did not steer away from their usage of nearly every expletive in the English dictionary. The band’s love affair with foul language climaxed at one point in the show when parents in the audience were advised to cover their children’s ears as lead vocalist Deryck Whibley attempted to string together every curse word for about 30 seconds.
The night took a downward turn as Sum 41 left the stage and the audience sat through a 40-minute span of empty stage while the crew set up the stage for Good Charlotte.
Two bathroom breaks later, the curtain opened for Good Charlotte. The very elaborate stage featured a dark fenced area capped with gargoyles, creating an eerie effect. The Maryland-based band opened with “Once Upon A Time: The Battle of Life and Death,” an instrumental that also starts off its new album “Chronicles of Life and Death,” released Oct. 5. Like Sum 41, Good Charlotte’s latest album is a reflection of growth and maturity, despite that the average age among fans has dwindled.
The gripping performance was perhaps too good, leading the young crowd of grammar school girls to join into the mosh pit originally made of the only 14 guys in the venue. But people in the audience reacted well even without the normal stage-dives and crowd surfacing that generally occur at punk concerts.
Michael Nissman can be reached at [email protected].
