Photos & Review: Sum 41
Featuring: Sum 41, Senses Fail & As It Is
The Masquerade, Atlanta GA
10/9/16
Photos & review: Irma Ali
Sum 41’s Don’t Call It A Sum-Back Tour has been a long time making. After having so much success with a Grammy nomination and the longest running tour of their career, Sum 41 had not only lost their spark, but they almost lost vocalist and guitarist Deryck Whibley. However, after years of soul searching, that flame was brought back tenfold. As Whibley was once again sober and out of physical therapy, he assembled his bandmates to begin on their new record. Whibley’s time through his recoveries were filled with writing material that has been used for the group’s sixth full-length album, 13 Voices, and this tour is their triumphant return!
Opening for this sold out Sunday night was As It Is. This band was nothing short of awesome energy—a perfect kick start to kick things off. Vocalist Patty Walters and guitarist Andy Westhead were jumping all over the place and running across the stage to sing in their fan’s faces. Their recent single release of “Okay” had the audience hyped and off their feet, as it was one of the first songs the band played. Ending with “Dial Tones” was a perfect example of how this “pop punk” band is not so generic of the stereotype, with the depth of Walter’s vocals showing such range and power. Their new album is currently in the making and will be available on January 20th, and is sure to be a hit.
Next on stage was the phenomenal Senses Fail. This band always has something different to bring to the table. Whether it is swinging the microphone, dabbing during every verse, or doing cartwheels across the stage, lead singer James “Buddy” Nielsen knows how to put on a show. Senses Fail loves to move, dance and interact with the crowd – fans from the far back were even singing along and jumping. Even though Senses Fail hasn’t released any new material since 2015, they still played their hearts out, and most of the venue knew every word. The band’s setlist consisted of many older song from albums like 2004’s Let It Enfold You and 2006’s Still Searching. Throughout the set, fans were screaming lyrics back at the band, and even I had to hold back some dance moves.
After Senses Fail, Sum 41 was ready to make their grand entrance. With a lengthy 25 song set list, the anticipation kicked in full force from fans of many different ages. The crowd was filled with a very diverse bunch, from people with painted faces and glitter in their spiked hair, or even just oversized band tees and high-top converses – somehow, Sum 41’s return brought all these people together for one night to sing along and it was absolutely incredible.
Throughout the night, Sum 41 performed many songs from their just-released album, 13 Voices, and I was amazed by the fact that the album had only been released a few days prior, but all of Sum 41’s fans already knew the lyrics. The crowd really lost it when the band played their last few songs, which included their most popular work like, “In Too Deep,” “Pieces” and “Fat Lip,” which led to even more crowd surfing and sing alongs from an already tired crowd – even some of the security guards were singing along! After a long awaited tour, Sum 41 made an incredible comeback, even if that’s not what they want to call it.