Sum 41 And Not By Choice Terrorize London

One of many stops on the "win to get in" Pepsi tour, this evening of underage punkers living the legal age life was... surprising.

Featuring buddy Ajax, Ontario bands Sum 41 and Not By Choice, the catch of the day was pre-pube punque, finely coated in a thick layer of talent. Kicking off the show, Not By Choice did a fine job of breaking in the alcohol-free crowd with a rousing set of tunes from their recently released album, Maybe One Day.

Minimal prodding managed to incite the girlies into high-gear, screaming and flailing away to the slightest hand wave. Belting the tunes out as best they could, NBC displayed a great deal of improvement performance-wise. Active, interactive and enthusiastic, they were instantly likeable even during the moderate snags that happen to a young band paying their dues. If the after-show merchandise area is any indication of how far these cats will go, buy lots of stock in felt-tipped pens and soap. Pens for the kiddies, soap for the parents to scrub off the marker-laden skin.

Still, while Not By Choice's efforts weren't in vain, they were no match for their longhorn brother band Sum 41. With a set mainly comprised of hits from their ages-old album All Killer, No Filler, the capacity crowd were so eager that at times they almost drowned out the sub-par P.A.

Far more comfortable on stage than they've been in the past, the Sum boys wasted no time poking fun at the crowd and themselves, giving the show that fun vibe the band are infamous for. It was a stark contrast to the typical "we're doing you a favour by playing this shithole" feeling most big bands give at these "special" gigs.

All in all, while the majority of audience members were so excited they couldn't give a shit either way, this stop of the Pepsi tour did prove that while Sum 41 have been constantly panned by critics, maybe all the touring is turning them into a real band. Oh yeah, special kudos to the dreddie who danced like an ass on stage, then dove headfirst into the crowd landing with a thud on the concrete floor.