Simple Plan Cause Screaming

I know Simple Plan have pretty much made the words "pop-punk" taboo and are met with near universal disdain, but everyone has a guilty pleasure, and they're mine. It would seem, they're also the very genuine pleasure of an army of pre-teens. Indeed, it was hard to find many people old enough to buy a beer at the amphitheatre on Friday night (which was probably a good thing since they weren't serving alcohol).

There was no question that earplugs would be needed — not for the rock, but because girls came prepared to scream. And scream they did, proving that whatever jeers hipsters throw their way, Simple Plan, who were apparently awarded a platinum record before the concert, are definitely doing something right.

Faber Drive and Cute Is What We Aim For kicked off the show to the similarly shrill delight of the audience. If you put the two in a blender you'd probably come out with the same songs. They might have bad hair and questionable clothing choices, but if there's one thing these bands are good at, it's playing to the crowd. Faber Drive's 20-minute set goaded the crowd into clapping, waving, jumping, singing along and holding up lighters and cell phones a on command. The crowd was ready to do whatever these bands asked of them.

I wanted to avoid acknowledging the existence of Metro Station, but it proved impossible. Apparently young girls lose their shit at the mere mention of the band and singer Trace Cyrus (son of Billy Ray and brother to Miley). Cyrus's songs were loaded with the sort of pop song sexual innuendos girls swoon for. The problem is, Cyrus is the weakest link in the band. He's somewhere between a singer and a rapper and isn't very good at either. That said, he's got the only stage presence in the band, and he jumped off of speakers and drums, though he was a little off-beat with his moves. When you get over his vocal limits, the band's techno-mixed pop-punk is interesting and you'll catch yourself moving along to it by accident. Metro Station have an original sound and are clearly rock stars in training, complete with bling, sunglasses and fur-trimmed sweaters. They could do something for the genre when they get more comfortable on stage.

When Simple Plan hit the stage they made every band before them look like struggling amateurs. These guys have toured the world and have very clearly perfected their craft. Though I'm a supporter, even I was surprised at how good they sounded. They were note perfect and still looked like they were having way more fun than the crowd.

Frontman Pierre Bouvier and bassist David Desrosiers effectively played with the crowd without being cheesy. You were drawn in because you wanted to have as much fun as they were, jumping around and bouncing off risers on the stage. The entire crowd sang along, screamed loud enough to seriously hurt eardrums and jumped on command. The band also got a little silly on stage, bursting into an improvised song about Toronto. They also included a hip-hop montage featuring Flo Rida's "Low" and Katy Perry's "I Kissed A Girl" that livened things up when you could see people's feet were starting to hurt. They also brought out a cake for Desrosiers' birthday and got everyone to sing "Happy Birthday" to him before he chased the band around the stage with the cake and eventually stuck his face in it.

Amidst this showmanship, it's easy to forget just how many hits this band have had over only three albums. Singles "Shut Up," "Addicted" and "I'd Do Anything" were surefire crowd-pleasers. "Welcome To My Life," "Me Against The World" and "Your Love Is A Lie" felt like battle calls and anthems for these kids' as-yet-unsophisticated near-teen angst.

When the lights went down, everyone awaited their return for an encore. A spotlight came back up, but it was lighting the middle of the crowd, not the stage. It took us all a few minutes to realize that Bouvier had made his way into the crowd and stood in the middle of the seats where he sang "Untitled." He ran back up to the stage where Simple Plan finished things off with the requested "I'm Just A Kid" and the crowd took over lead vocals of "Perfect" before the show ended with a blast of confetti.

I now understand even more why Simple Plan keep a consistent shtick. I left the show feeling younger and a little more carefree. Kids these days may not have the greatest taste in music, but they know how to have a good time. It's shows like this that make you remember your first concerts, before you got old and jaded.

Here's Simple Plan's set list:
"Generation"
"Take My Hand"
"Shut Up"
"Jump"
"When I'm Gone"
"Addicted"
"The End"
"Me Against The World"
"Your Love Is A Lie"
"Time To Say Goodbye"
"Save You"
"Thank You"
"Welcome To My Life"
"Crazy"
"I'd Do Anything"
"Untitled"

Encore
"I'm Just A Kid"
"Perfect"