All Time Low (w/ SWMRS, Waterparks) @ O2 Academy (Leeds, UK) on March 15, 2017 [Photos & Show Review]

Pop punk rolled into Leeds as All Time Low arrive in town on their latest tour and bring Swmrs and Waterparks along for this high energy ride.

Waterparks bounce onto the stage and, despite only having a short time to do their thing, they quite easily have this Leeds crowd eating out of the palms of their hands. From the most colourful footwear in pop-punk to tracks like “Stupid For You”, Waterparks inject the right amount of colour into the early part of this pop-punk party.

Featuring Joey Armstrong, son of Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong on drums, SWMRS put a more alternative twist on the pop punk theme with their jittery Ramones-tinged punk rock. While not quite as colourful as the two bands they’re sandwiched between, the blueprint is high energy and, given the crowd, the young punk rockers set things up nicely for the headliners.

The last time All Time Low were in the UK they were filling out arenas but, this time round, fans are jammed into a run of Academy size venues ahead of the band’s eagerly anticipated new album Last Young Renegade due out on June 2nd.

Hitting the stage with “Kicking And Screaming” underneath a retina burning pink and white light show, All Time Low are on fire as the quartet make use of every inch of the more intimate surroundings of the Academy stage. Plundering their back catalogue, the band treat their rabid fanbase to favourites like “Weightless”, “Cinderblock Garden” and “Lost In Stereo” while giving them a taster to the upcoming album in the form of “Dirty Laundry”.

The night ends under a shower of confetti and, despite the new album still being a good few months away, it was obvious from the crowd reaction that, if you didn’t get the chance to see the band on this run, the chance of seeing them in a venue this intimate any time in the near future is going to be very slim.