ATP! Live Review: PVRIS with Lights and Flint Eastwood - 10/16/2017

At the merch table before the show, I grabbed a PVRIS shirt, while my friend, having never listened to any of the bands before, picked out a Flint Eastwood one because it looked cool. After she bought it, she said, “Well, I sure hope this band isn’t terrible.” Luckily for her, Flint Eastwood was awesome.

I’d never heard her music before, but I’ll certainly be listening now. She came out with immediate presence and threw her all into her songs, getting people to sing along and calling out the ones sitting stone-faced. Her music is insanely catchy and makes you want to dance. I’m excited to hopefully hear them everywhere in the future.

ATP! Live Review: Mayday Parade 'A Lesson In Romantics' 10th Anniversary Tour - Pittsburgh, PA (4/28/2017)

“I’ve been looking forward to this show for a long time,” singer Derek Sanders said multiple times throughout the night. And it’s easy to see why. This was, hands down, one of the loudest crowds I’ve ever heard at a show. Even with the sound system, it was hard to hear Sanders’ voice over the roar of the crowd singing the lyrics back to him.

The energy was nuts right from the start, the instant the first notes of “Jamie All Over” started playing. A Lesson In Romantics is a scene classic and it was amazing to hear it played the whole way through. Things only calmed down when a piano was brought out and the cell phone flashlights lit up for “Miserable At Best.”

ATP! Live Review: Fall Out Boy - The Boys of Zummer Tour - Hershey, PA (07/03/2015)

After realizing the day before that our tickets didn’t correspond to seats like last year’s Monumentour, I arrived at the venue around noon to wait in line for a spot in the pit. My friend and I planned our strategy and the sprint down a giant flight of stairs to the stage paid off, with us ending up front and center on the barricade, leading to the most epic concert experience of my life.

When this tour was announced, I was super confused as to how Hoodie Allen, Wiz Khalifa and Fall Out Boy ended up on the bill together, along with later additions MAX and DJ Drama. It was nice, though, to see the interesting mix of people that turned up and all started talking regardless of who they were there for. DJ Drama started things off and tried to get people pumped up by playing a mix of Fall Out Boy and Wiz songs, leading into up and comer MAX playing “Puppeteer” and “Mug Shot.” While the crowd didn’t really know his songs, his amazing stage presence probably gained him a lot of new fans that night. He’s insanely energetic and dances across the stage, pulling out moves and spins frequently. His voice is awesome as well. He’s a true talent and it’s apparent why Pete Wentz wanted to sign him to DCD2.

ATP! Live Review: Halsey - Underground Arts Philadelphia, PA (03/31/2015)

Besides the scintillating blue smoke, there is little movement on the Underground Arts’ stage in Philadelphia. The crowd takes the bait, holding a collective breath, leaning forward, their eyes trained on the stage, hoping the sapphire wisps will transform into something more concrete.

Then Halsey hits the stage, her bright hair blending with the colored smoke so she seems to simply dissolve from the fog. The crowd erupts, launching into the first song with the young pop artist. Born in New Jersey and adopted by New York City, Halsey has a lingering grittiness that translates beautifully to her performance. It is impossible to watch Halsey and not feel something; she moves so fluidly from one emotion to another, savoring every moment she has on stage.

ATP! Live Review: Glamour Kills Spring Break Tour - BackBooth Orlando, FL (02/28/2015)

I pulled up to the hole-in-the-wall venue about an hour and half before doors opened at 5:30 p.m. The show was sold out, but since I’d been to the tiny venue before, I didn’t give my arrival time a second thought. But I wish I had. There was already a line wrapping alongside the venue and well into the Florida rain. I reluctantly took my spot and waited.

Door were supposed to open at 5:30, but the VIP packages for Set It Off and Against the Current were running behind, which meant that everyone waited in the cold rain until 6 p.m.

ATP! Live Review: Echosmith - Theatre of the Living Arts Philadelphia, PA (02/28/2015)

Loud “ECH-O-SMITH” chants filled Philadelphia’s Theatre of the Living Arts, or TLA, while the completely full standing room crowd swayed in anticipation of the band of family members. The first Sierota on was the youngest: 16-year-old Graham set it off with the drum intro to what would be Echosmith’s first song, “Ran Off In The Night.” Following him came guitarist Jamie and bassist Noah, eventually joined by vocalist Sydney and a roar of screams. All dressed to the 9’s, each member of the group stood as a modern hero to the thousand adoring fans in attendance.

ATP! Live Review: 5 Seconds Of Summer - The Forum Los Angeles, CA (11/16/2014)

The first time I saw 5 Seconds of Summer, I admittedly hadn’t been 100 percent sold on the band. Then they hit me with a performance that reminded me of the second coming of my favorite band. (All Time Low for those of you that missed that review. It’s the highest compliment I can pay a band, to be honest.)

The second time I saw 5 Seconds of Summer, a mere 24 hours after the first time, I knew what to look forward to. However, the contrast between their House of Blues set and their Rose Bowl set were quite stark, as they reined in the performance I was so suddenly aware they were capable of.

ATP! Live Review: Tegan & Sara - Paramount Theatre Seattle, WA (11/11/2014)

As the year comes to a close, so does another era of Tegan and Sara's catalog: Heartthrob. As lovers and gawkers pack the street outside Seattle's Paramount Theater last night the excitement only grew more tense.

Tegan and Sara brought along two of their most talked about openers on the tour. The Courtneys gave off some Joan Jett/Best Coast realness while Waters served a massive dance party and unavoidable sing-a-longs. It's always refreshing to be surprised by an opener potential and talent.

ATP! Live Review: Hozier - Trocadero Theatre Philadelphia, PA (11/01/2014)

Hozier’s American fall tour is undoubtedly one of the hottest tickets in the country. The majority of shows are sold out. Fans are clamoring to win the scant giveaways to see the singer-songwriter live.

Selling out a tour in a foreign country after only dropping one lonely single – and mostly on alternative radio, at that – is massive. It is intimidating. Most significantly, it is almost impossible to put on a show that lives up to the kind of hype surrounding Hozier. But the Irish artist managed to meet the frenzied hype around his album release, a self-titled drop that met almost unanimous critical success.

ATP! Live Review: Demi Lovato (World Tour) - STAPLES Center Los Angeles, CA (09/27/2014)

Demi Lovato's world tour is not just a concert, but a lesson in empowerment. Lovato isn't just here to just give you a good show, but also to reach her audience, largely comprised of young girls, with a life changing message. Even prior to her set on the tour, speaker and activist Spencer West presented his story of overcoming his disability-- he had his legs amputated just below the pelvis at the age of five due to a genetic disorder-- to do extraordinary things such as volunteering in Africa to build schools for the children there and climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro. It is quite clear that the whole theme of the night is to not only believe in yourself, but to also make sure that you help those less fortunate than you. The message in and of itself is enough to make the tour worth catching, but what really cements the show’s spot in my Top 5 Concerts of 2014 is the crazy ridiculous amount of talent that oozes from Lovato.

ATP! Live Review: La Roux - The Showbox Seattle, WA (09/19/2014)

You know what I can honestly do without? Opening acts. Sure, they might be decent and might get a blurb on Pitchfork for nine minutes; but as of September 19^th, 2014 I will never be the same about them. La Roux not only began their Friday night show on time, they also came on stage immediately. No opening acts, no DJ’s, and no circus cats; one minute I walked in to the venue and the next I was six feet from Elly Jackson.

ATP! Live Review: Riot Fest 2014 - Chicago, IL

Come rain or shine – and Riot Fest in its weather-schizo Chicago setting had it all – the punks, posers and everyone in between were out in their droves for a weekend of fun festival frolics. Alter The Press! were there too, and so we’ve been ever so kind as to summarize a few of the acts that we were lucky enough to check out, on a day-by-day basis. Don’t say we aren’t good to you!

ATP! Live Review: You Me At Six, Young Guns, The Downtown Fiction - Troubadour Los Angeles, CA (09/15/2014)

It’s 6:30 pm by the time I arrive at The Troubadour and it's still hotter than hell outside. It’s a good omen for just how sweaty the 400 or so occupants of the Los Angeles venue are about to get.

Now, before I get into You Me At Six, it would be remiss of me to overlook the openers completely, especially since they make up three-fourths of the the show. The Downtown Fiction were, admittedly, a name I was not expecting to see touring alongside the likes of Young Guns and You Me At Six, but that just goes to show how long it has been since I’ve seen the quartet because they certainly proved their place on the bill. I was pleasantly surprised and I greatly encourage anyone not familiar with the pop-rock group’s music to give them shot, because they certainly have grown since last I saw them. (For those of you wondering, that was over three years ago at South by South West, so it’s been quite a while.)

ATP! Live Review: One Direction and 5 Seconds of Summer - Rose Bowl Pasadena, CA (11/09/2014)

Where do I even begin with the Where We Are Tour, aside from the fact that I now have two very bright pink wristbands from two back-to-back shows boasting 5 Seconds Of Summer on the bill and a lot of ringing in my ears? Jokes aside, I usually avoid concerts that happen in anything arena-sized and up because I like my shows to feel personal, and that’s very hard to do when you’re playing to 90,000+ people. Which is why, though I was beyond excited and had already seen the two bands live before, I still went into this stadium performance mentally prepared to not be as drawn in as I was the night before. (If you missed that review, you can catch that here.) My caution was half right, as 5 Seconds Of Summer reined in their performance and incredible amount, but given the fact they weren’t the headliners, the venue was ginormous and the audience they were catering to was looking for something a little less rock oriented, it wasn’t really shocking. That isn’t to say they didn’t still put on an amazing performance, it just wasn’t the same as at their House of Blues Sunset Strip show. I can say, though, that I wholeheartedly look forward to them returning to the City of Angels in November for their two night run at The Forum because that promises to be a ridiculous show any 5SOS fan-- or any pop-rock fan in general-- won’t want to miss.

ATP! Live Review: 5 Seconds Of Summer - House Of Blues Sunset Strip Los Angeles, CA (09/11/2014)

Let me tell you a little story about a band called All Time Low. They're my favorite band, I've have listened to them for half of my life, and I'm sure many others could say the same. Alex, Jack, Rian, Zack and they have gotten me through thick and thin and I've even dedicated a quarter of my arm to some of their album artwork, so when I say a band is comparable to All Time Low it's pretty big deal, but that's exactly how I felt watching 5 Seconds Of Summer perform at their sold-out House of Blues show in Los Angeles.

ATP! Live Review: Demi Lovato - Baltimore Arena Baltimore, MD (09/06/2014)

Demi Lovato has taken 2014 by storm, to say the least. Between winning Teen Choice Awards and presenting VMA’s, Demi also managed to plan a World Tour, which kicked off last weekend in Baltimore, MD.

To summarize this tour in a sentence: it was anything but original. From her dancers, to the outfit changes, to the stage lighting, she tries to keep the audience wanting more. Demi has brought two other amazing artists to join her on this tour, MKTO and Christina Perri. In addition, she also brought out an inspirational speaker, Spencer West, to speak to the audience about his story between sets.

ATP! Live Review: Live Review: Saturday @ Leeds Festival, UK (08/29/2014)

Reading and Leeds Festivals. Arguably the twin pillars of British youth culture and, for those over the age of 21, something you either love or you (pretend to) hate. It’s almost impossible to talk about a UK festival without comparing it to those in America so for a quick lowdown, it basically goes like this: The British counterparts have a lot more young people drinking. It’s impossible not to notice, as the drinking age is just 18. Then you have the fact that it’s far less insular. You’re much likely to get diversity among the nationalities of bands playing. Finally – the weather almost always sucks in the UK...but you probably knew that.

Each event happens over three days, rotating the bill across the same weekend. We hit good old Leeds on the Saturday to catch everybody from Jimmy Eat World to Paramore and, boy, were we in for a treat…

ATP! Live Review: Blink-182 - Brixton Academy London, UK (08/06/2014)

Ahead of their headlining slot at this month’s Reading & Leeds festivals, blink-182 have been playing a couple of ‘intimate’ European warm-up shows, which I can only presume leads to their first and biggest mistake tonight: this is not a festival show.

That should have been obvious from the fact that every one of the near-5000 people shoved into an extra-sweaty Brixton Academy has shelled out £45 for the privilege. To fork out so much tells you one collective fact about everyone here, and that is that they are die-hard blink fans.

ATP! Live Review - Paramore, Fall Out Boy, New Politics - Hershey, PA (07/19/2014)

The show started with openers New Politics putting on a super energetic set. The crowd didn’t really know the words to most of the songs besides single “Harlem,” but they pulled you in with their infectious energy and excitement to be playing this tour. Lead singer David Boyd had some insane break dance moves and came out into the crowd during one of the songs. They’re definitely going to be doing even bigger things in the future.

The crowd really got into it, however, when Paramore took the stage. Their backdrop was an awesome light show that changed from song to song, displaying everything from an eerie green during the song “Decode” to the band’s name in giant red and blue letters. Confetti was also blasted out multiple times, covering the audience from every angle.

ATP! Live Review: Vans Warped Tour - Auburn, WA (06/28/2014)

Printed on every ticket for Warped Tour is the phrase “Rain or Shine,” and boy, did that ring true for the downpour Auburn, Washington had in store for us. Clouds loomed overhead as people filed into the venue, and it wasn’t long before the rain started coming down. We weren’t going to let ruin our fun, though.