The sixth annual Kerrang! Relentless Energy Drink Tour pogos into town raising a glass of carbonated pop punk fizz to The Young And The Hopeless. First out of the traps are Philadelphia’s The Wonder Years. Blending melodic hardcore and alt-rock, they deliver heartfelt paens to social awkwardness and perseverance.
Framing Hanley are up next with an energetic Rod-Hull-and-Emo routine. Soaring melodies and stacatto guitars propel songs of positivity and lost love alongside arias of muted frustration, confusion and disappointment.
Less polished, more street, Four Year Strong slam the stage. Their hardcore-tinged rock rumbles along at speed. ‘Heroes Get Remembered, Legends Never Die’ sends bodies airborne and inches the frenzyometer up a few notches.
And then… the endorphine dam explodes as headliners Good Charlotte bound onto the altar. New material, ‘Like It’s Her Birthday’ and ‘Sex On The Radio’, from current release Cardiology, sit well amongst audience faves such as ‘The Anthem’, ‘Boys And Girls’, and ‘The River’ in a set of happy punk anthems that range from the emotive to the playful.
Adding to the feel of an intimate family gathering is the humorous Abbott and Costello-style banter between the Madden brothers (the crowd urging them to fight after guitarist Benji screws up the intro to ‘Sex On The Radio’), a dancing banana girl (I kid you not) and every word of every song being sung at fever pitch by a zealous crowd of devotees. The evening ends with one last singalong to an anthemic ‘Lifestyles Of The Rich And The Famous’. The massed ranks of mascaraed pierced-ettes beam in exhausted afterglow. You know what? The kids are alright!