Sum 41 brought their “No Personal Space Tour” to a sold-out stop at New York City’s Gramercy Theatre on May 21, and the title of the tour certainly lived up to its name. The veteran rockers are playing some smaller venues for this circuit — for a “real intimate, real punk rock show,” singer Deryck Whibley explained during the set. Last year in NYC, they played the 3,000-cap Terminal 5; this time around they played in front of about 500 screaming fans packed in tight. And though they have an upcoming new record, Order in Decline, the setlist drew from their extensive discography as well. Here are five things that stood out from the gig:
Opener Assuming We Survive Set the Tone
By the time opening act Assuming We Survive took the stage, a good amount of the theater had already filled in. The band’s lead singer Adrian Estrella grabbed the attention of the audience from the get-go, jumping off the stage and performing from the barricade once their first song kicked into gear. They also catered to the local crowd by covering a bit of the Beastie Boy’s classic “(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (to Party!)” as the lead-in to their own track “Home Is Where The Heart.” For the California rockers, their genuine charisma was on display throughout the evening, whether that was inviting a young kid who was celebrating his birthday to rock out with them onstage, high-fiving every incoming crowd-surfer or chatting with fans as they loaded out their own equipment.
Throwback Tuesday
When it was Sum 41’s turn onstage, they took the crowd on a journey all the way back to their very first cassette tape with “Summer,” which still holds up with its chugging guitar riffs and the primal smack of its drumbeat. They also played “Machine Gun” from 2000’s Half Hour of Power and some big hits from 2001’s All Killer No Filler (more on that later), as well as “The Hell Song,” “Over My Head (Better Off Dead)” and “Still Waiting” from 2002’s Does This Look Infected?. On “The Hell Song,” Whibley held up one finger, holding off the crowd with a grin until a massive singalong erupted. And on “Still Waiting,” he orchestrated the fans to belt out the first few lines of the track before the instrumentals even kicked in.
Getting Heavy with New Tracks…
A press release for the new record promised their “heaviest and most aggressive album to date.” The band backed this up live with their performances of new songs like “Out for Blood” and “The People Vs…” (the latter hasn’t even been officially released yet). On the former, drummer Frank Zummo delivered a furious drum beat and lead guitarist Dave Baksh unleashed a screaming guitar solo.
…But Also Not Shying Away from the Quieter Moments
After Whibley implored the crowd to open up a circle pit on the raucous “Goddamn I’m Dead Again,” the singer remarked how the audience had earned a chance to “take a breath after that.” He re-emerged onstage with an acoustic guitar slung over his shoulder for the (relatively) quiet cut “With Me.” As the jostling of the fans subsided, Whibley’s voice rang throughout the hushed theater, showcasing his singing chops.
The Pop-Punk Classics
The end of the set truly was all killer, no filler. The rockers closed out the main part of their performance with the one-two punch of “In Too Deep” and “Still Waiting.”
“This is a jumping song!” Whibley exclaimed as he introduced the former. The crowd responded in kind, bouncing along to the iconic pop-punk jam. As he sang the line “so believe me it’s not easy,” he pointed the mic toward the crowd, which roared back in response “it seems that something’s telling me” before the chorus kicked in again.
After departing the stage, the band quickly returned for their encore starting with the aforementioned “Machine Gun.” Then to close out the evening, Sum 41 broke out another pop-punk classic, “Fat Lip.” The crowd went wild one last time from the opening riff, and Whibley and Baksh effortlessly traded off vocals on the brash track.
