Pop Break Live: The Summer Ever After Tour featuring Dashboard Confessional and All Time Low at The Stone Pony Summer Stage in Asbury Park, NJ.
There had been an awakening and I’m not talking about The Force. I’m talking about the resurgence of pop punk, emo, screamo, and every other genre that fit into subculture that took over MTV and was celebrated at events like Vans Warped Tour in the early 2000s. Bands like Taking Back Sunday, AFI, Rise Against, Anti-Flag, and The Starting Line never truly stopped playing music, but just like EDM, the fad had simply vanished from the mainstream.
That was until nostalgia started infecting every aspect of pop culture. Between reboots of movie franchises and remakes of classic television show, music was the next logical step to get hit with a wave of nostalgia. Besides the reluctant return of boy bands (NKOTB, Backstreet Boys, etc.) the only other genre to get a second life was a genre that never truly went away.
Just like fans of punk and jam bands, pop punk/hardcore/emo/screamo fans never stopped loving their favorite bands. However, it was the rest of 20-30 somethings whose once dormant love for bands like Dashboard Confessional and All Time Low was rekindled upon news of anniversary tours, new record, and local tours. These people jumped at the chance to relive their youth and scream-sing to their favorite songs.
And that’s exactly what went down in Asbury Park on Sunday night when these two bands, along with opener Gnash, stopped by the Stone Pony Summer Stage with their Summer Ever After Tour for an (early) night of early 2000s vibes.
Chris Carrabba of Dashboard Confessional wasted no time and dove right into the band’s 2004 smash hit, “Vindicated” from the Spider-Man 2 soundtrack. The band would play other hits and fan favorites like “Stolen” and “Saints and Sailors” and tracks from their new album Crooked Shadows before playing an incredible cover of “Say It Ain’t So” by Weezer as a thank you to the band that first took a chance on them.
By the time All Time Low hit the stage, fans were ready for more and the boys from Maryland brought the energy and kicked off their set with “Damned If I Do Ya (Damned If I Don’t)” off 2009’s Nothing Personal. The 16-song set was filled with tracks tracing the band’s entire discography and the closed out their show with “Dear Maria, Count Me In” to cap off a perfect summer night at the Shore.
Dashboard Confessional Setlist:
Vindicated
The Sharp Hint of New Tears
Belong
Again I Go Unnoticed
Don’t Wait
Stolen
Saints and Sailors
Catch You
Screaming Infidelities
Say It Ain’t So (Weezer cover)
Kinda Yeah Sorta
Heart Beat Here
We Fight
Hands Down
All Time Low Setlist:
Damned If I Do Ya (Damned If I Don’t)
Everything is Fine
Stella
Dark Side of Your Room
Weightless
Backseat Serenade
Life of the Party
Therapy
Do You Want Me (Dead?)
Something’s Gotta Give
Missing You
The Irony of Choking on a Lifesaver
Good Times
Birthday
Lost In Stereo
Dear Maria, Count Me In
