High Fives & Stage Dives
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By: High Fives & Stage Dives November 1, 2018
If you're not having fun at a The Story So Far Show, you're doing it wrong
The band's London show proved to be a rowdy, epic ball of fun.
In support of their recently released new album Proper Dose, The Story So Far gave their UK the chance to check out the new tracks for themselves. With support from Citizen and All Get Out, their show at London's O2 Forum Kentish Town was everything we want a pop-punk show to be: a lot of crowd surfing, a lot of singalongs and just a bit messy.
US rockers Citizen proved to be a crowd favorite on the night. Their nine-track set features songs off their latest release As You Please as well as their debut record from 2013 Youth. "We need your voices on this one!" front man Mat Kerekes calls to the crowd who happily oblige, singing back every word of The Night I Drove Alone – as if the band were that night's headliner.
As The Story So Far take to the stage, lead singer Parker Cannon is giving off Liam Gallagher vibes with his parka (minus the douchebag-feel, sorry Liam!). Kicking off the set with 2015's Nerve off the band's self-titled album, the crowd instantly goes wild, and quite honestly doesn't really stop util the last note of the encore is played.
Title track of the California pop-punk outfit's latest release is up next. Proper Dose and its iconic vocals, pop-punk drums for days and energetic riffs is everything you'd want from a TSFF song. Lyrically, it deals with the issue of addiction and self-medication. And it isn't the only one on the record – Keep This Up, which follows later in the set, mentions "My pessimistic views stem from all the drugs I use. Hide all my guilt inside this bruise, it's my ruse." buried in catchy melodies.
About half way through the set even Cannon gets too hot and takes his parka off (quite honestly, it's boiling in the venue, so how he managed to stay in a jacket for that long is actually impressive!).
Working with producer and engineer Sam Pura, The Story So Far spent just as much time reworking the songs on Proper Dose as they did writing them. That process produced songs like Take Me As You Please and Let It Go, which are much more pop-heavy than fans might be used to but still have the inherent energy of the band's earlier releases. They go down an absolute treat with the audience in London, so if there was any worry whatsoever, we're pretty sure that's been blown away.
New track Upside Down even features Citizen's Mat Kerekes on the piano. And while words were sparse on the night, Canon made a point of sincerely thanking their fans. "Thank you for supporting us, genuinely supporting us. Thank you for growing up with us. We're still a band because of you."
Closing their amazing set with Clairvoyant is just the cherry on top of a perfect pop-punk sundae. Once again The Story So Far deliver one of the best live shows around with a dedicated crowd and genuinely grateful band.
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