Entertainment

Monmouth Catches ‘Spring Fever’

The Spring Fever Tour made its one and only NJ stop at the University on Saturday, April 27 in the sold out concert at the  Multipurpose Activity Center (MAC).

Crowds lined up hours before doors opened, wrapping around the building, to get a good spot to see their favorite pop punk bands live.

The first band was You Me at Six, a bunch of boys from the UK who started before the whole line was even in the venue. They have a huge fan base in the states and were able to charm the non-fans in the crowd with their British accents between songs.

Mayday Parade took the stage to play a more emo, soft rock set, but that didn’t stop the crowd from dancing. Lead singer, Derek Sanders, with his signature long hair and bare feet, kept the crowd’s energy high by jumping around and throwing the mic.

The crowd was singing louder than the speakers during Mayday’s song “Jersey.” They serenaded the crowd with a cover of Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used to Know” and were joined on stage by Pierce the Veil (PTV) singer, Vic Fuentes.

With a jaw-dropping stage design full of neon colors, spinning gears and fat monsters,  PTV’s entrance was greeted by thousands of screaming fans.

The band is made up of the Fuentes brothers, Vic Fuentes (lead vocals and guitar) and Mike Fuentes (drummer), along with Tony Perry (guitar) and Jaime Preciado (bass). Vic introduced the band as “a bunch of Mexicans from San Diego.”

PTV’s musical styling comes equipped with screaming and fast-finger metal riffs. A smidgen different from the other bands on the tour, but that wasn’t an issue for the crowd that was full of PTV fans.

Vic asked the crowd, “Is everyone having the time of their lives? Because that’s our job up here.” With flying confetti, blinding lights and loud music, PTV didn’t upset.

“I’m Low on Gas and You Need a Jacket” was played acoustically. Almost none of the floor crowd was left standing after Vic said, “Let’s see if we can get everyone to sit down on this.” When Vic spoke, everyone listened.

During a song break where Vic was chatting, mosh pit monster Johnny Gonzalez from Philly was boosted on four shoulders to hold a sign asking to sing “King for a Day,” their closing hit and duet song with Sleeping With Siren’s singer, Kellin Quinn.

Vic said, “This guy’s been at like the last five shows and he’s f****** awesome,” as he told security to bring him on stage. Gonzalez was able to sing [technically scream] the end of the song and became a rock star for a minute.

For Gonzalez, this was his sixth show of the tour [he was going to eight all together].

“I got extremely lucky that they remembered my face,” Gonzalez said. “For them to bring a stranger up on stage with them, I have the utmost respect for them.”

All Time Low (ATL) band members, Alex Gaskarth (lead vocals and guitar), Jack Barakat (guitar), Rian Dawson (drums) and Zack Merrick (bass) were introduced separately in a humorous wrestling match mockery. Intros like, “Half of you don’t know he’s in the band and the rest of you think he’s a potato” and “only slightly heavier than Macaulay Culkin in Home Alone 2” got the fans laughing and eager for the set.

They opened with their high-energy hit “Lost in Stereo,” causing an immense mosh pit to break open and crowd surfers to start flying through the air.

Inappropriate joking banter among band members continued between songs. Between the vulgar language and talking about porn stars, Barakat told the crowd, “Alex is a better singer than Taylor Swift.” The loud cheering was the audiences’ way of agreeing.

ATL is notorious for getting bras thrown on stage.

Barakat picked up a gigantic blue bra and said, “There are babies smaller than this.”

Gaskarth followed up with saying, “It’s a baby hammock for twins.”

Their fifth studio album, Don’t Panic, was released late last year and on this tour they were able to showcase new songs such as “Backseat Serenade,” “If These Sheets Were States” and “Outlines” live for the first time.

Before ATL started their last two songs, fan Katherine Aroste from Rahway, was injured badly by a crowd surfer.

Gaskarth immediately stopped the show and ordered the crowd to part to make room for the medics. For ten minutes, the venue was silent and the crowd took a knee. They began to applaud for Aroste as the medics took her out on a stretcher.

After having someone dropped on her neck, Aroste heard a loud crack going down her spine and couldn’t feel anything for a few seconds. The rest was a blur for her until she arrived at the hospital. The x-rays revealed only a strain on her neck.

“Now that it’s the next day, I just feel like I got run over. My whole neck down to my lower back is in pain,” Aroste said. “I’m just glad it wasn’t anything worse.”

The show ended with ATL’s biggest hits, “Weightless” and “Dear Maria, Count Me In” sending the crowd in an all-out frenzy. Barakat was running around stage with a Spiderman mask on and got carried off stage being swaddled by Merrick.

“All Time Low always puts on a good show. Saturday was definitely a night to remember,” said Michelle Nardelli from Clark, NJ.

The crowd surfing, mosh pits and flying bras made this sold out show nothing less than perfect for their dedicated fans. Now cue the post concert depression.

IMAGE TAKEN by Brittnee Onstad