Teenage Dream: I Finally Saw All Time Low

Hi everyone,


This is going to be a very emo and probably embarrassing post filled with declarations of love and happiness because I FINALLY SAW ALL TIME LOW LIVE!


Back in 2007 I was idly watching an episode of E! News when a very odd music video advertised. It was a bunch of guys, half naked in a sauna, playing instruments and performing what sounded like a pretty awesome song. It turned out to be Coffee Shop Soundtrack by All Time Low and from that moment I've been hooked on their music.


Flash forward a couple of albums later, some very emo songs and a slight obsession with Alex Gaskarth which resulted in me creating us a Sims family, we are in 2011. I have a ticket to see them live at the O2 Academy in Birmingham. I am ready to rock out, dance, sing and sweat to death when I can't get a lift home and therefore cannot go to the gig.
I was devastated. I stared at photos of Zack Merrick and watched Straight to DVD on repeat for about a month solid.


Since that traumatic period in my emo life, I've met some EPIC people who have become my best friends and who all share a LOVE for ATL like me. Vanessa is the ATL queen, I live for her sass towards Alex, her stories about signings and her loving insults towards them, then there's Georgina who I could have potentially met at the show that never was. There's also Emmy who shares my interest in All Time Low and emo for therapy, and there's also Amy, who isn't too into ATL but who I love nonetheless.I decided that fate had bought this ATL gang of girls together and that we would all be able to see them and pop my ATL cherry. This didn't exactly go to plan given Vanessa's going back home to Spain, Georgina not being able to afford a ticket and Amy not really liking All Time Low. But it did leave me and Emmy with the chance to see them live, so we ordered our tickets and began our countdown.




Last night the date finally arrived. We had a little picnic of meal deals and a playlist with the setlist which we sang along too. We parked up (when we finally found the right carpark) paid our fees and went to the box office to collect our tickets. All Time Low are currently on a *coheadlining* tour with You Me At Six who I used to be obsessed with but quite honestly couldn't care less about now. BUT I WAS PUMPED TO FINALLY BE SEEING ALL TIME LOW!!!!


The atmosphere was really cool. There was a musician playing acoustic songs on a tiny stage with several merch stores around. We grabbed some beverages and headed into the standing section. Before Walk The Moon, the very upbeat and dance moves blessed support act, came on stage we met up with one of Emmy's friends and had a little chat about the show, as she'd been to the first night in Cardiff, then we headed back to claim some spots. Walk The Moon are one of the best support acts I've seen, they're very energetic, come on stage to the song from The Lion King and played a cover of All These Things That I've Done by The Killers, which is one of my favourite songs ever.


We knew that All Time Low would be on at 7:50 and as it got to 7:43 I'm pretty sure my heart rate began to increase. Me and Emmy got a spot a little bit closer than we originally were and waited it out. It's the first gig we've been to together that wasn't 5 Seconds of Summer, and given that I've waited so long to see All Time Low, I prayed Emmy would be okay with my emo reaction, which she WAS!


So it got to 7:50, the lights went down and I screamed loud enough for everyone in the venue. There was a really cool intro that had clips of Martin Luther King and war but I couldn't really hear what was actually being said, as I was in a little 14 year old me emo bubble. Then I saw one man come on stage, followed by another and then another two and then there they were infront of me, ALL TIME FUCKING LOW. They went straight into A Love Like War and I WAS SO PUMPED! They played a few more songs before the /banter/ began and I prayed for everyone that bought their parents to the show because ATL talk a lot of shit, which made me snort ALOT!


When they were about halfway through their set that's when I realised that the moment I felt I had waited 2000 years for was happening. They played The Irony of Choking on a Lifesaver which is one of my favourite songs by them and I swear I have not jumped up and down at a show as much as I did for that one song. I also cannot get over how much I was smiling during their set. Usually, as much as I love gigs, I find them pretty stressful. I either have to leave early to get the last train home, or the crowd is pretty shitty but this crowd was as into it as I was and that made the experience all the more amazing.


I don't remember seeing the rest of the band leave the stage but I remember looking up as the lights went out and there was a spotlight on Alex and I knew Therapy was coming. I've always been nervous to hear that song live because it makes me cry a little, which I really didn't want to do in real life. I tried facetiming Vanessa and it wouldn't connect which was probably more emo than the song that was being performed. 'Arrogant boy, love yourself so no-one has to' is one of my favourite lyrics so I held my breath as it was sang. It's kind of weird that the first time I had tickets to see All Time Low I was more emo than I am now, and kind of hated my life, and to hear that song live at a time when I feel my life is finally coming together was such a special moment that I was too proud to cry.


After that song there was a little more joking around and they bought some fans on stage to sing Time Bomb with them, which was really cool to see, although I was a little jealous that I wasn't getting to be near the bass if you know what I mean.


We knew their new single, Something's Gotta Give, was one of the last songs so I was a little deflated when they got to that part of their set. Nonetheless we still sang our hearts out for them. Then they played The Reckless and The Brave before finishing with Dear Maria, Count Me In.


Jack said that the venue was 'pretty different to the academy in Birmingham' which made me feel strange. The show that never was took place at a tiny venue in the middle of the city, where around 300 fans are crammed into a small space, sweating on each other and bashing elbows. To see All Time Low for the first time, at an arena was overwhelming. There were pyrotechnics and backing videos which really bought the show to life. There was room to jump around and keep up with the high energy set and seeing Zack and his pink bra on the massive screen was definitely worth the wait!


It was truly one of the best nights of my life. I am beyond joyful that I finally got to see one of my favourite bands live. I feel like All Time Low have been in my life for such a long time, which I guess 8 years is, but I think the show I finally got to see was worth the wait and the emo!


I am so excited to have tickets to their acoustic show in London, which is going to be so intimate in comparison to the arena I was at last night, and I think that might be the night my emo explodes, until then I'm going to keep listening to their music and waiting for their new album, Future Hearts, to be released.
Thanks for reading,
Aimee :) x