March 2024

Pop-punk and festival vibes: simple plan came to Vienna’s Gasometer with three support acts!

I remembered “Simple Plan’s” performance at the Nova Rock Festival, so I knew I wanted to see them once more on their tour. But I ask myself one question in advance: is it still a concert or a festival when four bands perform on one evening?

The concert evening started with artist “yel water“, which was on stage shortly following admission. As a result, the gasometer hall was not even half full at that time. I listened to some songs, but I didn’t remember any of them. Then the members of “mayday parade“ across the stage – but actually the band “State Champs” was next on the timetable. Apparently the time of appearance was simply swapped. It didn’t matter to me because I didn’t know either band. What I remember from “Mayday Parade” were the singer’s bare feet and his urge to move.

next came “state champs“ onto the stage – and they really lit up. The first crowd surfers made their way over the crowd and the first mosh pits began. The music didn’t necessarily stick in my head, but the power of the singer did!

and then it was finally time for “simple plan“! They started straight away with the classic “I’d Do Anything” and they jumped. jumped and jumped and jumped over everything and on top of everything and off everything. someone was always in the air! That was an enormous physical achievement!

And then we continued with classics like “Your Love is a Lie” and “Welcome to Your Life”. Nostalgic feelings quickly spread through the audience, which was particularly loud during “I’m Just a Kid”. Anyone who had hoped to hear more of the current songs was disappointed that evening. Instead there were song medleys with cover songs like “sk8ter boy / mr. brightside”, but also medleys of their own hit songs. Even “What’s New Scooby Doo” (the theme song from the Scooby Doo series) made it onto the setlist instead of newer songs. During this song, two crew members jumped on stage in dog costumes and threw merch into the crowd.

In addition to the music and what was happening on stage, there was also a lot of interaction from the audience. whether cell phone lights in “astronaut” or the constant crowd surfers and various mosh pits. As a reward, confetti was sprayed. In addition, the support acts were seen on stage once more and everyone sang together.

Towards the end, the singer of “Simple Plan” performed a new song, completely alone with the guitar, that didn’t yet have a title. The concert came to an end with the song “Perfect” – the audience once once more unleashed all their energy reserves and cheered euphorically.

At this point I was already very tired and found it difficult to keep my eyes open. The air was heated and stuffy and it was already following 11 o’clock on a Tuesday evening. I still stayed until the end because the show was really good, even though the gasometer didn’t always seem to be the most suitable sound-wise. My only wish for the future: can “Simple Plan” please come to Vienna next time on a Friday or Saturday? and then maybe into a concert hall with more space? In any case, I will go to a simple plan concert once more because I felt very entertained!