On a beautiful spring evening on April 19th, 2024, Pop Punk icons Sum 41 would nearly destroy Omaha Nebraska’s first indoor-outdoor multipurpose event facility. With state-of-the-art acoustics, lighting, and sound systems, The Astro and The Astro Amphitheater boast spacious performance stages and comfortable seating areas that can accommodate up to 2,400 guests in the indoor theater and 5,500 at the Amphitheater. This would be held indoors and I’m pretty sure more than 2,400 fans showed up. They arrived early and were chomping at the bit to get going. The crowd would sing along to the pre-show music being played including tunes from Blink 182 and Green Day. Before Sum 41 took the stage we were given two openers. Joey Valence & Brae and The Interrupters.
We knew going to this show was going to be a huge party, but I’m not sure we thought it would be a ’90s house party. That’s exactly what Joey Valence & Brae gave us. A Floor shaking, chest-pounding, bass-dropping, sweat-inducing energetic set that completely fired up the crowd. JV&B’s style might remind you of a certain N.Y.C. group and I suppose that’s OK, but please don’t blame them if they “fight for their right” to be themselves. These guys set the tone for the evening and anybody who may not have been ready for a show certainly was now.
Joey Valence and Brae Band Members:
Joseph Bertolino
Braedan Lugue
Joey Valence & Brae Setlist:
1. Watch Yo Step
2. Tanaka
3. Start A Fight
4. Double Jump
5. Hooligans
6. Intermission
7. Crank It Up
8. Drop
9. Bussit
10. Like A Punk
11. Gumdrop
12. Punk Tatics
On October 5th of 2023 I covered Dropkick Murphys. Opening for them were The Interrupters. Some say that The Interrupters stole the show that evening and it would be hard to argue that viewpoint. You would find it a difficult task to find a band that interacts with the crowd as well as The Interrupters do. You have to keep your head on a swivel when witnessing an Interrupters show as they are constantly moving about the stage. An Interrupters show isn’t just for the ears, it involves all of your senses. The music itself, the lights and movement, the smell of excitement, the taste of anticipation as you hunger for the next song, and the feel of the hair rising on your skin as you come to realize, you are watching true and extremely talented musicians on stage.
TheInterruptersrs Band Members:
Aimee Interrupter – Lead Vocals
Kevin Bivona – Guitar/lead and Backing Vocals
Justin Bivona – Bass/Backing Vocals
Jesse Bivona – Drums/Backing Vocals
TheInterruptersrs Setlist:
1.Take Back the Power
2. Title holder
3. Judge Not
4. Turntable
5. Mirror
6. Wolves
7. Got Each Other
8. Arrested / YaYo
9. Bad Guy
10. Gave You Everything
11. Kerosene
12. <Con
From behind the black curtain the sound of AC/DC‘s “TNT” began to fill the venue. The crowd began inching closer and closer to the stage and inches was all they had as the place was packed. When the song ended and the curtain fell, all hell broke loose. Sum 41 hit the stage with purpose and motivation. Literally, “Motivation” as that was their first song. From there it just got better and better. Fire, balloons, confetti, crowd surfing, mosh pits. You name it, this show had it. The entire house was losing their collective minds. Lead vocalist Deryck Whibley may be getting older, but his voice sure isn’t. He is still able to produce LP-quality vocals and hit any note he needs to hit. This past March saw the release of “Heaven :x: Hell“, the band’s newest release. It is divided into two discs. “Heaven“, which is a return to the pop-punk style of early Sum 41 and “Hell“ which is a continuation of the band’s current metal style. The first song they played off this new album was “Landmines”. It was definitely a throwback to the early 2000’s and contributed to the nostalgic feeling of the evening. The set was a 23-song masterpiece of music which included covers of Queen’s “We Will Rock You” and Merle Kilgore’s song “Ring of Fire”. The encore included two songs. “Summer” and “In Too Deep”. These helped to cement the fact that Sum 41, who may never pass this way again, is one of the greatest pop-punk, screw that categorization, one of the greatest bands, period, to have ever taken a stage.
Sum 41 Band Members:
Deryck Whibley – Lead Vocals/Rhythm Guitar/KIeyboards
Dave Baksh – Lead Guitar/Backing vocals/Occasional co-lead Vocals
Jason McCaslin – Bass/Backing Vocals
Tom Thacker – Lead Guitar/Backing Vocals/Occasional Lead Vocals/Rhythm guitar/ keyboards
Frank Zummo – Drums/Occasional Backing Vocals
Sum 41 Setlist:
Intro recording T.N.T. (AC/DC song)
Introduction to Destruction
1.Motivation (+ 88 Outro)
2. The Hell Son
3. Over My Head (Better Off Dead)
4. No Reason
5. Underclass Hero
6. Some Say
7. Landmines
8. Dopamine (Live debut)
9. We’re All to Blame
10. Walking Disaster
11. With Me
12. Makes No Difference
13. My Direction / No Brains / All Messed Up
14. Drum Solo
15. Preparasi a salire (Live debut)
16. Rise Up
17. We Will Rock You (Queen cover)
18. Ring of Fire (Merle Kilgore cover)
19. Pieces
20. Fat Lip
21. Still Waiting
Encore:
22. Summer
23. In Too Deep
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Wasn’t good enough to be on stage as a performer, so the next best thing was to photograph the people who are. Shooting my R6’s is nearly as great as holding my Strat. Getting up close to an artist and feeding off the crowd is exhilarating. Concert photography allows me the opportunity to capture a once in a lifetime live moment and then share it socially.
