Simple Plan rocks

IT WAS a journey back in time for over 2,000 fans when pop-punk powerhouse Simple Plan rocked the stage at KL Live in the city centre on Sept 7 for their Taking One for the Team Tour 2016.
It has been four years since the French-Canadian band has visited the country, and now that they’re back, local fans couldn’t be any more jubilant.
The night was also particularly nostalgic for fans born in the 90s since their favourite pop-punk band comprises the same five members - lead vocalist Pierre Bouvier, lead guitarist Jeff Stinco, rhythm guitarist Sébastien Lefebvre, basist David Desrosiers, and drummer Chuck Comeau.
“I think it has to start the right way,” said Stinco when asked what’s been keeping the band together during an interview with theSun before the show.
“We started out as high school buddies, we went to the same high school, [had the] same kind of families, and we learned how to play our instruments together.”
Comeau added that communication and making compromises are important as well, especially when going on tour.
“I think the key is always keeping the same goals … and I think being a band is also about making sacrifices and compromises - not necessarily musically, but in terms of when you’re on tour, [you] have to make sure that it can’t only be your way … If you’re mature enough to do that, then you can have some longevity,” he said.
At 9.15pm, the exuberant crowd broke into rapturous cheers when the band started the show with quintessential pop-punk sounds of distorted electric guitar riffs and fast drumming beats for Opinion Overload.
Despite the five members already being in their late 30s, there was no doubt that they still had enough energy to pull off a top-notch pop-punk concert the same way they did over 15 years ago.
They continuously led the crowd into endless headbangs and cheers, with popular tracks such as Jet Lag, Jump, I’d Do Anything, Welcome to My Life, Can’t Keep My Hands Off of You, Farewell, Boom!, and more.
Although the band members first gained popularity for composing songs that screamed teen angst, they also have a flair for other music genres as well.
Apart from covering Mark Ronson’s Uptown Funk and The Weeknd’s Can’t Feel My Face, they also entertained fans with the groovy Caribbean beats of Singing in the Rain from their latest album, as well as the reggae-inspired tunes of Summer Paradise’s Get Your Heart On!.
According to Stinco and Comeau, the former was meant to “sound uplifting, fun, and positive” and serve as a continuation to the latter. But despite trying new musical avenues and being open to new genres, Comeau reveals that they still try to stay true to their signature sound.
“I feel like in lots of ways, personally, we’ve changed; we’re older now, we have different life situations and four out of five of us have kids now, so obviously we’re not the same 22-year-old kids that rolled out the first album … But in lots of ways at the same time, I feel like we haven’t changed,” said Comeau.
“I feel the music evolve but at the same time we stay true to a lot of our classic sound, and I think the essence of the band stays very much the same - it’s all very honest heart-felt lyrics, it’s high energy music with catchy melodies - and I think that trademark sound stayed throughout the albums.”
Stinco who shares the same sentiment, adding: “We’re trying to make music that is loyal to our heritage as a band, but we want to sound current at the same time ... so obviously you’re influenced by the great bands you hear nowadays … it could be a little dancier, a little more fun, but it’s got to be melodic, fast and filled with energy.
“I think that one thing that hasn’t change it that we’ve always tried to write songs that move people, that will mean something for the kids out there that hit them on an emotional level.”
As the concert came to its end, the band gave a blast from the past with popular hits from its first two studio albums, such as Crazy, I’m Just A Kid, Shut Up, and Perfect World.
Things finished on a poignant note when Bouvier picked up the guitar to strum the iconic instrumental opening of one of the band’s biggest hits, Perfect - as if saving the best for last.
Simple Plan’s Taking One for the Team Tour 2016 was organised by IMC Live.