All Time Low’s “Tell Me I’m Alive” Tour

Photos by Abigail McNatt
Review by Chris “Oberrated” Ober

Through the fire and brimstone, the show must go on! Ok, ok, maybe not full scale fire and brimstone, but it was a day where the air quality was declared troublesome and many were advised to stay inside. However that didn’t stop the legions of music fans to show out for All Time Low’s “Tell Me I’m Alive” tour at Stage AE featuring Mayday Parade and Games We Play!

First on the chopping block was the sex icons themselves (but mostly the lead Emmyn, idk, I’m just saying what I know, I don’t make the rules) hailing from Miami. This was my second time seeing Games We Play and to my memory, they were damn good both times. Mixing a fun and energetic vibe to start the show and get the crowd moving, Emmyn also has that entertainment factor to him to work the crowd and get smiles on faces. After surveying the crowd for goers who have heard of them before, Games We Play was honored to see that they had multi-time viewers of their band which paid the respect back by singing along to just about every song and moving to the music as if we weren’t just getting the party started.

The next band needs no introduction. It was the legends that are Mayday Parade. As they entered the stage, they were met by a roaring crowd of all ages who continue to keep emo music alive and well in 2023. From the very start, this night went from concert to karaoke/sing-a-long because the entire crowd was in sync with Mayday as each song played and concluded. I also SWEAR when I listened close enough, I could hear tears falling on the pavement as Mayday Parade played their piano rendition of “Miserable at Best.” At the end of the set and my fifth time watching a Mayday Parade set, it is always awesome to see this band still making magic on stage after all these years.

Speaking of years in the game, let’s talk about the headliner of the night and the legacy band themselves, All…Time…Low! All Time Low will forever hold a special place in my heart. When they bursted onto the scene in the 2000s, this was the peak time in my life where music was my everything and molded my every moment, especially pop punk music. Growing up with the albums “Put Up or Shut Up” and “So Wrong, It’s Right,” at those times you really do not think about the future and if a band will remain in your life in your older years, or if you’ll even still be as invested in music. Yet here I am practically 20 years later watching this band rip the stage at breakneck speed playing music 20 years old and 3 months old, all of it never faltering in quality.

The tour was aptly named after their album, “Tell Me I’m Alive” that blessed our earholes just 3 short months ago. The 9th studio album from the legacy band explores themes and feelings felt during a time where loneliness and helplessness were prevalent. As for me, this album is nothing but bangers from the killer vocals put forth by Alex in songs like “Calm Down” and “Lost Along the Way” to the iconic sound we know and love in “Sleepwalking” and unironically the matching track to the album, “Tell Me I’m Alive.”

While on the topic of title tracks, All Time Low’s set started in an unconventional way, as some may see it, with Alex opening it up on piano with “Tell Me I’m Alive.” What began with the crowd roaring and singing along with a serenading Alex quickly turned into a raucous crowd as the final minute of the track approached and the patented fast pop-punk vibe took over. With this opening, I was assured that this set was going to be as memorable and fun as ever.

As always the power duo of Alex and Jack practically put on an equally entertaining show talking to the crowd and cracking jokes as they did making them move with the music. An extra special kudos goes to All Time Low for playing their entire set in the conditions of the air quality warning because it was very clearly making an impact on the band as the night went on, but as it is always said, “the show must go on” and All Time Low made sure to keep the energy at an all time high and give us every song we know and love. All leading up to their finale featuring “Weightless,” “Monsters,” and “Dear Maria, Count Me In.”

The music of the 2000s is alive and well in All Time Low, Mayday Parade, and emo music as a whole. Especially when newcomers like Games We Play are in the scene very much carrying the banner forward. I can’t advise you enough that if you see these bands with a ticket available in the coming years, buy it. These guys continue to create memorable nights to remain in the brain for years and even lifetimes.