Review: AAR in London - Kerrang!
Ok - firstly, I'm not entirely sure what tag to use for this, and secondly, I need someone with a scanner to scan the photos for me (to give you an incentive, there's an utterly adorable pic of Nick and Ty), but ne'ertheless! After nearly a month, I've finally found a review for October 14th at Shepherd's Bush.
... and you know you're obsessed when you buy a magazine you rarely ever read, just because it's got your favourite band it. *facepalm*
Tyson Ritter Gives a Defiant Middle Finger to his Gammy Leg.
Less than seven days before The All-American Rejects were due on this stage, frontman Tyson Ritter revealed to K! that he'd been just hours away from having his leg amputated following a knee infection. After a difficult week in hospital and emergency surgery, even the most seasoned workaholics would admit defeat and take some days off, but not Tyson.
"Two weeks ago, I was told I couldn't play London," screams the painfully thin frontman - dressed in a jailbird's costume - into the mic, "but I said, "Fuck you, doc!'."
The last time the Oklahoman quartet toured the UK (a visit that saw them in this same venue) was in January, but if the near-hysterical greeting that meets the band when they burst onto the stage is anything to go by, it's been a long eight months - broken up by just one lone London show in June - for the die-hard fans who are packed between these four walls.
And it's not hard to see why. As AAR reel off the joyously propulsive and hook-laden hits in their arsenal - Dirty Little Secret, Move Along, I Wanna, and the massively brilliant show-closer, Gives You Hell - they do so with irresistable charm and electrifying finesse. They have each member of their audience - male and female - hanging off their every note, singing every word.
Ever the compelling showman, Tyson, a shock of pink glitter flashed across his bare chest, doesn't stop 'playing' the crowd, from flirting with the pretty girls at the front, to changing song lyrics to include some cheeky sexual references. And, despite his current leg pain (he uses a cane to help him hobble around backstage), he still manages to move around, snaking his tiny hips to the delight of all the come-to-bed eyes looking at him, and pull off a perfect performance.
Why this band are not as huge as the likes of Paramore or Fall Out Boy is baffling, but this evening, The All-American Rejects radiate with the ability, balls and belief of the biggest band in the World.And to all the delighted faces witnessing it, for tonight at least, they are.
... and you know you're obsessed when you buy a magazine you rarely ever read, just because it's got your favourite band it. *facepalm*
Tyson Ritter Gives a Defiant Middle Finger to his Gammy Leg.
Less than seven days before The All-American Rejects were due on this stage, frontman Tyson Ritter revealed to K! that he'd been just hours away from having his leg amputated following a knee infection. After a difficult week in hospital and emergency surgery, even the most seasoned workaholics would admit defeat and take some days off, but not Tyson.
"Two weeks ago, I was told I couldn't play London," screams the painfully thin frontman - dressed in a jailbird's costume - into the mic, "but I said, "Fuck you, doc!'."
The last time the Oklahoman quartet toured the UK (a visit that saw them in this same venue) was in January, but if the near-hysterical greeting that meets the band when they burst onto the stage is anything to go by, it's been a long eight months - broken up by just one lone London show in June - for the die-hard fans who are packed between these four walls.
And it's not hard to see why. As AAR reel off the joyously propulsive and hook-laden hits in their arsenal - Dirty Little Secret, Move Along, I Wanna, and the massively brilliant show-closer, Gives You Hell - they do so with irresistable charm and electrifying finesse. They have each member of their audience - male and female - hanging off their every note, singing every word.
Ever the compelling showman, Tyson, a shock of pink glitter flashed across his bare chest, doesn't stop 'playing' the crowd, from flirting with the pretty girls at the front, to changing song lyrics to include some cheeky sexual references. And, despite his current leg pain (he uses a cane to help him hobble around backstage), he still manages to move around, snaking his tiny hips to the delight of all the come-to-bed eyes looking at him, and pull off a perfect performance.
Why this band are not as huge as the likes of Paramore or Fall Out Boy is baffling, but this evening, The All-American Rejects radiate with the ability, balls and belief of the biggest band in the World.And to all the delighted faces witnessing it, for tonight at least, they are.