Canadian hard rockers Sum 41 are on tour in support of their recent July release, Order in Decline, and are also celebrating the 15th anniversary of their third studio album, Chuck. Along with Sum 41 on their tour are Australian post-hardcore band The Amity Affliction, and American post-hardcore band The Plot In You. The Order In Decline Tour made a stop at the House of Blues Las Vegas for a big night of hardcore and punk rock.
Formed in 2010 and based out of Ohio, The Plot in You consists of Landon Tewers (vocals), Ethan Yoder (bass), Josh Childress (guitars), and Mathis Arnell (drums). This band has been a favorite of mine for a while now and sound amazing live. Tewers has such a phenomenal voice, switching back and forth between clean, melodic vocals to a harsh scream in smooth transitions. Their 2018 release, Dispose, is outstanding, and most of the songs they played at the Las Vegas show were from that album.
Following TPIY was The Amity Affliction, a post-hardcore/metalcore band from Australia, whose current lineup consists of Ahren Stringer (bass, clean vocals), Joel Birch (vocals), Dan Brown (lead guitar, backing vocals), and Joe Longobardi (drums). Formed in 2003, The Amity Affliction has produced six studio albums, their most recent being Misery in 2018. This band has grown significantly in popularity over recent years, and it was obvious a large percentage of the crowd was there to see them. They started their set with one of their biggest hits from the Misery LP, "Drag The Lake", and immediately the crowd began to sing along. They followed that up with one of their hardest hits, "All My Friends Are Dead", and the crowd went crazy, the mosh was pit churning, and the crowd surfing began. Front man Birch is quite outspoken, and has found himself the center of controversy on more than one occasion, but love them or hate them TAA knows how to get a crowd going, and this night was no exception. Rounding out their ten-song set with hits like "Feels Like I’m Dying", "Shine On", and the ever-popular "Pittsburgh", The Amity Affliction injected a huge dose of energy and intensity into the building, setting the stage for a wild party with Sum 41.
Sum 41 originally formed in 1996, but didn’t really rise to fame until the 2001 release of their first album, All Killer No Filler. The first single off the album, "Fat Lip", was their most successful ever, and the band themselves referred to it as the 'Canadian National Anthem' when they introduced it later in their performance. Sum 41’s current lineup is Deryck Whibley (vocals, rhythm guitar), Dave Baksh (lead guitar, backing vocals), Jason McCaslin (bass, backing vocals), Tom Thacker (guitars, keyboards, backing vocals), and Frank Zummo (drums, backing vocals).
This was my first opportunity to see Sum 41 perform live and, while I expected them to be good, I did not expect them to be THIS good! This show was a huge house party with CO2 cannons, confetti cannons, giant balloons, and streamers shooting down from above. They blasted through a twenty-song set, playing tracks from Order of Decline, all the favorites as well as a few deeper tracks, including "Some Say", which they have never done live, and are playing now in honor of the 15th anniversary of Chuck. They finished the show with a double encore, first doing aforementioned "Fat Lip", and then leaving the stage, only to return a few minutes later wearing long-hair wigs and speaking in Scottish accents. This is an alter ego bit that they have done before to their song "Pain For Pleasure", and is a spoof on the hair-metal bands of old, and they even have a music video to go along with it. The song itself is only 1:45 long, but they stretched it out to a solid 6- or 7-minute encore, stopping to banter back and forth while coaching the crowd to sing along. It’s a ridiculous bit, but a perfect way to close out a fun night of rock music.
The Order In Decline Tour is just getting started and there are several more dates throughout the US and Canada this year. Be on the lookout for dates near you and don’t miss it!
SUM 41 Photos from Randy Udell / R U Rockin' Photos
The Amity Affiction Photos from Randy Udell / R U Rockin' Photos
The Plot In You Photos from Randy Udell / R U Rockin' Photos