BITE ME! MXPX and Simple Plan Live

MXPX & Simple Plan

Hollywood, CA.

Judging from the line that wrapped around the block, this was the punk tour of the year (next to Warped of course). It rained all day, but these hardcore fans had been in line since 3 p.m. It was a general admission show and they wanted the best seats in the house, which was basically a spot on the floor in front of the stage. Simple Plan and MXPX split the headlining duties on this tour, even though they both pretty much played full sets. Tonight, however, MXPX had the honors of closing the show.

Simple Plan hit the stage and every teenybopper on the house screamed. For a second, I thought I was at a boy band concert. Well, at least it wasn’t that bad. To be honest, Simple Plan played an impressive set. They have lots of energy and bubble gum appeal. Occasionally, the guys would crack a few jokes, but the younger kids didn’t seem to get it. I recently read an interview where a punk icon said something along the lines that punk today is basically 80’s glam metal without the make-up and spandex. Which, is exactly what I was thinking while watching Simple Plan. The boys reminded me of a Sunset Strip band called Big Bang Babies. Sadly, the Babies were before their time, and if they were around today they’d be huge. Simple Plan has the formula down, which is why they are the current favs of TRL. The band played all their radio hits and even played a snippet of Pink’s “Get The Party Started” before breaking into the Black Eyed Peas’ “Where is the Love”.

MXPX is a little more my style. These boys have been around since 1993 and have cultivated a nice fan base. Their songs aren’t as polished as Simple Plans’, but they’re still catchy and fun. On stage, MXPX were also a little more seasoned and relaxed. Plus, the band has a larger repertoire to pull from, so they didn’t have to focus entirely on their latest release, Before Everything and After. Everyone in the audience was having fun. Moms, sisters, brothers…were dancing and singing along. During the encore MXPX brought out a young fan by the name of Ginger and gave her the honors of playing “Chick Magnet” on Mike’s bass. Ginger looked like she was about twelve, but boy this little girl could rock. I’m willing to bet we’ll see her on stage fronting her own project one day.

Walking back to my car, I overheard an excited young girl talking to her mother. “I had lots of fun,” she said. “The guys don’t say bad words on the CD but they did tonight.” Oh, oh…Moms beware. Not everything is Wal-Mart proof. -NIN