So, I've been following The Swellers since 2010 and have not been able to see them once since until late last month at their last ever UK show in Brighton. It's so bittersweet to even be writing this. After waiting all that time just to see them live and it's at their farewell show! Well better late than never I suppose.

The first of the three support acts was a local band from Brighton called River Jumpers. A four-piece of homegrown pop punk goodness. I really enjoyed their set. The sound wasn't great but you could hear the potential of the tracks nonetheless and I particularly liked their single "All Our Histories". I'll definitely be keeping an ear out for these guys.

Second in line was three-piece US punk band The Gamits. I hadn't heard of them before and to be honest it was hard enough to track down their Facebook page but I'm glad I did because they were interesting. Face paced and engaging tracks. I'd advise checking out their bandcamp for some of their jams because if you like pop punk they should be up your street. Cool band, cool guys.

Finally, supporting was Only Rivals. I actually caught Only Rivals supporting on the Pop Punk's Not Dead Tour a while back and so was looking forward to watching them smash it again. Unfortunately I had to step out during their set and so did not catch the entire thing but I have no doubts that they impressed. If you haven't already, give these guys a listen - hardworking and entertaining band.

To be honest, even as I'm writing this now, I slightly can't believe that I got to see The Swellers live. It was all so surreal, and fast paced. Everything just happened and before I knew it the show was over. They opened up with the first song I ever heard of theirs - "Runaways" and from that moment onwards, I was just elated. Killer tune and of course even better live. When you've imagined a song live so many times in your own head it's nice to actually see what it looks like in real life. There were a couple of songs that they played that I was less familiar with but for the most part, they played a setlist jam packed with favourites. I do wish that the crowd was more into it or maybe just a little bit more expressive. It was their last ever show and I was expecting a party vibe. At one point Nick even said that the crowd seemed full of people in "the industry" that were a bit "too cool" to get hyped up but then I suppose there's only so much that you can ask of less than 100 people. This didn't phase me too much though, I was just standing at the stage, overwhelmed. Some favourites that they played were "Do You Feel Better Yet?", "Got Social", "2009" and "Ups And Downsizing" and the fact that they ended with "Running Out Of Places To Go" and "The Best I Ever Had" just sealed off that chapter perfectly. I am going to miss this band sorely but at least they've left us with lots of classic albums to listen to in their absence. Very special farewell show for me. Swellers... thank you.

Overall Rating - 8/10


Here are some pictures from the night....

WHAT. A. NIGHT. WOW! Still can hardly believe that I got to see Only Rivals, Candy Hearts, State Champs, The Story So Far and New Found Glory all in one night, with my own eyeballs! Either way, before I get carried away, here's my verdict on the performances of the night...

If you like pop punk/rock music and you haven't yet checked out Only Rivals get on it. I hadn't heard any of their music before coming to the show but they were really good. It was nice to see a band that are each evidently such different characters, come together and play some collectively awesome music. The lead singer was a little hard on himself, shaking his head a couple of times after he'd slightly miss a note but, he kept it all together. Solid opener.

Next up Candy Hearts. I've been waiting to see this band for about a year now and the time finally came. I have to say I was a little surprised to be honest. I was surprised at how "cute" they were. The lead singer was just adorable, and I guess I was just expecting something a little more gritty. Once I'd focused though, I thought that at times they sounded a bit like a female fronted Blink-182. I liked their song "All The Ways You Let Me Down" and speaking to Mariel after the show - she is super sweet, definitely check them out - talented bunch of cool people.

Before the show started, I'd seen a bunch of State Champs shirts bopping around in the crowd so I figured that theirs would be a pretty energetic set to say the least. They were on 100% from beginning to end. The first crowd surfers of the night and honestly, first real movement of the night - the crowd just went mad for them. I definitely need to check out all of their music properly because to put it briefly they were on point. I swear, some of the best things seem to come from Pure Noise Records. Derek was super courteous on stage, praising every band individually and he was equally as courteous in person. Genuinely cool band.

Now, the band that I personally was probably most excited for - The Story So Far. I was so sure that by the end of their set I wouldn't have a voice left. Every time I see them perform live the crowd just seems like if they don't scream every one of Parker's lyrics at the top of their lungs whilst pointing their fingers at the stage then they might die. So I did exactly that and it was brilliant. Circle pits and crowd surfers galore. They slayed. There really wasn't time to come up for air. This is a band that I really want to see around for a long, long time to come.

Finally for the stars of the show, the glorious rockers that put together this fantastic spectacle - New Found Glory. It's rare that I'm watching a band and I stop mid-show and think how lucky I am to be seeing them. They were awesome! You know in cheesy movies when they play those montages of important events happening and things happen in slow motion and the camera zooms in on people's joy filled, elated faces - this happened in my mind several times during the set. It was surreal. I'm definitely more of an old school NFG fan but after this show it would seem that I need to purchase their new record - Resurrection. When they played songs like "Kiss Me" and "My Friends Over You" I just lost it. The crowd was considerably older than I'd imagined but I think in those moments everyone felt like a teenager again. Grown men pushing to the front, crowd surfing and generally fanning out. It was just an amazing vibe. Whoever was able to make it out to one of these shows, count yourselves lucky. Pop punk is most certainly not dead.

Overall Rating - 9/10


Here are some pictures from the night...