Double Dose of the AP Tour 2016

AP 2016 On March 8th and 9th, this year’s AP Tour hit Nashville, Tennessee and Atlanta, Georgia with one of the most impressive lineups that the tour has seen in a while. Featuring pop punk power houses Knuckle Puck, State Champs, and Neck Deep, the AP Tour also welcomed the Canadian band Like Pacific, who are a more recent addition to the Pure Noise Records family.

This tour seemed to celebrate the amazing year that has come for all of the bands, whether it be Like Pacific’s impressive start, celebrating the success of Knuckle Puck, Neck Deep, or State Champs’ newest albums, the bands’ amazing breakthroughs, or any of the many other notable accomplishments. Bringing all four bands’ fans together created a remarkable experience that left this writer speechless for the first time in a long time.

Like Pacific
Like Pacific

On the 8th, the tour hit Nashville’s venue Rocketown, a hangout, indoor skate park, and concert venue. The city greeted the tour with a dreary day composed of grey skies, drizzling rain, and temperatures in the mid-fifties. That didn’t stop fans from getting there early, though, and the line was already of a notable size for 1 PM on a Thursday. By the time the doors opened, the line reached all the way around the back of the venue before spilling out to the street, and shortly after Like Pacific finished their set, the show sold out completely.

Despite the excitement over the venue’s skate park, the vibes of the night were definitely off, even more so once venue staff requested that there be no cursing, crowd surfing, or stage diving during the show.

Knuckle Puck
Knuckle Puck

Like Pacific started the night off right, though, full of an admirable enthusiasm as they introduced themselves. They started with “Worthless Case”, a song off their most recent release. Despite the odd feeling of the evening, they definitely managed to put on a show that was able to reel in some new fans.

Knuckle Puck followed, immediately starting with “Wall to Wall”. Most sets seemed to be more songs and less banter, and that was made obvious when someone would catch themselves cursing and quickly try to redirect the focus. As always, the Chicago natives provided a noteworthy performance that was composed of a good number of new and old songs. They even spoke at the end of their set about including “Gold Rush” for older fans, which was fun to watch as the crowd came to life.

State Champs
State Champs

The next band on the bill for the evening was State Champs, and after their performance, there was no question about the hype surrounding the New Yorkers. The band came out in a rush, and all at once, it was as if the crowd had been revitalized. At that point, everyone in the crowd joined in the fun of the show, eagerly yelling the lyrics to songs like “Secrets” and “Simple Existence” back at the band. Despite their bassist being sick, it definitely seemed that they all enjoyed themselves.

It was obvious who drew the crowd that night when Neck Deep took the stage, and with rightful reason. The Brits released their sophomore album “Life’s Not Out To Get You” in August of 2015 and have been on the rise since. The band opened with “Citizens of Earth”, and this writer hasn’t experienced anything more energetic. In a flurry of strobes and high-energy movement, they stole the show. There wasn’t a moment, between band or fans, that frontman Ben Barlow allowed the energy to die off.

Neck Deep
Neck Deep

The night continued on as it had since the beginning, with accidental curses and rushed apologies until Ben noticed a crowd surfer being escorted out of the crowd by security. He didn’t waste a second in speaking out against it, saying that it was ridiculous that the fan was being removed from the crowd. From there, the annoyance with the venue’s policies was very apparent. Neck Deep continued with their set without any further issues, but Ben didn’t continue to catch himself when he would curse.

Neck Deep played a three-song encore that evening, starting with “Head To The Ground”, which was introduced as a song that Ben never thought he would find himself playing live. A full-band version of “December” followed, and before their final song, Ben had a few words to share with the crowd.

He spoke passionately about how it was necessary to never allow anyone to stifle creativity and how important it is to stay true to what you believe in. There were several choice words woven into this as well, followed by an overwhelming chorus of applause and shouts of approval, but with a smirk and a quick intro, the band broke into “Can’t Kick Up The Roots” the end the night.
A four hour drive later, this writer found herself in Atlanta in time to catch a nap before heading to the Masquerade for another night of sold out excitement.

Neck Deep
Neck Deep

The difference between the two cities was noticeable in the vibes alone. Fans were lined up and spilling off the sidewalk hours before the show started, and there was nothing but excitement in the tone of anyone who exchanged words. The AP Tour took over Heaven at the Masquerade, packing the upper floor in just half an hour. Though the crowd was dense, it was friendly, and proved for a great night.

There was a new energy about Like Pacific when they took the stage, and it was enough to make anyone a fan of the Canadian band. This was something much different from what Nashville got to see, and it was definitely a pleasant surprise, both in the reaction of the band and the crowd as “Worthless Case” started the night once more and transitioned seamlessly into “Sigh Of Relief”.

Knuckle Puck seemed to thrive in the Masquerade’s crowd, just as energetic as ever, but with a few more smiles than what came from the previous evening. Their set was a little more fun to watch that night because of the difference in crowd participation when they played their newer songs, and it was obvious while waiting around before the show that Knuckle Puck had drawn a larger crowd than the previous evening had.

As any true co-headliners would, Neck Deep and State Champs switched things up a little in Atlanta, and Neck Deep came out to be the third band of the evening. They opened again with “Citizens Of Earth”, and this was, without a doubt, more fun than ever. It was still the same rush that was provided the night before but in a much friendlier way. Lingering frustration with the rules from the night before was expressed, but all-in-all, Neck Deep provided two shows two nights in a row that left this writer wishing there were an opportunity to follow the tour through the end.

State Champs
State Champs

State Champs brought up the rear in Atlanta, and the second they hit the stage, the crowd shoved forward and brought all the craziness of a typical Champs show. The first few songs went on uninterrupted, leaving the band to take in the energy that radiated from their audience, and it wasn’t until they went to introduce “Simple Existence” that their bassist, Ryan, commented on a security guard that had been singing along to every song. The atmosphere in Atlanta was amazing, and there was nothing but smiles all around.

Ultimately, this year’s AP Tour was one that definitely should not have been missed. In one writer’s opinion, it was a great way to kick off 2016, which will be, without a doubt, pop punk’s year to thrive.

Check out Elizabeth Porch’s full photo gallery HERE!

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