The All-American Rejects, New Found Glory, Motion City Soundtrack, The Get-Up Kids
The Zoo Amphitheatre
Oklahoma City, OK
Photos and article by Allyssa Arens
It was an abnormally cool Saturday in October (at least compared to earlier in the week) when The All-American Rejects returned to their home state of Oklahoma to close out their Wet Hot All-American Summer tour at Oklahoma City’s Zoo Amphitheatre, and while the weather did not match the tour name, it did not stop fans from bundling up and flocking to the outdoor venue, blankets, hoodies and lawn chairs in tow, to watch their hometown pop-punk heroes rock the stage and end what was their first full US headliner in close to a decade. Technically the Rejects are from Stillwater, but OKC’s close enough…, especially for them to be one of only a few non-country musicians from the state to make it big. The Rejects were joined on this run by fellow 90s/2000s emo bands and pop punkers New Found Glory, Motion City Soundtrack, and The Get-Up Kids.
First to take the stage were The Get-Up Kids, a band from Kansas City who were mainstays in the 1990s emo scene and have been on-again, off-again since an initial split in 2005. The quartet opened up the show quite nicely, kicking things off with “Satellite” and setting a tone of high emotion that would only escalate further as the show progressed.
Setlist:
Satellite
I’m a Loner Dottie, a Rebel
Action & Action
Shorty
The Advocate
Man of Conviction
Don’t Hate Me
Mass Pike
Ten Minutes
Next up were fellow 2000s emo rockers Motion City Soundtrack, and they turned up the heat with their powerful and emotional tracks, opening with “L.G. FUAD” and “Broken Heart”. Though the band was unable to move around quite as much as they may have in the past, as guitarist and lead vocalist Justin Courtney Pierre was dealing with some spinal issues that were exacerbated by a foot injury a couple of shows earlier in Houston, but what they lacked in physical movement, they made up for with emotion, getting an amphitheater-full of concertgoers to dance and sing along to their set, and warming them up as the main event approached.
Setlist:
L.G. FUAD
Broken Heart
My Favorite Accident
A Lifeless Ordinary (Need a Little Help)
Her Words Destroyed My Planet
Attractive Today
Everything Is Alright
The Future Freaks Me Out
The third set, and the longest of the support acts, were pop-punk mainstays New Found Glory, and the crowd went wild the entire time they were on stage. Though they were down a founding member, with guitarist Chad Gilbert having to step away earlier in the tour due to continued cancer complications, they were helped out by Dan O’Connor of Four Year Strong and David Knox of Real Friends, and they sounded phenomenal, bringing the nostalgia in full-force as they played an almost hour-long, career-spanning setlist. There was no shortage of surprises either, as they inserted a couple of covers into their set, including Sixpence None the Richer’s “Kiss Me” and “Let It Go” from the Frozen soundtrack. The latter of these had vocalist Jordan Pundik disappearing briefly before re-emerging on stage in an Elsa costume, much to the amusement of everyone in the audience. Though I was not overly familiar with any of the openers before this show, I walked away with a greater appreciation for all of them, and it was clear that The Rejects picked them for a reason, as they all brought a fantastic energy to the stage.
Setlist:
All Downhill From Here
Understatement
Hit or Miss
Greatest of All Time
King of Wishful Thinking (Go West cover)
Don’t Let Her Pull You Down
Head On Collision
Failure’s Not Flattering
It’s Not Your Fault
Kiss Me (Sixpence None the Richer cover)
Dressed to Kill
Let It Go (Frozen soundtrack cover)
Anthem for the Unwanted
My Friends Over You
Finally, it was the set we’d all been waiting for. The All-American Rejects hit the stage and came out “Swinging” as they launched into “Swing, Swing”, the lead single from their 2002 debut album which first put them on the map. The band had an impeccable stage presence as frontman and bassist Tyson Ritter belted the lyrics and strummed away, while guitarists Nick Wheeler and Mike Kennerty jumped around the large stage and percussionist Chris Gaylor added his own flair.
Growing up in Oklahoma, The All-American Rejects were a constant staple of my playlists, serving as an example of people from our not-as-popular state being able to go out and live their dreams and put the state on the map in a positive way. For reference, I was about 2 years old when their debut album came out, and I remember jamming out in the car when radio singles such as “Dirty Little Secret” and “Move Along” would come on. Getting to finally see them as an adult was surreal, and I could tell that the band was just as happy to be back home as we were to have them back. They sounded absolutely incredible, and being able to sing along to some of the more formative songs of my youth was incredibly cathartic, even more than I realized it would be.
I can also say that Tyson Ritter is one of the most dynamic and charismatic front people I have had the pleasure to see, as he confidently performed in a sheer striped jumpsuit (which he compared to a “grandma’s négligée” in contrast to the warmer jackets of the audience), had the cameraman point out men with beards of varying lengths in the front of the crowd, and even sang a little impromptu song calling us all “sexy motherfuckers” right before they performed “Sweat”. It was truly a night I will never forget, and I am so glad to see the band seemingly tighter than ever after such an extensive career.
Setlist:
Swing, Swing
My Paper Heart
One More Sad Song
Beekeeper’s Daughter
Dirty Little Secret
Stab My Back
I Wanna
Sweat
Kids in the Street
Mona Lisa (When The World Comes Down)
There’s a Place
I’m Waiting
It Ends Tonight
Move Along
Gives You Hell
Next on the docket for the AAR crew, Tyson will be performing at When We Were Young Fest in Las Vegas on October 21 and 22 with his newest project Now More Than Ever, while the Rejects just announced plans to tour Brazil next March. All upcoming tour dates and AAR news can be found on their website.
