Photo: Giles Smith
Alkaline Trio are a punk band, who’ve not only earned their (emo) stripes by releasing an impressive back catalogue and standing the test of time, but have a supportive company of die-hard followers - who’ve undoubtedly shaped who they are today.
But what is it about the Illinois hailing trio that keeps fans so enthralled, almost two decades on? Well we’re here at London’s Kentish Town Forum to find out. Kicking things off promptly with ‘This Could Be Love,’ taken from their 2003 Good Mourning album, it’s a melancholy glance into a heavier and slightly murkier past. Lead singer Matt Skiba’s vocal is wickedly engrossing and the looped guitar melody grasps you into a firm foot-stomping hold.
From a band who’ve previously expressed interest in the supernatural and a darker side to life, you get a sense that Alkaline Trio have so many stories to tell, but tonight they’re letting the music do all the talking. ‘She Lied To The FBI’ and ‘Time To Waste’ clearly set off deep-set emotions with fans, even from the far away echoes of the balcony, although it quickly becomes clear that it doesn’t take much to set them off.
The quick tempo and succinct connection between the trio means the catchy numbers are executed to practised-to-perfection precision. It’s hard to fault an act that play with such passion and meticulousness, transitioning seamlessly between older and newer songs, without coming across as over rehearsed or rigid. They offer so much more from a live performance than they give away on record and only now is it obvious to see why they have such a devoted following.
Of course, the only downside to a band with such a vast backlog of material is that your favourite tracks might not always feature within the set, but ending with an encore of ‘Private Eye’ and ‘Radio’ gives fans the awe-inspiring ending they’d anticipated.
From the plunge of the iconic backdrop, to Skiba’s red tie with matching shoelaces, there’s a vision here tonight that attracts evocatively similar associations to Green Day. Drawing comparisons to a band of this stature is always going to come across as subjective, but there’s a gut feeling that they could potentially be on the border of an earth-shattering breakthrough, reminiscent to where Green Day stood before the release of ‘American Idiot’ and consequently taking the world by storm.
After playing into the palm of the crowds’ hands tonight, it feels like anything is possible for Alkaline Trio.
