My pre-teen years: revisited.

Sum 41 - October 12th 2007 @ The PNE Forum

This was an odd experience for me; having seen this band a couple times in my early teens, what would it be like seeing them now that my whole idea of music has changed?
Did Sum 41 have a whole new fan-base - or I would be face-to-face with the same people I saw when I used to dawn a Good Charlotte t-shirt everyday? Or more importantly; should I have worn that GC t-shirt?

The minute I entered the venue, my question was answered. Yes, there were a few familiar faces... but there were also people I had never seen before, people I had never pictured attending a Sum 41 concert: relatively normal looking girls, business men, and cuddley couples.

Halfway through the set; lead singer Deryck Whibley asked the crowd to raise their hand if they had seen Sum 41 before. I raised my hand, and to my surprise; only 15-or-so hands had joined mine.
When Whibley went on to ask who had never seen them live before; the venue turned into a sea of waving hands and shouting fans.

How did this band who, as far I was concerned, had done nothing for over a year and had lost most (if not all) of their fanbase to the new "scene" manage to get back on top?
I'm still not quite sure how, but they did. And that's all that matters.

Sum's new album, Underclass Hero, seems to be getting a good response (regardless of how cheesey the name is). Although I may not be able to appriciate it as much I would've when I was 14, I can still appriciate the fact that it's making people happy. And that's what music's supposed to do, right?
Who cares what genre it is, or if it's "mainstream" or "uncool". If it sounds good to you, play it.

And you know what? I will always dance and sing along when one of their songs comes on the radio.

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