Simple Plan Returns to Raleigh With A Sold-Out Summer Show

If there’s any band from the 2000s pop-punk scene that you should know, it’s none other than Simple Plan. Formed in Montreal in 1999 by just a couple of teenagers, they’d go on to help define a generation of kids both inside and outside the music scene. Boasting six studio albums, twelve Warped Tour appearances, and an instantly recognizable sound to most emo kids, I would honestly go so far as to call them a “gateway” punk band, with their music appealing to young people of all demographics. Singing themes about the struggles of being a teenager, the hardships of living as the odd one out in school, a novice romance gone sour, and the powerlessness of it all, Simple Plan felt like a warm embrace to kids across the globe who thought the whole world was somehow against them. And despite the band’s arguably cheesy lyrics, fans of all ages still show up to listen to these four French-Canadians sing about their long-gone adolescent hardships. And this past Saturday night in Raleigh, they proved that the inner child in all of us hasn’t completely gone away with a sold-out show and their biggest ever performance in North Carolina!

Accompanied by Bowling for Soup and 3OH!3, the trio reunited on the road for their second year in a row for the sequel to last year’s “Bigger Than You Think!” tour. With how successful last year’s tour was and how well these three bands fit together, it’s no surprise that round two was an even bigger smash hit. Honestly, if each band was its own character, I feel like you could easily fit the three into a high school coming-of-age movie - Simple Plan as the troubled shut-in, Bowling for Soup as the “swirlie-material” nerd who can’t seem to land the ladies, and 3OH!3 as the reckless jock who’s practically drowning in them… and all three somehow getting into trouble together. Basically, The Breakfast Club, but instead, it’s a bunch of middle-aged dudes rocking out on stage in the sweltering summer heat, singing about their younger years. I’m sold!

After 3OH!3 and Bowling for Soup got the crowd hyped up for the main attraction of the night (which didn’t take much effort with how sweet this lineup was), the stage lights dimmed, and over 100 square feet of LED boards lit up the crowd with nostalgic video clips from Simple Plan’s early days as a band. As the cheers grew louder and the stage lit back up, the band leaped into action with one of their biggest tracks, “I'd Do Anything,” firing off their cryo cannons, confetti, and streamers all at the end of the song. Pierre Bouvier, the band's frontman and lead vocalist, then welcomed the crowd to the show, barely containing his excitement to be back in Raleigh for another kick-ass performance. Playing alongside him were Jeff Stinco on lead guitar, Sébastien Lefebvre on rhythm guitar, and Chuck Comeau on drums. They bounced back and forth between their first five albums throughout their set, bringing the audience along on a nostalgia trip across the 2000s. This was a show I absolutely did not want to miss, and after snapping some pics and leaving the photo pit, I sprinted to my car and back to re-enter the venue without my gear!

With plenty of stage gags, high-fives, and crazy jumps that may not be a good idea for an aging rockstar, the evening flew by in the best way possible. Over ten beach balls were brought out for the performance of “Summer Paradise,” bouncing across the entire amphitheater crowd and hopefully not causing any concussions for unsuspecting attendees. Pierre noticed a fan with a sign asking to draw a tattoo inspired by their song “Astronaut,” and he obliged with his best attempt at a space helmet that he claimed, “looked like a toilet.” I’m sure it turned out better than that, but either way, that ink definitely has a funny story behind it! But the best gag of the night was yet to come, as Simple Plan invited anyone in the crowd dressed up as Scooby-Doo! characters to come onstage and dance along to the theme song they wrote for the series that aired in the early to mid-2000s. Like many other fans in the crowd, I grew up watching the series, and it was definitely my first exposure to Simple Plan and possibly punk rock as a whole. So much of the set was speaking to everyone’s inner child, and this was just the cherry on top. Between screaming the lyrics to this theme song and Bowling for Soup’s performance of their theme song for Phineas and Ferb in the hot summer heat, I genuinely felt like a kid again for the first time in a while - and I’m sure the rest of the fans would agree. 

All the action from tonight left thousands of hearts full, parents satisfied, and a whole new generation of kids who finally got to experience all the cool music their parents listened to when they were kids. And as a bonus, Simple Plan brought the almighty Stormy the Ice Hog on stage for a photo op at the end, celebrating the Carolina Hurricanes’ historical Stanley Cup win earlier this year! The band was in Vegas at the time of the victory, and as a proud Carolinian, I’m glad they chose the right team to root for. With the tour about to end after a whole month on the road, the band and their crew will hopefully be taking a well-deserved rest before doing it all over again next year alongside their upcoming new album!