SUM 41 (opening act: Neck Deep)
Wednesday, November 13, 2024
Vienna (Wien) / Wienerstadthalle – Halle D / Austria
And here we are — rockline.si — at the very last SUM 41 concert ever. True to ‘tradition’, we at Rockline love going to SUM 41 shows! Day after day, whenever humanly possible! After our visit to Budapest on November 12, 2024, we weren’t expecting much difference between the Vienna show and what we’d experienced the day before in Budapest. But that impression turned out to be deceptive!
Warming up the crowd once again were Welsh punk rockers Neck Deep, who would accompany SUM 41 all the way to their final show in Paris on November 23, 2024.
Neck Deep formed in 2012 in Wrexham. Founded by Ben Barlow and Lloyd Roberts, who started their musical journey right in a bedroom, their debut EP Rain in July quickly became an online sensation. Off the back of a growing social media profile and a deal with Hopeless Records, they broke through to a wider audience. Their 2015 album “Life’s Not Out to Get You” is considered one of the best pop-punk albums of the last decade and sent the band on world tours. Their biggest hit In Bloom, from the album “The Peace and The Panic”, cemented their place on the scene. Neck Deep are known for their energetic live performances and their strong bond with fans — which sets them apart from other (stuck-up) bands (why would anyone be stuck-up, anyway?). Although they dig into deeply personal subject matter that’s often painfully serious, they always keep an optimistic tone.
The band tore it up in just over half an hour. Not in the sense that the crowd completely lost it, but in terms of the committed, sovereign energy they channeled through their set. The sound was a bit patchy and the guitars could have been clearer, but all in all, I can say they fully earned their spot as the opening act. Professional, confident, and dedicated to what their hearts beat for! And as I hinted at the start regarding expectations after the Budapest show the previous day — not substantially different.
Setlist:
1. Dumbstruck Dumbf**k
2. Sort Yourself Out
3. Motion Sickness
4. Gold Steps
5. Citizens of Earth
6. Kali Ma
7. Take Me With You
8. STFU
9. We Need More Bricks
10. In Bloom
Again, Neck Deep had no trouble at all warming up the crowd. The Austrian audience was even more primed for SUM 41 than the Hungarian one, and during Neck Deep’s set showed even more reactions bordering on collective delirium — which duly followed a little later.
SUM 41 coverage on our webzine is nothing new, but since this is the band’s farewell tour, reading both reports you may notice they overlap here and there. We are, after all, witnessing the final breaths of SUM 41’s career.
When the legendary AC/DC classic T.N.T. rang out, the Austrian crowd surged toward the front of the stage, fully aware this was their last chance to see SUM 41 live. ‘Ibuprofen combined with beer’ had taken firm hold, and it was time to throw yourself around and have a blast with the entire SUM 41 family of the evening. The word ‘family’ was dropped quite a few times that night — enough that you half-expected Vin Diesel to pop up around the corner in his Mustang to explain to everyone that’s actually his line, before driving off, tail between his legs, to film the 49th installment of the Fast And Furious franchise. Many might find the repeated use of the word ‘family’ a bit saccharine, but real fans know exactly what was meant by it. SUM 41 have had highs and lows far more dramatic than what hits a Slovenian bank account on the 18th of each month after the standing orders clear.
Deryck also wrote a book about this, published during the farewell tour, titled »Walking Disaster«. In it he describes his own journey to stardom. It’s also where he first spoke openly about how, as an underage teenager in Canada, his mentor and the band’s former manager Greig Nori — otherwise the vocalist of the highly successful Canadian outfit Treble Charger, who at the time SUM 41’s members were growing up was the most popular act of its genre in Canada — had ‘groomed’ him (https://www.policija.si/svetujemo-ozavescamo/varnost-na-internetu/spletno-nasilje-in-spolne-zlorabe-otrok-na-internetu/spolne-zlorabe-otrok-prek-spleta/grooming), sexually abused him, addicted him to drugs and alcohol, and consequently caused Deryck to end up on his ‘deathbed’ more than once. After this revelation, many quickly connected the dots between the swings in musical style, the divorce from Avril Lavigne, and of course the kidney and liver failure caused by the addiction. Deryck is celebrating ten years of sobriety this very year.
This tour wasn’t without its incidents either. Over the summer Deryck injured his back again, causing a number of shows to be cancelled. Canada will be compensated for all the cancellations next year, where the tour will also wrap up for good.
The show kicked off again, naturally, with »Motivation« — only this time our northern neighbors didn’t wait to drown out the singer. Right from the first song it was clear the Vienna crowd was hungrier for the 2000s, and in that moment it was already obvious the night would go into overtime. The Hell Song hits like that first sip of Stiegl on a rough day, and then Over My Head arrives as a second helping. A reminder that Hell Song was written spontaneously to help a mutual friend of the band cope with the news that he was HIV positive — a revelation that is also tied to the title of the album it appears on, namely »”Does It Look Infected”«. Then comes the moment when even the Rockline photographer reaches the bitter realization that after more than five years of shooting this band, he’s doing it for the very last time. A moment of bittersweet sadness — but all those emotions vanish in an instant when the opening riffs of Underclass Hero ring out. The crowd gave everything once more, drowning out the singer all over again. Noots, next on the list, made it onto the setlist unexpectedly — as already mentioned in the Budapest concert report — at heavy fan demand from people who wanted to hear the song live for the first and last time. SUM 41 had never performed it live before. The track wasn’t originally released in the US and Canada, but later appeared on the soundtrack of the Marvel film »Fantastic Four«. The band itself was taken aback by the unity fans showed online, and so decided to add it to the concert repertoire mid-tour.
Next comes Landmines, released this year and found on the »Heaven« side of the new record (the other half, “Hell”, leans more toward metal). Landmines conjures up those afternoons at the skate park in the late ’90s for genre nostalgics — even though the song was written in 2024, as mentioned — and maybe a fan comment sums up that feeling best: “this is more 2000s style than the actual 2000s were.”
The next track, Dopamine, is also a newer addition to the band’s catalogue, and many believe it to be yet another swan song to the failed relationship between singer Deryck and pop-punk princess Avril Lavigne. The singer has denied this, having been married since 2015 to model Ariana Cooper, with whom he has two children. Worth noting that he remains on excellent terms with his ex-wife — he still occasionally acts as her producer and songwriter, and even performs live with her (though only in the US).
Two blistering covers of Slayer and Metallica follow, then We’re All to Blame, Some Say, and Screaming Bloody Murder lead into Walking Disaster — which, of course, also gave the singer’s above-mentioned autobiography its name. It’s the first track the band recorded after Dave »Brownsound« Baksh’s departure, when they were operating as a three-piece. The song signals the band’s return from the heavier metal riffs of “Chuck” to their original punk-rock roots — which is also the reason for Brownsound’s departure, as the guitarist had always been drawn toward heavier waters and disagreed with the band’s new/old direction.
We slowly approach »Makes No Difference«, a song that holds a special place in the band’s history as one of the first to showcase their signature blend of pop-punk and punk rock. It came out as a single from their debut album “All Killer No Filler” in 2001 and helped the band gain wider recognition beyond the Canadian music scene. The song’s energy, its infectious melody, and the contrast of introspective lyrics dealing with feelings of being misunderstood and alienated resonate with many young listeners who find themselves in it. What also sets this song apart is its music video, shot in a single unbroken take. In it the band performs in a van driving through different parts of a city, giving the video a feeling of uniqueness and momentum. This approach was something special for the pop-punk genre at the time, reinforcing the band’s rebellious, DIY spirit. “Makes No Difference” thus helped cement SUM 41 as one of the defining acts of the early-2000s scene, blending fun, energetic punk melodies with deeper, reflective themes. At the same time, the song opened the door to their future ventures, showcasing a band with the talent to hold fun and seriousness in the same place.
Like Noots, the next track — or rather, mashup of tracks — is a reflection of fan wishes. The band simply didn’t have time to play the entire “Chuck” album, which enjoys an exceptionally beloved status in Europe, so they merged three songs into one and called it My Direction / No Brains / All Messed Up. The frantic pace was then brought down a notch with a drum solo. Frank Zummo, who succeeded original drummer Steve Jotz (Stevo32) in the band, took the reins into his own hands. When the drummer switch happened, fans were convinced the band was finished — Stevo had always been seen as the glue holding it all together. Frank proved with his talent that he matches Stevo’s level with ease, while with a similarly commanding stage presence he stepped into his predecessor’s shoes with flying colors. Which means, to borrow the singer’s words, he integrated and meshed phenomenally into the SUM 41 ‘family’.
The two tracks that follow also appear on the new album: Preparasi a salire and Rise Up. The latter finally ignited the whole arena and sent even the last holdouts who’d been just standing there into overdrive. During the quieter Pieces we caught our breath and gathered energy again, because Fat Lip was coming. The moment the crowd hears the first word of the recording played before Fat Lip, it loses its mind. The wide grin on bassist Con’s face as he watched all that screaming from an ecstatic crowd probably didn’t go unnoticed all the way back home in Maribor. Fat Lip is the moment at a SUM 41 show where Deryck becomes, as they used to say in our dearly departed Yugoslavia, ‘technologically redundant’ — you simply cannot hear him. The crowd takes his entire vocal on their own shoulders! The emotional release at this point in the show is extraordinary. As if all that madness during Fat Lip wasn’t already enough, another shot comes right behind it, hitting the crowd like a parking warden in Ljubljana going after deadbeats — Still Waiting. The packed hall of young, and slightly older, faces kept the energy up as circle pits and mosh pits rolled in one after another, in a sea of over 15,000 people. At the end of Still Waiting, SUM 41 breathe a quick goodbye and disappear from the stage. The slightly older ones in the crowd probably still remember the old days and Nirvana’s last tour, when singer Kurt Cobain refused to play »Smells Like Teen Spirit« live any more. The association with the band vanishing before your eyes sent a chill down the spine — you start wondering whether SUM 41 too no longer want to play »In Too Deep«. Will we hear it one last time, or not?
Well, after a minute the band returns of course, and to the crowd’s surprise they play »Summer« — which the band themselves described as their most famous old-school track, the one that appears on two albums. It’s also the track that used to appear twice in ancient setlists, since in the early days of SUM 41 they simply hadn’t written enough material yet.
The crowd is visibly fired up, expecting In Too Deep — but SUM 41 serve up one more with Waiting on a Twist of Fate from the new album. Then comes the moment when Deryck addresses the crowd, asking them to jump, sing, and party with them one last time. The first note drops and everyone knows the climax has arrived: In Too Deep! The screaming crowd starts ‘rowing’, and in the second half a circle pit follows — growing and spinning so fast it could power the wind turbines in Nickelsdorf. The screaming from the crowd could be compared to scenes from the iconic film »Home Alone«, when Kevin puts aftershave on his face and pulls those grimaces.
The song ends, the band takes a bow, tosses out picks and drumsticks, and waves goodbye. Almost half the venue thought the show was genuinely over this time; people start heading for the exits — when after two minutes Deryck and Tom fly back on stage to play the farewell track from the album »Underclass Hero«, So Long Goodbye. First just vocals with piano, then the rest of the band charges back on stage and, as befits SUM 41, they bid farewell to their fans in full metal form. As the singer already turns toward backstage and waves goodbye, he has a change of heart and announces to the crowd that SUM 41 will play one more song! Welcome to Hell, again from “Chuck”, which truly closes out the evening — an evening you’d wish would never end. Tears and hugs break out among the crowd as we all slowly make our way toward the exit.
Setlist:
1. Motivation
2. The Hell Song
3. Over My Head (Better Off Dead)
4. No Reason
5. Out for Blood
6. Underclass Hero
7. War
8. Noots
9. Landmines
10. Dopamine
11. Raining Blood (Slayer cover)
12. Master of Puppets (Metallica cover)
13. We’re All to Blame
14. Some Say
15. Screaming Bloody Murder
16. Walking Disaster
17. With Me
18. Makes No Difference
19. My Direction / No Brains / All Messed Up
20. Drum Solo
21. Preparasi a salire
22. Rise Up
23. Pieces
24. Fat Lip
25. Still Waiting
—encore I.—
26. Summer
27. Waiting on a Twist of Fate
28. In Too Deep
—encore II.—
29. So Long Goodbye (With metal outro)
30. Welcome to Hell
An evening of raw emotion for many who have followed SUM 41’s career for practically three decades — since the very beginning — the show left them in a state of joyful, satisfied euphoria at having properly said goodbye to the music of their teenage, or even elementary-school, years. The show itself was more than worth attending and, in its sheer perfection, closes a chapter in many people’s lives. And we won’t hold it against the band at all if they pull off their retirement much like certain unnamed American acts that have been doing farewell tours for several decades now.
Judging by the comments on social media, an appropriate farewell quote from the song “With Me”:
“I don’t want this moment to ever end,
Where everything’s nothing without you.”
Goodbye, SUM 41.
Authors: Helena Medved & Denis Paradiž
Photos: Denis Paradiž
Video: Denis Paradiž
