Dan Swank & All Time Low at The Fillmore

Gatrs November 4, 2021 Events

I was honestly super torn about going to the show on Saturday night. One on hand, the band is a band I’ve been listening to for over half of my life. On the other hand, there are some pretty serious allegations against a member of the band that have been all but dismissed by said member and the band in general. I went back and forth in my head about going or not going to the show but, in the end, I am a concert addict and I just can’t stay away.

I didn’t know what to expect as far as openers as my friends and I walked up to The Fillmore. Was there even going to be an opener? Or was it just going to be the one headlining act and that was it?

Due to the allegations of sexual misconduct against the headlining act, the two openers who I was really excited to see dropped off of the tour. I honestly don’t blame Meet Me At The Altar or Nothing,Nowhere for dropping off. It was a very good move on their part and I fully support their decision and truly admire it as being on a tour of this magnitude for both acts was huge and a great platform for them. I didn’t know what to expect as far as openers as my friends and I walked up to The Fillmore. Was there even going to be an opener? Or was it just going to be the one headlining act and that was it? We got in the packed venue just in time for Dan Swank to take the stage.

I was a bit surprised that the band was able to find an opening act so last minute (the opening acts just dropped off earlier this week) but it made more sense as I looked up this opener’s name. Dan Swank was the man who had taken over the opening slot and he is also a touring member of the headliner. It made sense that they would just have a member pull double duty to help fill out the night but it also felt a bit like a cop-out. That being said, Dan’s opening acoustic set was actually perfect. A perfect set of nostalgic and sad slow songs with an undeniable sense of passion and energy, I started to wonder why the band had never utilized Dan as an opener before. Again, I know it’s a bit of a cop-out for a band to use one of their own members as an opening act but Dan’s set was just too perfect to be ignored.

If you want to know more about the cloud of drama the band finds themselves in right now, feel free to dig into it. Long story short- a lot of women have come out against a certain member of this band for doing some really bad things.

Okay, time to stop beating around the bush. Let’s get down to it– All Time Low. I honestly love this band so much. Their pop-punk perfection hit me back in my angsty teenage years over a decade ago and although I don’t follow them like I used to, whenever one of their songs starts playing through my speakers, a smile stretches across my face. I really debated how much I wanted to dive into the allegations against this band and I honestly just don’t feel like that’s my place. If you want to know more about the cloud of drama the band finds themselves in right now, feel free to dig into it. Long story short- a lot of women have come out against a certain member of this band for doing some really bad things. That is not okay. It’s not acceptable and is a problem that seems to be plaguing the music world as a whole. I’ll be honest, I’m heartbroken that allegations like this are hitting a band that I hold so dear to my heart but that’s the reality. I think that in my heart of hearts, I went to the show on Saturday night hoping to hear them address all of this but I also think that I knew they wouldn’t. Their stance on the whole situation has been to deny, deny, deny. It’s a very bold move and, again, I won’t get into the specifics or even my stance on the situation but there you have it. This is why I was torn on going to the show on Saturday night but there I found myself, on the floor of The Fillmore listening to my childhood come through the speakers.

All Time Low’s show on Saturday was flawless. I mean, completely flawless. Their twenty-song set was full of songs both old and new. There were moments of tenderness and emotion and moments that were nothing short of a party. With confetti and streamers blasting off a few times throughout the show, there’s no denying that, even though these guys have been doing this for decades, they haven’t missed a single beat. The energy that radiated from both the stage and the audience was electric and it was impossible to not get lost in the excitement of it all. My friends and I stood there just soaking it all in. Although, for me, it was mostly a night of nostalgia, it was fun to see some of the younger crowd take in the show without that element of hazy nostalgia. Not many bands from the early 2000’s pop-punk era have been able to stay as relevant as All Time Low and that really says everything about this band that needs to be said.

From their new hit song “Monsters” to when they closed out their set with arguably their most popular track “Dear Maria, Count Me In”, my friends and I were smiling through the whole thing while screaming along to every word. Twenty songs is definitely a sufficiently long set but there were so many more songs that I wanted to hear. I truly forgot just how many iconic tracks this band has from their eight album career. Regardless of if you heard the tracks you wanted to hear or not, every song was done with a sense of perfection while it was clear that the band was still having fun on stage. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the way the members interacted with not only the crowd but with each other. Since 2003, this band has had the same four core members and the bond between them is clearly unbreakable and one of the secret ingredients to making such a long-lasting and successful band.

I was on the fence about going to the show on Saturday night but, when push came to shove, I just couldn’t stay away and I ended up having a great time. Regardless of the current situation All Time Low has found themselves in, they are a solid band with a devoted following and an amazing live show that’s full of power and passion.

Line Up:

Dan Swank

All Time Low

Venue: The Fillmore

Smell-O-Meter: Nothing Notable

Average Age of the Crowd: 19

Crowd Surfers: None

Mosh-ability: 4 out of 10

Sausage-Fest Meter:3 out of 10

Stage Divers: None

Amount of Beer Spilled On Me While Walking Around: None

Broken Bones: None Noticed