Photo Credit: Steve Barrass
All Time Low brought their “Tell Me I’m Alive” Tour to Stage AE in Pittsburgh on Wednesday night. This is the first time the band has performed in the Steel City since the Sad Summer Festival stop in September of 2021. It may have only been a little over 2 years but with the record turnout and ecstatic reaction throughout the night, you would think this was a once in a lifetime (pun intended; if you know, you know) occurrence.
We arrived on the scene approximately one hour to doors and was immediately taken back by the lines to enter the venue. The morning of the event, the show was officially declared ‘sold out’ and you could certainly see that before fans were allowed to enter. On one end was the line for VIP and ‘fast pass’ ticket holders, while general admission attendees were lined up around the corner. With that being said, it wasn’t long before you could barely tell the lines apart, as both were wrapped around the building and down the sidewalk that showcased the heart of Downtown Pittsburgh, Acrisure Stadium (formerly Heinz Field). Although the lines seemed a bit of a nightmare, the staff at Stage AE were fantastic at getting the fans in safe and quickly, with plenty of time to get situated before Games We Play took the stage to open the night.
If there were ever a perfect opener for a night of legendary pop-punk, Games We Play are the team of musicians to do it. With a 15 minute intermission after the evening’s opening act, it wasn’t long before Tallahassee’s original pop-punk kids took the stage. Mayday Parade has always been a staple in the pop-punk world and when they aren’t headlining their own tours, you can surely catch them on one of the hottest tour’s of the year (and yes, they are lined up for 2 of them already). Mayday Parade is always a hard act to follow, so you know the crowd was moving and singing along to every word frontman Derek Sanders’ belted out. With the high energy carrying on through their time slot and a setlist packed full of old and new hits, the fans were ready for their headliners.
Following along with the theme from the previous intermission, it was not long at all before the outdoor lights dimmed the stage and All Time Low frontman Alex Gaskarth greeted the crowd alone before retreating to the back of the stage, where a rose-covered piano was waiting to kick off the set. Alex began to play the opening keys of Tell Me I’m Alive, a single off of the band’s newly released album with the same title. While opening with a song of this nature isn’t normal for quartet from Baltimore, it felt like the perfect beginning, as the rest of the band came in a fourth of the way into the song to kick off the instrumentals and give off the electricity that everyone was patiently waiting for.
As that final note of the opening song rang, Alex quickly grabbed his guitar and the band rolled right into fan favorite Break Your Little Heart, off of the album “Nothing Personal.” The night rolled on with the band performing hit-after-hit from their almost 20 year career, with some lesser known gems sprinkled in between. Following the performance of the single PMA, Alex informed the crowd that this date was the largest crowd they have ever had come out to a show in Pittsburgh. This shows that even though the band has been around for almost 2 decades, they were not slowing down in popularity or momentum when it comes to solidifying their place in pop-punk history.
The boys from Baltimore ended the night with an encore performance of their most popular hits: Weightless (the most popular hit from “Nothing Personal), Monsters (the band’s first single to sit at number one on the Billboard Alternative list, where it remained for 18 weeks), and Dear Maria, Count Me In (the bands most popular song which has recently become a staple on social media for keeping the emo and pop-punk scene alive).
The night was more than anyone could have expected it to be. The crowd left more than pleased, taking away memories and they hopes of All Time Low returning to the Steel City much sooner than the two years they previously waited for the band’s return.
The “Tell Me I’m Alive” Tour continues on through the summer and wraps up on October 17th in Portland. If you’re looking to see Games We Play and Mayday Parade on the tour, check the tour dates fast, as the opening bands are swapped at the midway point. Be sure to visit our Instagram page for more photos and the night’s full setlist!