Words: Miljan Milekić
Rarely does a tour announcement take me off guard like this one. 20th Anniversary? Of what? There’s no way ‘Don’t You Fake It’ is twenty years old. Granted, I discovered the band slightly later, when I first heard ‘False Pretense’ in ‘Never Back Down,’ but still, when did that happen? Once I did the math, sure, it all checks out, but in my mind, the record doesn’t feel old.
And then it dawned on me at the show. While addressing the crowd between songs, singer Ronnie Winter thanked everyone who followed the band from the early days. He mentioned how grateful and happy they feel to be doing this for the past 23 years, with no hiatus or breakup. And that felt like a key to me. ‘Don’t You Fake It’ doesn’t feel old, because The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus don’t feel old. Much like All Time Low, Mayday Parade, or A Day to Remember – bands from a similar scene and with a similar timeline – they never went away. They were always present, releasing music and playing shows, and for the fans who were with them during this journey, there was never a need for nostalgia.
To further my point, the show was sold out, and while a good chunk of the crowd was, like myself, in their mid-to-late 30s or older, we were far from being the majority. The front rows especially were filled with younger fans, singing and screaming every word Ronnie and K Enagonio delivered from the stage. Songs like ‘In Fate’s Hands’ and ‘Waiting’ were enough to start things off, followed by ‘Slipping Through (No Kings)’ from last year’s ‘X’s for Eyes.’ The first huge moment, however, came with ‘False Pretense,’ which felt like it was sung by every single person in the room. While ‘Don’t You Fake It’ was the main focus of the show, this wasn’t a typical “front-to-back” type of show, nor did they actually play all the songs from the record. There was a place for ‘Brace Yourself’ and ‘Is This the Real World?’ to be slotted in the middle of the set, before the band started raising the energy again – by slowing things down a bit.
‘Cat and Mouse’ and ‘Your Guardian Angel’ were accompanied by emotional speeches and wholesome moments of a two-way conversation with the crowd, and the mandatory reminder that racists, homophobes, and assholes are not welcome to their shows. They also promised to be back next year at the same venue, which obviously made a lot of people happy. Late in the show, a couple of “elder emo” jokes reminded everyone that, after all, they are a band for more than two decades, before delivering a cover of ‘All The Small Things’ by Blink-182. The final song of the night, as a surprise to no one, came in the form of ‘Face Down,’ the band’s biggest track and one of the most important songs in their catalogue, addressing the hard topic of domestic abuse.
Apart from the headliners, the show brought three more bands from various corners of the pop punk and emo landscape. The first two slots were reserved for Morning in May and Losers Club, who we sadly missed. The third band of the night was Edmonton’s own Calling All Captains. This was my third time seeing the band in just under three years, and I feel like every single time was better than the last.
Riding high on the release of their new EP ‘The Things That I’ve Lost,’ they delivered songs like ‘Call Me’ and ‘Dark Clouds,’ with ‘A New Type of Gray’ coming in a bit later, to be met with a massive singalong. A mini “set within a set” came in with back-to-back ‘wallflower’ and ‘skin & bones’ from 2024’s EP ‘(e)motion sickness,’ two songs that have become a staple in their sets from the moment they were released. The end of the show, however, was reserved for two older heavy hitters, ‘Chasing Ghosts’ and ‘Fool’s Gold.’
When it comes to Calling All Captains, I feel like the band is more than ready for the next step, and it is just a matter of time before it happens. I’ve seen them twice at the Black Cat Tavern, and the second show was bigger and better in every sense. And now, seeing them hit the stage at a larger venue like Louis’ makes me wonder how long it will be until they headline a tour like this. They have the songs, they have energy, and the connection they have with fans feels very special. Twice in the past, I’ve seen “small” bands and just knew they were time bombs ready to explode. Those bands happened to be Neck Deep and While She Sleeps. I feel like tonight I was looking at the third one.
