Source: Promo
For anybody in their twenties to early thirties who grew up listening to rock music, Good Charlotte are often considered a staple to their likely dusty collection of CDs. The Madden brothers are practically household names at this point, twenty years in to a brilliant career that has produced singles that will remain classics forever— ‘Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous‘ and ‘Girls & Boys‘ to name just a few. Ahead of their Reading & Leeds festival performances, the quintet took to the stage at O2 Forum Kentish Town to put on an intimate show for their most adoring fans. Unsurprisingly, the show sold out, making it all the more special for both the band and their fans.
There was a buzz of excitement in the room as the stereo music faded and Good Charlotte made their way on to the stage, immediately jumping in to a play through of ‘The Anthem‘, a well-known tune for both die hard and fair weather fans alike. It’s a sad but true fact that a lot of pop punk bands that have been going for 15+ years start to crumble in terms of talent, but these guys still manage to have everything perfected to a T— Joel Madden remains to be an incredible vocalist, while Benji Madden and Billy Martin excel on guitar even now.
For the most part, tracks for the setlist were taken from the band’s most successful record, 2002’s The Young and the Hopeless. It was surprising, to say the least, as the band have only just released their sixth studio album, Youth Authority. A handful of tracks made the cut, but it became apparent that this show was Good Charlotte giving back to their oldest, most dedicated fans who are better acquainted with their first couple of albums.
It seemed every single person could sing along word for word to every song the band offered up, from ‘Predictable‘ to ‘The Motivation Proclamation‘. There was no point in the set where things fell flat as Good Charlotte kept the energy high with both their stellar performance and their witty banter, making it near impossible to even try and fault their set up.
These shows leading up to huge festivals such as Reading & Leeds are dubbed as ‘warm up shows’ but Good Charlotte made it fairly obvious that they don’t need much in the way of practice. They’re able to entertain their audiences at the drop of a hat— even if it isn’t 2007 anymore. They make it clear from the way they talk on stage that they have a duty of care for the fans who have given them all they could ever dream of, which is a nice touch since a lot of older, bigger bands tend to lose sight of what matters the most and, more importantly, the reason behind why they’re able to enjoy such a prosperous career.
Finishing off with a triple threat of ‘Dance Floor Anthem‘, ‘I Just Wanna Live‘ and ‘Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous‘, Good Charlotte well and truly finished with a bang. Fans sang, danced and moshed their hearts out while they still had a chance, and so it was no surprise when the venue vacated and everyone was dripping with sweat, desperate for water and/or their beds. All in all, an evening well spent.
