Sum 41 Leaves Dallas Crowd 'Still Waiting' For More
Photos + Words by Sam Rice
“Did you get some good photos, baby?” A clearly intoxicated woman easily in her late 30’s asked me while I was walking out of the photo pit.
“I think I did!” I replied, leading her to come up and lay a liquor-laden kiss on my cheek. If people had half as good of a time as that lady had, I’d say it was a successful Sum 41 performance.
The rain drizzled on hundreds of Sum 41 fans as they lined up and down the blocks of downtown Dallas. Fans charged through the House of Blues security, some skipping steps as they climbed the staircase to The Cambridge Room. Being a band from the late 90s, I wasn’t surprised to be one of the only people there under the age of thirty. What did surprise me though, was the amount of energy packed into that room.
The lights dimmed and the stage glowed a deep purple. Brandon Stewart, the drummer of opener Assuming We Survive, walked up on stage with his hands raised above his head. Soon after bassist Kris Pasos joined him and finally guitarist Phil Adams walked up last sporting an LGBT rights tee. Halfway through the set, Adams stopped the music and announced that the next few songs were dedicated to a transgender fan, showing the band’s supportive spirits. Fans seemed to love the show; the crowd went as far as to dedicate one person to catch all of the crowd surfers.
The set ended quickly, and the crowd started to eagerly talk about what was to come from Sum 41. Halfway through the intermission, “T.N.T” by AC/DC began, leading the entire crowd into an impromptu karaoke session.
After what felt like hours, Sum 41 took the stage and drummer Frank Zummo, began a thrilling solo. Lead guitarist Dave Baksh, and bassist Jason McCaslin joined him under the bright red stage lights. Soon after, lead singer Deryck Whibley marched in with fans screaming.
Starting the show with “No Reason”, fans instantly joined in the act. Every single person in the venue knew the words to not only the first song, but every song on the setlist. After introducing the band members, Zummo started “Walking Disaster”, an instant hit. About halfway through the set, Whibley announced “this show is exactly the same as when we were just starting out, when we were nineteen” as they were gearing up to play “Machine Gun” which made the crowd go wild.
Soon enough, the set went quiet. Some people thought the show had abruptly ended. After a few moments of hesitation, Deryck stood back up and yelled “I have three words for you… In. Too. Deep.” Mosh pits instantly broke out. The first crowd surfers of the set started, and they didn't stop until the end of the night.
After a few more songs such as “Still Waiting” and “Hell Song”, the band quickly left the stage. The Dallas crowd wasn’t going to let them off that easily though, fans started screaming their name and chanting for them to come back. The band hopped back up to perform three final songs, ending with “Fat Lip”, another Sum 41 classic. It was an incredible night filled with fans moshing, crowd surfing, and singing their hearts out.
