There was always a reason why, out of all 2010s pop-punk bands, Neck Deep lasted beyond just the viral TikTok song to skyrocket to success.
It was clear from the moment they took the stage for their biggest headlining (and sold-out) show to date at London’s Alexandra Palace that they were always meant for the bigger things. Throughout the night, the band easily incited the crowd into laughter, cheers, sing-alongs, and mosh pits to the back of the venue, using only their authentic casualness and infectious energy to back their catchy anthems.
Drain was the first opening act, and they took their job very seriously. Out of all the acts that night, I went in the least familiar with their work and came out of it incredibly impressed. The hardcore band worked well with the pop-punk audience, imbuing them with enough energy for waves of crowd surfing, and frontman Sammy Ciaramitaro was entertaining to watch as he jumped onto the barricade or joined his bandmates in playing (air) guitar riffs.
With Knuckle Puck, there was a second-act slump only on account of the fact that they were following up Drain’s intense performance. Despite providing a setlist more in line with Neck Deep’s discography, it was clear that the audience had already been accustomed to the energy of a hardcore band, and they were less receptive to Knuckle Puck. Still, the Chicago-born quintet played well, and tracks like “Gone” from 2017’s album Shapeshifter were fun to hear live.
When Neck Deep finally took the stage, they launched into their newest era, playing “Dumbstruck Dumbf*ck” off their self-titled album to a chorus of cheers. Throughout, the Welsh quintet couldn’t keep their smiles hidden as they heard their lyrics reciprocated by the extensive audience for what was essentially a homecoming to them.
Backed by five LED panels spanning the stage’s length, Neck Deep balanced their visuals between nostalgia and fun. One of the best backdrops crystallized each of the band’s albums into stained glass windows; meanwhile, others were goofier, like the dancing aliens for “Take Me With You” and the animated blue goddess Kali wagging her tongue behind the live performance of “Kali Ma” from 2015’s Life’s Not Out to Get You. Interspersed throughout, bursts of smoke and fire turned the concert into a full-on spectacle.
As a long introduction to “We Need More Bricks,” Ben Barlow described how he was told to use his voice to amplify others in support of what was right. He launched into a list, insulting the UK’s Conservative Party, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, and the United States’ upcoming presidential candidates for re-election, Joe Biden and Donald Trump. Epitomizing the anti-establishment mindset of punk, Barlow shouted, “fuck every single politician and corporation that is rinsing the working people of this country or […] decimating impoverished countries for their own gain!” The frontman had strong follow-through, swearing that he wouldn’t be silenced on the subject as he called for Palestine to be freed from the genocide by Israel. At the end of the speech, cheers erupted through the venue, and the band launched into the track, which was brimming with frustrated sadness and hope.
Toward the end of the night, Neck Deep unsurprisingly participated in the classic encore custom, running back onto the stage to launch into “STFU” in response to the crowd’s egged-on chanting of “fuck Neck Deep!” Paying homage to some of their newest music, they closed the show out satisfyingly with their older music, including 2015’s “Can’t Kick Up The Roots” and “In Bloom” off of 2017 album The Peace and the Panic. With flowers blossoming across the backdrop, blue-and-pink confetti swirling through the air, and thousands of voices joined in unison, the night culminated in a warm and triumphant high.
Despite being a relative newcomer to the genre, trailing far behind the wave of popularity that overtook the early 2000s, Neck Deep still epitomized everything great about it. From catchy music to the tendency to not take themselves too seriously (but also the willingness to platform issues of the youth and the world with refreshing abrasiveness), it’s easy to believe that the sky’s the limit for this pop-punk band.
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