FESTIVAL REVIEW: When We Were Young Festival 2024

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Third time’s a charm? Back in October, 80,000 emos flocked to the annual edition of When We Were Young Festival in Las Vegas, all hoping to catch the bands that captured their hearts god-knows how many years ago. This year presented a unique twists on the past two editions – catering heavily to the nostalgia crowd, When We Were Young Festival promised full album playthroughs of some of their line-ups most iconic bands, including My Chemical Romance‘s ‘The Black Parade’ which would be their only performance that year. With a mouth-watering array of bands to sample, we flew out from the UK ready to capture what went down.

Thursday – October 17th

Before the weekend of When We Were Young Festival began, the organisers corralled some of the lineup together in venues across Vegas to perform at the official sideshows (which naturally immediately sold out). At the iconic Brooklyn Bowl, the trio of COBRA STARSHIP, 3OH!3 and MILLIONAIRES graced the stage one after the other, the room packed wall-to-wall with fans ready to celebrate the headlining band’s first show in over 10 years.

MILLIONAIRES opened the show, debuting the current lineup of Melissa Marie Green and new addition Meredith Hurley. Green had been soft-launching her return since 2021, DJing with the Emo Nite crew in LA where she befriended Hurley. Of course, MILLIONAIRES are famous for their party girl anthems and these scene queens clearly weren’t phased by their massive co-stars on the lineup. They paraded on stage dressed in eye-catching metallics, glitters, and of course oversized bows, amping the crowd up with songs like Party Like a Millionaire, Take Your Shirt Off and closing with the aptly named Alcohol. The duo kicked strongly off the weekend by taking the crowd back to simpler times, with no-frills happy-go-lucky tunes, perfect for those clearly ready to party.

Rating: 7/10

The girls were swiftly followed by Nathaniel Motte and Sean Foreman, making up icons of the 2010’s 3OH!3, framed on stage by a gigantic inflatable pair of yellow hands in their signature gesture, which they repeatedly encouraged the crowd to mimic throughout the set. The band recounted numerous irreverent hits like STARSTRUKK, My First Kiss, DONTTRUSTME in addition to newer songs like LONELY MACHINES, which still ring controversial in 2024. Despite this, it appeared the crowd could not have cared less and the whole room consistently jumped up and down, belting the often misogynistic lyrics. Whether you agree with their tongue-in-cheek ways or not, 3OH!3 certainly know how to rile up a crowd and it is no wonder that they continue to be asked to return year after year.

Rating: 8/10

Finally, the decade wait was over and it was time for COBRA STARSHIP. Arguably the monarchs of the crunkcore era, COBRA STARSHIP‘s legacy remains untouched and the tension was palpable when Gabe Saporta, Victoria Asher aka Vicky T, Nate Novarro and new guitarist Thrash graced the stage. Despite the years passing since their last live performance, frontman Gabe brought the same gusto he did back in the day and gave a strong evermoving performance, despite the odd vocal wobble here and there. Frequently gracing the outstretched arms of the crowd and encouraging the audience to sing and mosh along, the room was truly electric and the audience recanted back song after song, like no time had passed. The band even continued tradition by bringing a fan up on stage to do Travie McCoy’s rap in Bring It (Snakes On A Plane). Oddly, COBRA STARSHIP‘s set ended up being shorter than 3OH!3‘s, but nevertheless included hits from their contracted legacy album ¡Viva La Cobra! such as Guilty Pleasure and Kiss My Sass, as well as the ever-famous Good Girls Go Bad and Pete Wentz Is the Only Reason We’re Famous. This was only the beginning of When We Were Young Festival for the trio of bands, and based on this crowd’s reception, it was the start of a chaotic, beer-fuelled weekend of nostalgia.

Rating: 8/10

Saturday & Sunday – October 19th & 20th

DAISY GRENADE – Pink Stage

As the gates opened sharp at 10am, festival goers pouring in could hear the echoes of DAISY GRENADE christening the Pink [side of the main] Stage. This youthful pop-punk duo comprised of best friends Dani Nigro and Keaton Whittaker were signed by none other than headliner FALL OUT BOY‘s very own Pete Wentz, to his starter label DCD2 Records and controversially were one of the few female-fronted acts on the line-up for When We Were Young Festival. The New York twosome brought their ‘bubble punk’ A-game to the stage, premiering their feisty new song How To Hide A Body and ending with the upbeat Hypocrite. Despite the early start, by the end of their set, fans had flocked to see them and the crowd was surprisingly dense for the first act on the lineup. The girls were beautifully coordinated and sync’d for their performance and brought a polished stage presence to a normally chaotic Vegas crowd – these two are definitely ones to watch in the scene.

Rating: 7/10

UNDEROATH – Pink Stage

When We Were Young Festival brought back many heavy hitters and former kings of the US alternative scene this year, one of the heaviest sounding being UNDEROATH. They were one of the few artists who performed down to the last letter in their contract and as instructed played their album They’re Only Chasing Safety back to front, in order. Drummer Aaron Gillespie, keyboardist Christopher Dudley, lead guitarist Timothy McTague, bassist Grant Brandell and vocalist Spencer Chamberlain did not let their years on some of the other bands tame their performance and brought tonnes of headbanging and crashing melodies to the stage.

Playing the festival in the middle of their US headline tour celebrating the 20th anniversary of this same album, you could spot their hardcore support band STATIC DRESS‘ Olli Appleyard smirking and banging his head at side along with the festival crowd to A Boy Brushed Red Living in Black And White and It’s Dangerous Business Walking Out Your Front Door. UNDEROATH were a refreshing change in sound for the more melodic pop-punk throws of the rest of the mainstage line-up and left the same as they entered, with quiet knowing confidence. 

Rating: 8/10

SIMPLE PLAN – Pink Stage

There is nothing quite like seeing tens of adults in Scooby-Doo onesies crash the stage mid-set at a festival, and much less hearing the tens of thousands strong crowd go wild for it, but if there is one thing that SIMPLE PLAN do, it’s make you grin ear to ear. (Supposed to be) playing through their album No Pads, No Helmets…Just Balls during the height of the Nevada sun, members Chuck Comeau, Jeff Stinco and Sébastien Lefebvre delivered a truly wholesome and infectiously happy set, with frontman Pierre Bouvier interspersing songs with positive messages and heartfelt thank yous.

Even for a festival playing into the stereotype of emo kids who never grew up, it was clear that SIMPLE PLAN were not only dearly loved by the many fans who figuratively jumped at the chance to hit the bouncing inflatable balls in the crowd, but also by their industry peers as for their performance of “I’m Just A Kid”, the band brought on Boys Like Girls‘ Martin Johnson, Tonight Alive‘s Jenna McDougall, We The Kings‘ Travis Clark and both Derek’s of Mayday Parade and State Champs (Sanders and DiScanio). Alongside the classics “I’d Do Anything” and “Shut Up!”, a mashup of Smash Mouth‘s “All Star”, Avril Lavigne‘s “Sk8er Boi” and The Killer‘s “Mr. Brightside” snuck its way onto the setlist, so it looks like their cheeky charm allowed them to get away with twisting the rules ever so slightly.

Rating: 9/10

PIERCE THE VEIL – Purple Stage

PIERCE THE VEIL transform the stage into a full scale replica of their 2012 Collide With The Sky album cover. As the lights go up, anxious chatter can be heard amongst the crowd who debate whether they will play Tangled In The Great Escape and spread the rumour that Kellin Quinn of SLEEPING WITH SIRENS may make a guest appearance. The San Diego rockers don’t hold out, opening with May These Noises Startle You In Your Sleep Tonight then ripping straight into Hell Above without pause. They power through the album, notably skipping King For A Day but riling up the crowd at every given opportunity.

Of course there was no chance of PIERCE THE VEIL leaving without performing their most popular song (at least not without the risk of rioting on the streets of Las Vegas). It seems that the copious amount of speculation has failed to adequately prepare fans for the moment Kellin Quinn enters the stage. The crowd erupt in feverish screams as Vic Fuentes announces his arrival right after singing out the opening lines of King For A Day. Ending their set with Hold On ‘till May featuring one last surprise guest, Jenny McDougall of TONIGHT ALIVE, some fans are quite literally in tears as they exit the stage.

Rating: 9/10

JIMMY EAT WORLD – Pink Stage

Building up to the finale headline acts of the evening and with the sun firmly set, JIMMY EAT WORLD opened with the eponymous single to their promised album, Bleed American, getting the crowd off to a good start jumping around. Whilst Jim Adkins sung a flawless rendition of their musical number The Middle, after this song the set as a whole fell flat and felt unremarkable against the earlier high energy performances of the day. The accompaniments of Zach Lind, Tom Linton and Rick Burch to the acoustics Your House and Hear You Me halted the energy of the field and even cued some yawning.

Unfortunately, it felt very stationary and discordant, and despite being a widely known name in the scene, with this lineup they felt somewhat out of place, despite having toured earlier in the spring with FALL OUT BOY to the delight of both fanbases. Whilst technically impressive, this album was possibly a poor and unremarkable choice to have played in full to a crowd of mostly millennial adults trying to push past their tiredness to stay up into the night.

Rating: 5/10

FALL OUT BOY – Pink Stage

Always the outcasts even within the alternative scene, FALL OUT BOY were one of two bands who declined to play through a singular album but instead created a whole stage show specifically for When We Were Young Festival. It was designed to rotate through the band’s years in a TAYLOR SWIF Eras Tour, or as bassist Pete Wentz put it, “designed to be in… a high school auditorium once on a warm Sunday”. In terms of production and stage value, few other bands committed to the intense theatricality of the Chicagoans, complete with flying sheep props, masked cheerleader dancers and a gigantic inflatable bear/boy.

Having spoken very openly in the past about being wary to succumb to creative endeavours based on eras bygone, the foursome curated a sampling of hits and sporadic deep cuts, starting from their first studio album Take This To Your Grave with Chicago Is So Two Years Ago all the way through to their eighth record So Much (For) Stardust with the eponymous closing track. One thing that has dramatically changed since their start in 2003 is their stage presence, and this could be clearly seen that weekend by those who may have last seen them on the infamous Warped Tour. Lead vocalist Patrick Stump used to cower behind his low fitted hat to avoid seeing the crowd, yet now he grooves back and forth with his guitar, completely unafraid to unleash his startling voice and flawlessly execute vocal runs on his grand piano.

Drummer Andy Hurley ripped through the iconic drumlines of Dance, Dance and I Don’t Care whilst flashing grins to the audience, and guitarist Joe Trohman – who once used to leap off stage equipment and swing his instrument roundabout in flashy mannerisms – now simply revels in his trills and lets his sharp riffs speak for themselves. A unique things about FALL OUT BOY fans is that there is no common age – many have joined steadily across the years, with no clear ‘peak’ era to speak of – this reflected well at When We Were Young Festival when the band could cut their vocals and let the 80,000 strong cover their lyrics for them at virtually any point, whether to Sugar, We’re Goin Down or Centuries (they’ve had years to decipher Stump‘s early annunciation at this point).

The final flourish to their finale was the dramatic reveal of their random song chosen by a larger-than-life 80’s Magic 8 ball toy, which resulted in GYM CLASS HEROES’ Travie McCoy taking the stage for a rendition of Cupid’s Chokehold on Saturday, followed by Wiz Khalifa for See You Again on Sunday, sending the crowd wild. Crew dressed like hospital staff tied Wentz into a harness to soar into the sky with a cluster of Up-inspired balloons in hand for their famous closer Saturday, before he made a mad dash to fall into a sea of outstretched arms in the crowd under outpourings of confetti. Undoubtedly, FALL OUT BOY took first place for the best performance and production of the weekend and firmly reminded desert-goers why they remain one of the largest and most revered rock bands in the world.

Rating: 10/10

MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE – Purple Stage

For many, the announcement that not only would MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE be headlining When We Were Young Festival in 2024, but that they would be playing the iconic 2006 album The Black Parade in full for the first time since 2007, came as as a Richter scale qualifying shock.

After a full day of audience anticipation, Ray Toro, Gerard Way, Mikey Way and Frank Iero take to the stage dressed smartly in all black. As heart monitor bleeps echo out across the festival grounds, signifying the beginning of The End, Gerard Way assumes his position and the magic truly begins. The silhouettes of the band are projected onto the backdrop by spotlighting. It’s a hauntingly beautiful.

It’s clear from the off that MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE are still on the same incredible form they were for their 2022-23 reunion tour. Gerard Way commands the audience with his signature blend of enthusiastic bouncing and dramatic flare. The energy from the rest of the band is just as vibrant, and is particularly impressive on Iero‘s part, with the rhythm guitarist having already opened the festival much earlier in the day with a full as part of L.S DUNES.

The energy and the atmosphere are unrelenting as the band thrash their way through each track, the backdrop chopping and changing from silhouettes to swords, to a black widow spider, and back again. The highlights of this incredible set were Kayleigh Goldsworthy joining the stage to play violin for Cancer and Mama, an elevated and more ethereal rendition of Disenchanted, and the unexpected and beautiful reprise of Welcome to the Black Parade at the end of Famous Last Words.

Rating: 10/10 

Words: Sash Vee, Alex Morgan

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