Never Shout Never: Warped Tour Concert Review

                                                        Christofer Drew of Never Shout Never playing for the crowd. 2010

The first thing I recall from this event was this: It was a very long day. As the day progressed I was trying my best to not fall asleep in between watching bands. Which was very hard, let me tell you. I was trying to save all of my energy for Never Shout Never's set, since they were the very last band to play. This was my very first time seeing them and I was so excited. As the last few bands played, people rushed to the pit to watch Never Shout Never's set. In a matter of minutes, the pit was packed full of anxious fans. I, being the short person that I am, couldn't see a thing, so I gladly moved to a seat where I could see everything perfectly.

As 8:15 rolled around, I was bouncing up and down, anxious and thrilled to hear all of my favorite songs played live and see the band that I love. I looked over to see my friend Shaughnessy, who is also a huge Never Shout Never fan, also bouncing in her seat. Just then, music started and the band quickly walked on stage, all except for lead singer Christofer Drew, who made his way to his stool on crutches. A word of advice to all of you reading this: do NOT jump off speakers. Nothing good ever comes out of it and you'll end up hurting your foot. Christofer even joked about it as a fan yelled, "Take your pants off!" he replied, "I can't. I have an injured foot, it's physically impossible for me to take my pants off right now." and laughed. But, despite being injured, Chris owned the stage with his humor and upbeat personality. I realized that for someone so small, Christofer Drew has so much love in him. It basically radiated out of him as he performed. You could literally feel how much he cared about every single person who was there and how thankful he was that we showed up to support them. In fact, during their set he constantly told us (the audience) how much he loved us, and that made every single person in that crowd feel special. Never Shout Never started their set with "Love Is Our Weapon" which everyone, including myself, screamed along.

After singing a few more songs, a male fan crowd-surfed his way up to the front and challenged Chris to a ukulele battle. Of course, Christofer laughed and accepted. He then had him come up on stage. The fan introduced himself, Bob was his name, and began to play a song, while Chris hopped on his good leg. The fact that Never Shout Never stopped their set to interact with a fan and invite him on stage with them just showed how incredible and kind this band is. Following Bob's song, the band continued to play "Trouble", but instead of singing the original version, Christofer replaced the word "she" with "Bob". (Example: "I'm in trouble, I'm an addict, I'm addicted to this BOB.") This was hysterical and I was singing that version all night long. In doing so, it made me love Christofer Drew even more because he showed that you don't have to be serious while performing; you can goof around and be silly. Never Shout Never also played "I Love You 5" and "Can't Stand It", two of my favorite songs. I don't think I could've screamed any louder. These songs were so upbeat and the audience danced and sang along with the band.

Sadly, like every other band, their set had to end. The very last song they performed was "The Past".  I'm not going to lie, this song made me cry. Not only is this a good song, but it has a lot of meaning to it. Hearing it live made me feel more connected to the band than I was before. Before singing a certain lyric, Christofer said "This next lyric is about my brother, who I miss very much." Him sharing that with us fans means more to us than you could ever imagine, believe me. Christofer wasn't just playing the music, but interacting with the audience and opening up to us, and that made the show. He even talked about his parents right before they played "What Is Love", which was about their divorce. He told us how much divorce sucked and how we all need to stay together for our kids so they won’t be “f***ed up”. Now my parents aren't divorced, but I'm sure that meant a lot to the fans who have gone through that experience. Knowing that someone else has gone through that probably made them feel a hell of a lot better. And knowing that someone is Christofer Drew, a person who they look up to and idolize, possibly made them an even bigger fan than they already were, I know that's how I would have felt.

As they finished playing their last song, the entire crowd roared with applause. With that, Christofer once again told us that he loved us and the band exited the stage. I strongly suggest that you attend a Never Shout Never show in the future; you’ll walk away from it feeling so happy and you’ll remember that feeling forever. Whether you’re black or white, gay or straight, fat or skinny; Never Shout Never’s music brings people together in a way no other band can. As soon as that music starts to play and you hear Christofer Drew singing the lyrics that mean more to you than anything in the whole world, you and everyone else in that audience has something in common: the love for that very band and that music. I guess what I’m trying to say is that Never Shout Never put on an outstanding show that night, one that I will never ever forget.

(Originally published on Never Shout Never's website in July 2010)