By Photojournalist Chaz Dykes of Chaz D Photography

Call it skate punk, pop punk or anthem punk, Sum 41 & Simple Plan brought their Blame Canada tour into the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Tampa Event Center on Wednesday May 25th, and like skater legend Tony Hawk, they landed the 900. Both acts came out blazing and hit the crowd with a non-stop barrage of energy. This was a perfect pairing of bands, and they both killed it. They performed all of the fan’s favorite songs and everyone in the crowd sang along.

Simple Plan drummer put on a protective suit and a respirator and jumped into the audience and crowd surfed around and back to the stage. He said, “I’ve waited a long time to be able to do that again.” They performed “Shut Up,” “Jump,” and “What’s New Scooby Doo.” They also did a medley of “All Star,” “Sk8ter Boi, i” and “Mr. Brightside.” The set ended with “Perfect.” Sum 41 wasted no time getting down to business. Their energy was explosive and contagious. Song after song from “Over My Head” and “Still Waiting” they never tired. The fans and the band seem to feed off of each other’s energy.

This show brought back all the great memories from the early 2000’s and movies like American Pie. Sum 41 had two songs on the American Pie soundtrack, “In To Deep” and “Fat Lip.” Kudos to the Hard Rock for bringing these guys to Tampa. This show was overdue and a well needed kick in the ass to escape from the last two years of dealing with a pandemic.