Live review: Neck Deep, O2 Academy Birmingham

Ben Barlow has a habit of saying “cheers” after each song, and he can’t help but laugh at himself for it. Why? Because he thinks it sounds like he’s saying “jizz”. Growing up on enough blink-182 will do that to a guy.

The delirium may be partly due to a tinge of nerves too, as it’s the first night of Neck Deep’s UK Dumbstruck Dumbfuck tour. Though they did Ally Pally last spring and a double shift at Reading and Leeds in August, it’s been a hot minute since the Wrexham fivesome did a proper trek on home soil (the last being their All Distortions Are Intentional 2022 stint). With that in mind, Birmingham is chuffed they’ve hopped over the Welsh border to help forget the menacing outside world for a night of pop-punk frolic.

Pushing things into swing are One Step Closer, and they’re anything but shy. Vocalist ​​Ryan Savitski wants more energy, crowd surfers, and pits. Though the crowd are just defrosting from the bitter winds of Storm Éowyn, Brum is happy to bob along. “Don’t be a fucking pussy!” he calls before they stomp into Blur My Memory. Charming, sir.

It’s a sturdy opener that loosens limbs for a bit more life before The Wonder Years. The Pennsylvania outfit took Neck Deep on their first ever pop-punk tour back in 2013, and the gratitude for the returned favour is present in their grins. Frontman Dan Campbell beams throughout, as stage lights cast a warm blanket over the audience, and he looks us in the eyes, calling on Birmingham to sing with him. He can save his voice for the chorus GODDAMNITALL, and the‘oh-woah’s’ of Came Out Swinging: the job's done for him.

The band of the night bounce out to the tour's titular track, and as they work the stage, confetti cannons mark the start of what is rightly a night of celebration. Since their self-titled album dropped last year, Neck Deep have kept themselves very busy, not least trekking across Europe on Sum 41's final hurrah. Guitarists Matt West and Sam Bowden spin in lively pirouettes while Seb Barlow and Matt Powles keep the rhythm section tight, platformed at the back.

Despite opening nights sometimes bringing forth technical hitches needing to be ironed out, it's seamless, like they’ve been on the road for months already. Pondering just this, Ben quotes the viral “sometimes maybe good, sometimes maybe shit” meme from football manager Gennaro Gattuso, before assuring us that actually, it’s going pretty damn well. Especially when they bless the Academy with a deep cut or two, with the tender I Revolve performed especially beautifully.

It’s a reminder of just how beloved this band are, with a full venue ready to sing it back, despite the track being one Ben deems as overlooked. Many in this room will have navigated the friction of their teen years or the confusion of their 20s to the messages upheld within this band. As gold lighting later swells across the pit for Gold Steps, the lyrics of ‘‘Cause sometimes things will bend you / But trust me you’ll be fine’ have a bittersweet taste.

After classic December, they come back with a mighty encore spanning four belters, and even make time to thank everyone, and we mean everyone – from crew to bar staff, and security, the lot. Neck Deep got to where they are because of their humility. For a band that has always sung about softness, they continue to prove that being humble and patient with life is what really sees us In Bloom…

Setlist

1. Dumbstruck Dumbf**k
2. Sort Yourself Out
3. It Won't Be Like This Forever
4. Take Me With You
5. Heartbreak of the Century
6. The Beach Is for Lovers (Not Lonely Losers)
7. Go Outside!
8. I Revolve
9. Motion Sickness
10. Gold Steps
11. Smooth Seas Don't Make Good Sailors
12. Can't Kick Up the Roots
13. She's a God
14. December

Encore
15. We Need More Bricks
16. STFU
17. In Bloom

Neck Deep tour the UK until January 31

Read this: Neck Deep: “We’ve hit a point where we don’t have anything to prove, and we’ve still got room to grow – so we just keep doing it”