Simple Plan are certainly not everyone’s cup of tea- you either love or hate the band. The great thing about bands like this is that when they play shows, everyone there is a huge fan, and the crowd at Melbourne’s Palace Theatre on Tuesday night was one of the best I’ve ever been amongst. The venue was packed to the doors with over-18 fans who looked like they hadn’t grown up past the age of fourteen. Everyone was friendly, eager and excited to be there. The atmosphere was buzzing.

Support band Tonight Alive had an impressive following within the crowd, and their set was met with much enthusiasm. Having seen them supporting Anberlin a few months ago, it’s clear to see how quickly this female-fronted pop-punk band are making a big name for themselves, and it’s completely deserved. Their set at the Palace was explosive, passionate and they have some incredible tracks like ‘Breaking and Entering.’ Tonight Alive had the crowd excited, energized and ready for Simple Plan to take the stage.

Blasting onto the stage to a screaming crowd, the band launched straight into hit “Shut Up”, and the entire venue was already singing along. This was one of the only gigs I’ve ever been to where literally the entire venue was a die-hard fan, and it made for the best atmosphere I’ve ever experienced. Every single track was met with excitement and passionate sing-alongs, and when they started on recent hit ‘Can’t Keep My Hands Off You’, the whole room was jumping and dancing along. Between-song banter was fun and laced with sexual innuendo, pleasing many a fan girl in the room. One of the best things about the night was Simple Plan’s covers of pop songs like the Black Eyed Peas’ ‘I Got A Feeling’, Cee Lo Green’s ‘Fuck You’ and Taio Cruz’s ‘Dynamite.’ These tracks really got the crowd dancing and having fun. A longer set would have been amazing though, as the band only got to play through the hits from each of their albums, and I was dying to hear old favourites that were never released. Songs like ‘When I’m Gone’, ‘Addicted’ and ‘You Suck at Love’ were incredible to hear live, and perfect in such an intimate and fun venue.

Tonight Alive vocalist Jena joined the band for the duet ‘Jet Lag’, and she was a perfect fit for the song. One of my favourite tracks off the band’s new album, this song was incredible live. By this time of the night the atmosphere was incredible, and by the time the band finished with old hit ‘I’d Do Anything’ the mosh was alive and every single person was singing along. Returning for an encore to of emotional tracks ‘Anytime’ and ‘Perfect’, I could see a few tears in the crowd. We were all left dying for more.

An incredible night of music amongst a venue full of die-hard fans, Simple Plan played an excellent show and promised to return to Australia next year.