With sales of their sophomore record Move Along pushing impressive numbers and huge rotation on TV, the Apollo was understandably bustling.  | | Matchbook Romance |
Girls screaming for Rejects frontman Tyson Ritter had New York’s Matchbook Romance to get through first. Back with a new album and a moodier edge, the band impressed, their sound rooted in pop-punk, but with a nasty bite. Recent single Monsters and the anthemic Promise raised huge ovations from the crowd. Prompting comparisons to everybody from Muse to Brand New, there was a little to suit every palate. As the headliners took the stage, and opened with Dirty Little Secret, a number of pressing matters came to mind. Firstly, and arguably most importantly, The All American Rejects are among the best writers of power-pop still making music. With such a huge arsenal of grade A choruses and crowd favourites after only two albums, credit has to go where it’s due.  | | The All-American Rejects |
However, having seen the band multiple times before, the evening’s events were somewhat marred by an undeniable feeling of predictability. The transition to a bigger venue has brought nothing new to the stage set up, Ritter’s once charming routines between songs now feeling tiresome. Whilst this didn’t completely overshadow the night, largely due to the constant barrage of gems like My Paper Heart and Stab My Back, there was always the notion that it had all been done before. For those in attendance who were witnessing the Rejects, possibly even a live show, for the first time, the band provided everything you could have hoped for, but the more savvy members of the audience weren’t as inclined to scream at the fourth time ‘Manchester’ replaced a word in a song. | 
