“No, you don’t know what it’s like
When nothing feels all right
You don’t know what it’s like to be like me
To be hurt, to feel lost
To be left out in the dark
To be kicked when you’re down
To feel like you’ve been pushed around
To be on the edge of breaking down
And no one there to save you
No, you don’t know what it’s like
Welcome to my life.”
Those lyrics come from Pierre Bouvier, the lead singer of French-Candian pop punk band Simple Plan as he sings the chorus to the adolescent angst-ridden “Welcome to My Life.”
Years removed from the era in which Simple Plan first rose to fame, SCOPE will bring the indie-rock band to town along with supporting act Wavves for a free performance to celebrate Homecoming at 8 p.m. today on the Pentacrest.
Simple Plan formed in 1999. In 2002, the French-Canadian rockers released their first — and, to date, most popular — album, No Pads, No Helmets … Just Balls, which reached double platinum in the U.S. and Canada.
Over the next decade, Simple Plan released four more studio albums as pioneers of the early 2000s pop-punk movement. Deepening its association with the brands and cultures of early 2000s adolescent angst, the band played the Vans Warped Tour every year from 2001 to 2005 and intermittently in the 20-Teens.
“Simple Plan is the perfect middle-school throwback,” SCOPE talent buyer Haley Henscheid said. “And Wavves makes current pop-punk hits that feel like you’re in the ’90s.”
Almost 10 years after Simple Plan was formed, on the opposite side of the continent, in San Diego, singer-songwriter Nathan Williams was in the process of putting together Wavves, his version of the American pop-punk band.
After releasing a series of 7-inch EPs and cassettes, the group gained critical acclaim, enough to prompt the band to go on tour. After the tour that the group released their official full-length début, *Wavves*. Its second full-length album was released in 2010 to praise from such outlets as Spin and Pitchfork. Since then, the band has released three more albums, with 2013’s Afraid of Heights gaining the most attention.
While a generation separates the two bands, they are nonetheless united under the flag of pop-punk, and today, with the groups playing back-to-back in Iowa City, this unified sense of purpose will be on full display.
Representatives from SCOPE describe the concert as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the campus and community to see Simple Plan, in particular, because the band has not toured in the United States in more than three years.
“Homecoming is meant for current students and alumni to come together and enjoy music,” Henscheid said. “We wanted to make Homecoming a night of nostalgia and fun, and we definitely feel this will be achieved with these two bands.”
MUSIC
What: Simple Plan & Wavves
When: 8 p.m. today
Where: Pentacrest
Cost: Free