Driveways

At the O2 Academy Islington in London, Driveways’ final tour date took place before they embarked on the European leg of their international tour. Driveways hail from Saugus, Massachusetts, and this is their first foray abroad in the UK (culminating in three tour dates: Leeds, Southampton and London, respectively). Driveways are the kind of band that makes you question how they’re not already massive, a pop-punk trio who clock out of their day jobs as teachers only to dive headfirst into writing hooky yet deeply emotional and personal pop-punk anthems, and packing out rooms on their terms.

For an independent band with no big record deal or label backing, the band pulled a huge crowd tonight. It’s worth noting that the venue had been upgraded to the O2 Academy Islington completely due to fan demand, especially after selling out their prior two tour dates in the UK. It almost feels like a well-deserved victory lap for the band after recently supporting Bilmuri back home in the States. Who are Driveways? Earnestly, they describe themselves as “if you enjoyed pop punk/post-hardcore music from like 2002 to about 2008, then you might like Driveways.” Their lyrics carry an undercurrent of dark themes revolving around the autumn season and Halloween in general. This is reflected in their album and EP releases. On this trio of dates, they’re accompanied by their friends in Eternal Boy, with local support provided by the post-hardcore, cinematic metalcore outfit Lastelle.

Lastelle

The lights dim as the band approaches their stage, followed by cinematic synth backing tracks to add to the atmosphere. It oozes as the bass player equips a French horn, summoning the crowd to what they’re about to experience. They perfectly mix a cocktail of melodic highs and heavy lows of guitars, compounded by the mixture of clean vocals from both bass player and drummer, punctuated by the low screams of their frontman. Their single, “Tired Eyes,” is the epitome of this sonic experience, merging the differing vocals with melodic dual-guitars from both players, heavy yet hauntingly beautiful. They waste no time and cycle through their set. Before their closer, Lastelle thanked Driveways for the opportunity, as they have always wanted to play this venue and never had the chance until now. They briefly mention their upcoming headline tour is coming up soon in September, quickly before diving into the final song, “Tired Eyes”. At this point, they beckon the group to join in a chorus chanting, “Breathe me in for a while.” The entire crowd repeats and shouts the words back, like conductors to the choir of sad, heavy but beautiful melodic music.

Eternal Boy

Up next, tour buddies Eternal Boy take to the stage and completely switch up the mood of the evening. Their singer, Rishi, wastes no time taking jokingly but lovingly aimed shots at Pat (Driveways’ singer), informing the crowd that he is extremely unwell. This then leads to a playful interlude from the band, encouraging everyone to chant “Driveways Sux”. From this interaction alone, I can definitively say this band wears its influences proudly on their sleeves and is nothing but proud. Eternal Boy describes themselves as the type of band that would’ve blown up if it were 2003. Pure and simply unapologetic early to mid-2000s pop punk. Did someone say Dickies and skate shoes? Very reminiscent of the glory days of Blink-182’s banter and stage antics. Rishi even teases that Driveways’ whole vibe is Blink-182 but the darker era, à la the self-titled album, whereas they’re more reminiscent of the early skate punk days, all the while teasing the main riff to “Dysentery Gary”. This is cemented through their set, as in between their original songs, they play a cover of the classic “Carousel” by Blink. When not playing fan-favourite pop-punk covers or Taylor Swift covers that have no right to sound so goddamn good, Eternal Boy rip through their original tracks, and the crowd eats it up. I can feel an undercurrent of influences from the 2010 pop punk revival era bands such as Real Friends and Knuckle Puck. A very dearly missed pop punk sound for an ageing 30-something pop punk aficionado like myself.

I’ve admired the band for such a long time, ever since their heavy pop punk cover of Lil Uzi Vert’s “XO Tour Life”. Initially, one would write a band off for gaining traction from a cover of a popular song, but Driveways proves all the naysayers wrong. This band has cultivated a loyal and growing fanbase not only on home turf but abroad in the UK and Europe through crafting deeply emotional pop-punk anthems with heavy breakdowns and gut-wrenchingly personal lyrics. Before they begin, they reiterate that Pat is feeling extremely unwell and ask if everyone in the crowd can assist him in screaming back the lyrics. They rip open the set with fast punk tracks such as “Resurrect” and “Skulls and Flowers”.

As it gets around to “Motions” and “Skeletons”, a push pit erupts in the centre of the audience. Everyone is either moshing in the humid British summer heatwave or screaming back the lyrics to the band above them. This reached an absolute crescendo when fan-favourite “Drop Dead” opened up. Not one person in the crowd wasn’t moving or singing their hearts out. I couldn’t even resist the temptation. Towards the end of the set, Pat takes a moment to mention how unwell he is and how he had numerous panic attacks backstage before the show, doubting his ability to perform. With the help of all of us in the audience, we soothed those anxieties, and they lamented about how grateful they are to be touring abroad from Massachusetts while balancing full-time jobs and their own lives outside of this. Their set culminated in their anthemic track “October Forever”, a slow-burning sing-along that hit like a farewell and an appreciation. The final group chant, raw, loud, and echoing reverberations, felt like a final breath before autumn. This was an incredible final show for their UK leg of the tour, leaving everyone wanting more and desperate for their return. Driveways forever. October forever.