I’ve covered countless shows at College Street Music Hall, but Simple Plan‘s mid-week stop hit different from the moment I arrived. The line stretched down the block before doors opened, something I’ve rarely seen at this venue. Fans wore shirts that said, “I’m Just a Kid,” with the word “kid” crossed out and replaced with “adult.” It was a nod to us elder millennials growing up, but not growing out of the music that shaped us. That perfectly set the tone for the night: this wasn’t just a pop punk show. It was a reunion with our younger self.

LOSERS CLUB: FIRST IMPRESSIONS MATTER

Losers Club opened with a tight, high-energy set that felt like a love letter to early 2000s punk. Dressed in shirts and ties, they looked like they’d stepped straight out of a post-Dookie photo shoot. Even if you’d never heard of them before, you knew what they were about from the first chord. Fast, fun, and, most importantly, genuine.

WINONA FIGHTER: FIERCELY WILD

Then came Winona Fighter, and they turned the dial all the way up. Lead singer Coco Kinnon tore across the stage with unrelenting energy: jumping, pacing, and whipping up a crowd that couldn’t look away. Their raw enthusiasm was electric. While the lighting setup was fairly barebones for most of the set, everything changed during a phenomenal cover of Beastie Boys’ “Sabotage.” The stage suddenly exploded in color, matching the intensity they’d been delivering all along. Maybe it was intentional, as if the production had to hold back until it couldn’t anymore. Anything more from the start might’ve pulled focus from Kinnon’s fierce presence, and that would’ve been a mistake.

SIMPLE PLAN: RIGHT WHERE THEY BELONG

Wedged between dates on their run with Avril Lavigne, this stop in New Haven marked the band’s first-ever time playing the city. And the energy inside College Street reflected that. From the second Simple Plan hit the stage, they weren’t just playing both songs and delivering unforgettable moments. Confetti cannons and smoke guns fired through the night. Giant beach balls were launched into the crowd. Fans in Scooby-Doo onesies ran wild across the stage during the band’s famous cover of theme song.

The entire night was joyful chaos, and it was so Simple Plan. Compared to Mayday Parade’s show at the same venue just a week earlier, which leaned more introspective, this crowd skewed younger and came ready to scream every word. A couple of my kids had joined me for the evening and had been playing Simple Plan on repeat all week.

This wasn’t just a run-through of fan favorites, it was a full-on celebration. You could feel it in the way the crowd sang every word and in the way the band fed off that joy. When a band shows up with heart and puts connection before nostalgia, something real happens. My kids were still buzzing hours later. And honestly, I felt the same, because let’s be real… I’m just a kid!

SET LISTS

• Simple Plan
  • I’d Do Anything
  • Shut Up!
  • Jump
  • Jet Lag
  • Addicted
  • Thank You
  • Your Love Is a Lie
  • Welcome to My Life
  • Boom!
  • Million Pictures of You
  • Summer Paradise
  • Can’t Keep My Hands Off You
  • Grow Up / Vacation (medley)
  • All Star / Sk8er Boi / Mr. Brightside (cover medley)
  • What’s New Scooby Doo?
  • Where I Belong
  • Crazy
  • This Song Saved My Life
  • I’m Just a Kid (Chuck Comeau crowd-surfed during the last chorus)
  • Untitled (How Could This Happen to Me?)
  • Perfect
• Winona Fighter
  • You Look Like a Drunk Phoebe Bridgers
  • I Think You Should Leave
  • R U FAMOUS
  • Subaru
  • I’M IN THE MARKET TO PLEASE NO ONE
  • Sabotage (Beastie Boys cover)
  • Swear to God That I’m (FINE)
  • HAMMS IN A GLASS
• Losers Club
  • How It Feels to Be a Ghost
  • Just Like Shakespeare
  • Still Sucks
  • Fool’s Gold