09:45 AM EDT on Thursday, May 19, 2005

BY RICK MASSIMO
Journal Pop Music Writer

PROVIDENCE -- Last night at the Dunkin' Donuts Center, the Noise to the World Tour showed Good Charlotte and Simple Plan, who in the past year have released "grownup" records, making the transition from snotty, smirky punk-rock band to long-haul rockers.

Good Charlotte opened with their old hit "I Don't Wanna Be You," but quickly veered into songs from their latest album, The Chronicles of Life and Death, which feature more sophisticated arrangements, deeper grooves and more pessimistic lyrical sentiments than their previous work.

Singer Joel Madden never quite managed a Perry Farrell-style weirdness, but as a frontman he cut a more compelling figure than his earlier one-of-you punk persona, and the live sound gave his sentiments more punch, particularly on songs such as "Walk Away (Maybe)," "SOS" and "Predictable," from the new album.

Reminiscent of the Cure here, Jane's Addiction there and Green Day occasionally, the band, led by guitarist Benji Madden (the lead singer's twin and onstage foil), has opened up its influences, and the difference between new songs and early favorites such as "Riot Girl" were clear last night. Their take on their older song "Girls & Boys" was instructive: slowed down slightly and loosened up, lines such as "Girls don't like boys, girls like cars and money/ Boys will laugh at girls when they're not funny" sounded jaded, not frustrated.

Simple Plan mixed 21st-century punk rock with touches of arena rock, and in the live show gave lots of their diary-sounding lyrics the extra kick they needed and all too often haven't gotten on record. Any song goes down better with thousands of people screaming along, but the live sound put a punch behind the high dramatics of early songs such as "The Worst Day Ever" and "Addicted." The whiny "Me Against the World" was particularly rescued last night, with guitarists Jeff Stinco and Sebastien Lefebvre giving it a Cult-style stomp.

Often, the term "pop-punk" refers to punk that's been candied, but Simple Plan really straddled the line last night, with enough memorable melodic moments to make their lyrics stick.

They keep to the teenage basics -- no one understands, and the two responses are to be sad or to kiss people off. Their lyrical basis is artless -- so artless as to often be affecting: "Do you ever feel like breaking down?/ Do you ever feel out of place?" the power ballad "Welcome to My Life" begins. (And the sight of several thousand people singing the song, with the line "You don't know what it's like to be me," last night was a strange mix of identificatoin and alienation.)

Whether any of it means much to someone out of high school is an open question, but then again, not really a pertinent one.

Openers Relient K showed promise, playing modern rock with the lead taken out of its shoes, with interesting touches of falsetto vocal, vocal harmony, piano, banjo and glockenspiel.