You Me At Six - Alexandra Palace, 15/04/17

Bands like black foxxes don't often get to play Alexandra Palace. 

Having released their debut album, 'I'm Not Well', back in August, their star has risen to stratospheric heights in just three years as a band. Supported by Radio 1 Rock Show host Daniel P Carter (who designed the album), and with appearances at Radio 1's Big Weekend and Reading and Leeds festivals and opening slots for Taking Back Sunday under their belts, it's no surprise that they're already gracing the stages of legendary venues.

Vocalist Mark Holley was humbled by the amount of people who were watching their set, saying "thank you for coming down this early, it honestly means the world to us" before offering a "huge fucking thank you to You Me At Six. They didn't have to take a band like ours out and that means a lot to us, so when we come back and we headline we'll do the same thing."
It wouldn't be too surprising if black foxxes find themselves at this level after a couple of albums. At this early stage in their career a few of their songs sounded the same, but when they have a few releases under their belt that will cease to be a problem.
That being said, they still had a nice range of styles weaved throughout their set, from 'Waking Up' with its Royal Blood-esque vibe and strong vocal performance, to 'Whatever Lets You Cope' which started off stripped back but quickly kicked itself up to high gear.
New song 'Saela' was the highlight of the set, and points towards impressive things in their future. It's atmospheric, well-suited to the grand halls of Alexandra Palace, and will work perfectly on the festival circuit (making them ones to watch at Slam Dunk festival next month).
The only song that didn't seem to fit in their set was 'River', the first song that the band wrote together "in a scout hut in Plymouth, which is a shithole". With an echoing vocal reminiscent of Deftones is should have been hauntingly beautiful, but instead just sounded bland.
Closing with the title track of the album, they made the most of their last few minutes on stage by playing around with feedback, Mark swaggering across stage oozing the confidence that will one day make them the perfect headline band. Despite the disinterest in the start of their set, the crowd were screaming for them by the end: black foxxes definitely made their mark at this show.

Setlist:

Husk

Waking Up

Whatever Lets You Cope

Saela

River

I'm Not Well

Tonight Alive haven't been back to the UK since their appearance at Reading and Leeds festival last year, but they've been busy. Having recently been signed to Hopeless Records, the Australian five-piece are writing the songs that will make their fourth full-length album, the first of which - 'World Away' - received its live debut on this tour.
Introducing the song with a piece of powerful spoken word poetry ("We are easier to manipulate if we believe that we are weak. It's easier to sell us things if our lives are incomplete") which changed the vibe of the proceedings, it's obvious that Tonight Alive are not toning down the outspoken and inspirational attitude they honed while touring third album 'Limitless'. As for the song itself, 'World Away' isn't just catchy as heck - it's a battle cry. If this had been a headline show it would have received a better reaction, but a surprisingly large chunk of the crowd already knew every word despite the fact that it was released just over a week before this show.
Vocalist Jenna McDougall isn't afraid to make a statement, whether by wearing wings on stage (at earlier shows on the tour) or announcing that Tonight Alive "stand for personal power and emotional freedom". She made the most of every moment, making people throw their horns in the air if they'd seen Tonight Alive before, then closing the set by encouraging everyone in the room to put their middle fingers up. With a cheeky grin on her face, she paraded up and down the stage looking over the crowd with pride: a moment I'm sure she's never going to forget.
Tonight Alive always put on a hell of a show. Their choice of setlist was unconvincing (some of the songs are similar, so wouldn't appeal to someone brand new to the band) but their passion for performing is a delight to watch, and it's impossible not to have fun with them. The band return to the UK at the end of May to headline a stage at Slam Dunk festival: I think they're going to be a highlight of the day.  

Setlist:

How Does It Feel?

The Edge

To Be Free

The Fire

The Ocean

Hell and Back

Waves

The Other Side

World Away

Lonely Girl

The last time You Me At Six played Alexandra Palace, the show was underwhelming. They couldn't compete with the boisterous boys in Don Broco, the songs from 'Cavalier Youth' were too safe to make an impact, and it felt like they just weren't ready to move into a venue of this size.
Everything has changed with the arrival of new album 'Night People'.
The power that they lost during their adventure into indie territory has been rediscovered. Impressive tracks 'Spell It Out' and 'Swear' are both filled with vitriolic lyrics only rivaled in their back catalogue by the ferocity of 'Bite My Tongue', embodying the passion that the new album has imbued them with.
The follow-up to a number one album is always going to be a make-or-break one, and it's obvious just by watching the boys up on stage that they've been reinvigorated in the last three years. They no longer seem bored and complacent: they're fighting to impress.
With vocalist Josh Franceschi roaring the repetitive bridge of 'Spell It Out' in the lead up to the crashing crescendo - the closest thing to a breakdown the band have released so far - it perfectly demonstrates how far they've come. It's more developed than any of their other songs: instead of relying on Josh's vocal and a catchy singalong, it's all about the music. If there were ever any doubts about their credibility as an arena rock band, they're all quashed in just four minutes.
Despite this being the Night People tour, they didn't neglect their old albums. They took risks with the setlist, including old favourites 'The Swarm' and 'Save It For The Bedroom' and making this tour one of the first times they've represented all of their previous releases. With Josh introducing 'Save It For The Bedroom' by screaming "if you want a high five, let's go back to 2005 right now!", it was no surprise that they had a surge of crowdsurfers fighting to get closer to him and showing that there's still so much love for their debut album despite it being almost ten years old.
With this tour the five lads from Surrey have torn up the rulebook, choosing instead to do what they want to do. Yes, all of their set staples still appeared: it wouldn't be a You Me At Six show without 'Underdog', 'Loverboy' and 'Reckless', but this was the least predictable the band have ever been. With multi-coloured fire sparking up throughout the night and Easter jokes galore, this night was utterly unforgettable. Main set closer 'Take On the World' was a particular highlight: Josh took a moment to express his disgust for current US President Donald Trump, encouraging the crowd, "Don't ever judge somebody you don't know. Period." before imploring, "Love who you want, endlessly. Enjoy it. Breathe it in. Think every day, 'Fuck me, I'm lucky', like I do when I look at my fianceé." It was a tender moment and a beautiful tribute, and with the echoing "oh, oh, oh" chant being sang back by every person in the room as confetti rained down upon them, it was concrete proof that You Me At Six are exactly where they should be.
By the end of the set Josh was hardly able to speak to the crowd - a thirty-date tour around the UK and Europe will put a strain on even the most experienced of singers - but he shared that "this was like an injection of adrenaline". Even though he was quite obviously struggling, he pushed himself to finish the show with a bang: 'Room To Breathe' has never sounded so good.
Just before headlining Wembley Arena for 'The Final Night of Sin' back in 2012, bassist Matt Barnes said

"Are we a pop-punk band, a pop-rock band, emo-pop-rockers? We want to be a rock band." 

It might have taken them five years, but they've finally nailed it.
You Me At Six are headlining the NME stage at Reading and Leeds festival this year, but it won't be long until their name sits at the very top of the bill.

Setlist:

Night People

Underdog

Loverboy

Stay With Me

The Swarm

Spell It Out

Bite My Tongue

Swear

Fresh Start Fever 

Heavy Soul

Reckless

Save It For The Bedroom

No One Does It Better

Cold Night

Brand New

Take On The World

-

Lived A Lie

Give

Room To Breathe

You Me At Six - Rose Theatre, Kingston, 22/01/17

Elissa Franceschi has been quiet for a while.
The last video posted to her Youtube channel went up nearly three years ago, and her last official single, 'Dust', will be turning four in October. She was only announced as the support act for this show a couple of hours before the doors opened, but being the sister of You Me At Six's frontman, all ticket holders knew exactly who she was.
"This is a bit strange!" she laughed after her opening song. "I haven't played a gig in a very long time. It's strange, but it's nice." Her set was shaky to start - her eyes glued to her piano, seeming to find it hard to interact with the crowd and not projecting her powerful voice as much as she normally does - but by the end of her five song set she'd completely loosened up.
Popping in a cheeky cover of the Justin Bieber hit 'Sorry', she ad-libbed throughout allowing her personality to shine. After stumbling over the lyrics she quipped "Is it fucking rap?!" and closed the song by solemnly saying "I'm really sorry for that...". The joke got a huge groan from the crowd, but it was accompanied by rapturous applause.
Receiving such a great reaction relaxed her, and the aforementioned 'Dust' was performed beautifully.
Introducing new song 'Magnets', Elissa shared the fact that she'd recently moved back to the UK from America - probably another reason she's been flying under the radar! Remarking that it was written after observing "the push and pull of life". Comparing her two new songs to the two older songs she played, it's obvious that her writing style has matured and developed during her break: her lyrics are more profound, the quick tempo to the song showed she wasn't afraid of trying new things, and I'm very excited for them to go up online so I can listen to them again.
Closing with 'Salt', her most well-known song, I was surprised that she didn't get her brother out on stage with her. He lends his vocals to the track, a collaboration that helped launch her career, and it would have been wonderful to hear it in a live environment, but alas I'll just have to keep my fingers crossed for them to play a show together again in the future.
Her nerves were understandable. Going from not playing a gig in years to playing an esteemed venue such as this one must be nerve-wracking! I'm glad to see Elissa back and playing new music, and I'm hoping that 2017 will herald the arrival of a new EP.  

Setlist:

I Wonder If She Knows

Sorry (cover)

Dust
Magnets

Salt

In case you haven't guessed, I love You Me At Six. This was my fifth time seeing them since their comeback in August, and I've already got my tickets booked for the Alexandra Palace show they're playing in April.
Thankfully, I got given tickets to this show for Christmas. I didn't think I was going to be able to make it, and knowing that it was the first acoustic headline show that the band had ever performed it was one I really didn't want to miss. 

'Night People' was released at the start of the month, so this was primarily a celebration of the new album; out of the thirteen songs the band performed six were from their newest release. I love the majority of the new album - the one exception being 'Heavy Soul' - and the songs don't disappoint in a live environment. The studio version of 'Heavy Soul' bores me, but it's less bland in a live environment, the acoustic version that they performed beautifully arranged and a very strong start to the set. Showcasing alternate versions of 'Give', 'Night People' and 'Swear' were obvious inclusions, but that didn't make them less strong. 'Give' lends itself perfectly to an acoustic rendition, while 'Swear' is normally so vicious that hearing it stripped back makes it more powerful.
This show featured the live debuts of both 'Take On The World' and 'Brand New', and I was shocked by the fact that the crowd already love the new songs. I knew it was true of 'Give' - it feels like it's been in the set for years because it's so obviously a favourite - but I hadn't expected the crowd to love all of the new material without question.
'Brand New' was a surprise inclusion, Josh sharing that they'd discussed it and decided not to play it but he wanted to put it in after all. While waiting for the band to get their instruments tuned, he sang the chorus on his own, joking "There ya go, acapella!" before laughing to himself and saying "Can you tell we made that record in Nashville or what?" adopting an over-the-top fake country accent, goofing around in a way he doesn't normally.
He dedicated 'Take On The World' to his fiancée Abigail. Every time they release an album, they have one pure love song on it ('Always Attract', 'Fireworks', 'Crash' etc.), songs which are breath-taking live, and this one's not the exception. The woah-oh-oh chant in the background live isn't spine-tingling just yet, but in four months time this could be the song that catapults You Me At Six to stadium heights.
This show was a family affair. Kingston is very close to the boy's home in Surrey, so it wasn't surprising that their relatives out in force: even Josh's dog Harley was at the show. He shared this fact early in the night and during every quiet moment the crowd's chant of "Harley, Harley!" started up again. Josh brushed it off to start with, jokingly chanting "We want dog!" in response, but before playing 'Night People' he agreed to get Harley out on stage if no one screamed because "he's only a baby".
You've never heard a room go silent so fast. Josh gathered Harley up in his arms, giving him a big cuddle and showing him off to everyone, before letting him run back off of the stage to the relative quiet of the wings. As a huge dog lover, I was pumped: Harley has one of the cutest Instagram accounts you'll ever follow.
The band couldn't resist showcasing a selection of songs from their back catalogue alongside the newer material. They alternated between new and old songs, choosing to forego playing fan favourites such as 'Bite My Tongue' and 'Underdog' and instead picking tracks to make the night truly unforgettable.
The most surprising inclusion was 'Be Who You Are' from 'Cavalier Youth', the shortest song that the band have ever released. It was the most cheerful song in their set and worked beautifully in this setting; I can understand why the band chose to include it despite never playing it live before. My personal highlight had to be 'Loverboy', though: the acoustic version that they released six years ago is always in my most played lists, and hearing Josh scream "Chris Miller's about to shred on an acoustic!" is a moment I'm never going to forget.
The band enjoyed this show as much as the fans did. Josh shared that it "might about be the catalyst for us doing a little acoustic tour around the country" and that they'd "love to do this thing properly, with an orchestra." When they announce those shows, you don't want to miss out.

Setlist:

Heavy Soul

Fresh Start Fever
Take On The World
Stay With Me
Swear
Be Who You Are

Give

Too Young To Feel This Old

Loverboy

Brand New
Lived A Lie

Night People

Room To Breathe

When I reviewed You Me At Six's Camden show for afterLIVE I talked about how relieving it was to see the boys having fun on stage, and that was also true at this show. The smaller the shows, the better the atmosphere. I know they're going to be at the top of their game when they play that arena tour in April, but I'm going to miss the relaxed attitude that I've grown accustomed to. You won't get Josh introducing the wrong song or singing the riff of Jennifer Lopez's 'Jenny From The Block' at Alexandra Palace... 

#BLOGTOBER DAY 25: So you want to write a concert review?

I review a lot of live shows, and I have a very specific routine that I go through each and every time I settle down to write.
Last night I saw VANT and You Me At Six for the second time in two weeks, and because the shows were practically identical I didn't want to write a standard review.
So instead, here is my step by step guide to writing a concert review.

Step 1: Buy tickets

Oh, you've already bought tickets? In that case I guess I should start a little further along in the procedure...

Step 1: Make notes

I'm not expecting you to take a notebook and pen into the show. The lighting in concerts is not usually the best, so physically writing notes would be difficult. I open up the calendar on my phone and create a new event, and I put all of my thoughts and observations in there stream of consciousness style, with a simple forward slash to separate things about different songs. 

What kind of notes should I take?

• Direct quotes. If the lead singer of a band says something inspirational, jot it down as quickly as you can.
  I'm lucky, because I can type extremely fast on my trusty Blackberry, so I can normally get very accurate quotes. If you can't type as fast, just get a couple of words and write around it - it gives the gist of what was said, but you won't be putting words into someone's mouth.
• Setlists. Getting a complete setlist is invaluable.
  If you're attending a show that's early in a tour, getting a setlist helps people who are going to a later date, especially if you upload them somewhere like setlist.fm. But it's also good for your personal records: you can compare and contrast setlists from different tours, and because you made it you know it's 100% accurate.

What if I don't know the song that's being played?

We all go to shows where we don't know every single song, and this is where step 2 begins...

Step 2: Google lyrics
I pay very close attention and jot down some lyrics during the show, then Google them when I get home.
For example, last night during VANT's set I wrote:

'The Answer / Man on the moon shot JFK / Peace and Love / immigration laws / everybody's gone baby / twisted heartache surrounds me / wait a minute cause your heart's not in it / alien / get this feeling that I'm all alone'  

So, when I open up a new post to start my review, I automatically input:

Setlist:
The Answer
-
Peace and Love
-
-
-
-
-
-

The hyphens are the songs that I need to search.
Typing in 'VANT Man on the moon shot JFK lyrics' into Google automatically fetches the song 'Welcome To The Wonderful World of Berners Lee'. Ding, we have a winner! So in it goes.
Repeat this for the rest of the setlist, and by the end of your searching you have:

Setlist:
The Answer
Welcome To The Wonderful World of Berners Lee
Peace and Love
Birth Certificate
Parasite
Karma Seeker
Parking Lot
Fly-By Alien
Do You Know Me?

Easy as that!

It's even easier if you already know the band well. During You Me At Six, I jotted down:

'wwwy / bite / fsf / Loverboy / safer / Stay With Me / Little Death / Plus One / Reckless (snip) / forgive / lived / Swear / win some / Underdog / too young / no one / Room / night'

And that ends up being:

Setlist:
When We Were Younger
Bite My Tongue
Fresh Start Fever
Loverboy
Safer To Hate Her
Stay With Me
Little Death
Plus One
Reckless (When You Were Young snippet)
Forgive and Forget
Lived a Lie
Swear
Win Some, Lose Some
Underdog
Too Young To Feel This Old
-
No One Does It Better
Room To Breathe
Night People

In this case the hyphen indicates the split between the main set at the encore.
If you know the band you're reviewing very well, taking notes is even faster. You can properly enjoy the show, and still have enough material for a review afterwards!

Some advice on getting setlists:

• It's harder if the band is local, because they're likely to be too small to have their lyrics on Google. I find that sometimes just asking them helps, which is how I got a full setlist when A Way With Words supported Fort Hope: I mentioned that I was writing a review, and they gave me a setlist so that I'd have the song titles!
  In the past I've had to spend two or three hours trawling through a local artist's back catalogue on Soundcloud to get a full setlist. It paid off, but it was very time-consuming.
• It's also tricky if they're a hardcore band with screaming vocals, as it can be very difficult to decipher lyrics. I don't normally attempt to get setlists for bands performing in this style, as it's frustrating and detracts from the enjoyment of the show.
• The biggest problem is when a band is performing a brand new song. The majority of artists introduce songs that are new, so you might be able to get the name of the track that way, but if they don't just grab a lyric and refer to it using that phrase. When it gets released officially, you can edit it in!

Step 3: Begin procrastinating

There's a reason my concert reviews are always uploaded in the late hours of the day, and that's because I am brilliant at procrastinating.

If you can skip this step, good for you! Celebrate your productivity and get on with step 4! But if you're anything like me, you'll need some time to get your thoughts in order about the show, so that your review isn't a flailing stream of OH MY GOD IT WAS SO AMAZING THE BAND WAS GREAT I LOVE THE SINGER THE BASSIST IS BEAUTIFUL OH JEEZ OH WOW.

Step 4: Choose an image
I wish I was better at concert photography so that I could use my own images on my reviews, but instead I run back to Google and scroll through until I find a recent photograph of the band that I like. This could also be step 3.1, because it definitely helps with the procrastinating - especially when the image I like links to a tumblr dedicated to the band...
(One day I'll learn how to link this blog with Instagram, and then I might upload more of my own live shots!)

Step 5: Decide what's important
Before you start writing, read through your notes and decide exactly which bits you'd like to talk about. You don't need to go into detail about every single thing that happened, so some of your notes are going to be obsolete, but it's better to have more than you need than not enough.

Honestly, I normally forget about this step!
I sit down after my many hours of procrastinating, start typing, think I've finished the review, check my notes at the end... and realise I've missed a load of really awesome stuff.
I start editing. I put in all of the stuff that I've finished, then I'm definitely 100% finished, fingers cramping and eyes burning because I forget to blink a lot when I'm writing. (Should that be one of the steps?!) I sit back, relax, press publish... And my review is a mile long, coming in at almost 10,000 words.

(Okay, I'm exaggerating! ...a bit. My worst was my review of Funeral For a Friend's last ever show, which was near 4,500 words.)

Step 6: Rein in your inner fanboy or girl
If you like a band enough to go and see them live, they mean a lot to you. You wouldn't buy tickets to go and see a band you hated, because that would be a huge waste of money!
But you can't be biased when you're writing a review. It's not possible to just say "I loved this show because I love this band". That wouldn't be a review.
Even your favourite band can play a bad show. I've had to write critical reviews for You Me At Six, All Time Low and Bring Me The Horizon in the past, and while it's difficult, constructive criticism helps everyone grow.
(There's an exception to every rule, and in this case mine is Waterparks. I can never say a bad thing about Geoff Wigington.)

 

Step 7: Find some good in everything
In the same way that your favourite bands can play a bad live show, the bands you hate can always surprise you in a live environment. If a band you really don't like are announced as a support act, don't just skip their set - go along and see if they'll surprise you.

I've been pleasantly surprised by Marmozets, Milk Teeth and Ashestoangels in the past: all bands that I'd completely written off, and was irritated to be seeing live. 

Reviews need to be balanced, and I'm sure it'll be easier than you think to find some good and bad things to say in every post.

Step 8: Re-read and publish

I'm normally tired when I write my concert reviews, because the excitement from the night before wears off and I feel drained for a couple of days. But I push myself through it, and that sometimes results in some terrible grammar and abandoned sentences that I've started before my brain jumps off to another point.

You always need to re-read your work before you publish it. It's possible to edit it afterwards, but it's a lot easier to get it completely polished in the first place. 

Then click 'Publish' and you're done!

Step 9: Spread the word

Tweet your review, post your link in a caption on Instagram, upload it to Tumblr... Whatever you want to do, get your post out there!

But there is some etiquette with this. 

Tag the venue, and tag the bands that you've said good things about, but if a review is more negative than positive DO NOT SEND IT TO THEM. 

It sounds like common sense, but a lot of people forget this in their excitement. My Fort Hope review yesterday was quite critical. Did I tweet it to them? NO! It's not worth it, even if putting their @ name in the post might get a few more pageviews on your post. 

Step 10: Sit back, relax, and get ready for the next show

I like to have some downtime between concerts, because it gives me a chance to write a review and then get into a good headspace for the next show. 

You wouldn't think it based on how many I write and how frequently I post them, but I find reviewing shows very stressful! It's difficult to find new things to say, particularly when you've seen a band multiple times before, and I don't want to repeat myself. 

So after I've written a concert review, I'll watch TV or films for a little bit before I go back to reading and writing my book reviews. It's always good to treat yourself to some downtime. 

That's my step by step guide to gig reviewing. I hope it helps!

#BLOGTOBER DAY 15: You Me At Six - Oxford O2 Academy, 14/10/16

I was very impressed by VANT.
I briefly attended their set at Reading festival and I think I must have arrived at the wrong time, because I left feeling disinterested, unexcited about seeing them in this support slot. The second they started - the stuttering "C-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-call me" of 'The Answer' grabbing the attention of every person already in the venue - I was obsessed.
VANT stuffed their half an hour stage time to the brim with songs you could dance to, particularly 'Parking Lot' with its repeated "Wait a minute, cause your heart's not in it" chant. New single 'Peace & Love' was only released earlier this week, and its upbeat nature meant it already fitted perfectly with a set that was absolutely frenetic.
But it wasn't just the ability to dance to VANT that made them so appealing. 'Birth Certificate' is a very relevant discussion of immigration in the wake of Brexit ("Our legislation is so black and white/Immigration laws can't change overnight/Reminds me that you have to go home"), while 'Fly-By Alien' is from the viewpoint of an alien looking down on our species, announcing "That race is gonna kill itself, there'll be nothing left, we can take, take the shell".
Writing in the same vein as Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly. (now Recreations.), it's brilliant to hear an upcoming UK band being so vocal regarding their political views from the very start of their set, announcing themselves by shouting "We are VANT, from Planet Earth!". It's been a long time since I've heard such a scathing review of attitudes to immigration and border control in a rock song - particularly one that's played regularly on the radio - and if this is what VANT have managed within their first two years of being a band, they're going to do a hell of a lot with their very bright future.

Setlist:
The Answer
Welcome to the Wonderful World of Berners Lee
Peace & Love
Birth Certificate
Parasite
Time & Money
Karma Seeker
Parking Lot
Fly-By Alien
Do You Know Me?

You Me At Six have grown up.
Three years ago, this would have been a predictable set filled with high octane numbers, jumping from single to single with little to no risks. The crowd would have loved every moment, but there would have been none of the rise and fall that is the sign of a truly legendary band. No political agenda, no provocative comments, nothing that made them special in a scene with figureheads like the inspirationally mouthy Enter Shikari.
You Me At Six were inoffensive, bland, vanilla.
But a year away has changed everything.
After lackluster fourth album 'Cavalier Youth', You Me At Six have taken the time away to reevaluate exactly what they're doing with their career. New singles 'Night People' and 'Plus One' have demonstrated a return to form, more reminiscent of the jolting 'Sinners Never Sleep' than the chilled out indie-rock of their latest release.
Now vocalist Josh Franceschi seems unafraid to use his microphone to preach to avid listeners. "I can't go back to being on tour and not do something bigger than ourselves, we need to do something that's bigger than You Me At Six," he shared, before joining the masses in slating presidential candidate Donald Trump, claiming him to be "one deluded man with a long big fucking microphone, talking a lot of shit" regarding people of different skin tones and sexual orientations and genders. He admitted that the band "might not be able to reach as many people as him" but had been "writing songs about this shit, but we've just never spoken about it openly", and this - combined with his recent vow to eliminate ticket touts - shows the band starting their new era in an extremely powerful way.
It's not just their words that have improved. Their setlist was the best they'd ever performed: intelligent, alternating between slow, tender moments and singalongs that left you breathless with the energy surging through the crowd. You Me At Six are at their best when they perform in smaller venues, and anyone who passed up the opportunity to see them on this tour has missed out on intimate shows unlikely to be repeated.
They started and ended their set with big surprises. Choosing 'When We Were Younger' as their opening song - a mournful ballad looking back on their youth - would normally suck the life out of a room, but the gradually building "oh, ohh-oh, ohh-oh" chant was an electric spark charging the crowd, ready to explode when they burst into 'Bite My Tongue', a song that has always been in the latter half of their shows.
The main part of the set was wrapped up with Josh's speech, which served as an introduction to the poignant and relatable 'Too Young To Feel This Old'. Whereas before I've called it boring and lazy, by cutting out the repetitive bridge ('"I'm just a boy", he said/"I'm just a girl," she said/"We're in love," they said/What happens next, who cares?') it made the song so much more mature, breathing life back into something that had previously seemed juvenile and pointless.
Reintroducing 'Safer To Hate Her' (which they haven't played live for four years) was a special treat for early fans disappointed with the lack of material from 'Take Off Your Colours', but I can't imagine anyone being able to complain about the expertly blended mixture of songs old and new.
Talking of new songs, they are superb. I'd already seen 'Plus One' and 'Night People' at their secret Reading festival set but they were too new to make an impact (both being live debuts, with 'Night People' released a mere five days before). At this show, they finally received the reaction they deserved. 'Plus One' is the heaviest song that the band have released in years, and with Josh roaring "I want you when I need you, every single night and day" it's a promising glimpse at the potential aggression bubbling under the surface of the new album. Closing the entire show with 'Night People' was a risk, but as You Me At Six proved tonight, they're no longer averse to those. It went down brilliantly, a mosh pit starting during penultimate track 'Room To Breathe' and not stopping until the band had left the stage.
'Swear' received its live debut on this tour, so the only people in the room that would have been familiar with it were those who had already attended a prior date. Despite the lack of familiarity it still managed to get people shifting, and while it's less energetic than the other two I'm sure it's going to grow on me with time.
This is a band that have taken themselves too seriously in the past, but finally seem to be relaxing and experimenting with what they can do. With Josh fumbling the words on 'Stay With Me' (switching a line from the second verse into the first verse) before sampling 'When You Were Young' by The Killers at the end of 'Reckless', the brand new ending to 'Too Young To Feel This Old' and a stripped back intro to 'Bite My Tongue' allowing the crowd to carry the song, this seems like a band who're finally allowing themselves to play around with their music, rather than striving for perfection.
With Josh announcing that the new album is "gonna kick your balls into your mouth", I want January to hurry up so I can finally hear it in its entirety. You Me At Six are back, and they're better than ever.

Setlist:
When We Were Younger
Bite My Tongue
Fresh Start Fever
Loverboy
Safer To Hate Her
Stay With Me
Little Death
Plus One
Reckless (When You Were Young sample)
Forgive and Forget
Lived a Lie
Swear
Win Some Lose Some
Underdog
Too Young To Feel This Old
-
No One Does It Better
Room To Breathe
Night People

I'm attending another two You Me At Six shows this year (I know, I'm an addict!) and while I'm unlikely to write an in-depth post about their show at Shepherd's Bush Empire on the 24th - almost certainly the same set they played in Oxford - I'll definitely be reviewing their sold out show at the minuscule Dingwalls in Camden for the Dr Martens Stand For Something tour.

Slam Dunk South 2015 - 24/05/15

(Live A Loss For Words photo credit to Liana Hunt)

My favourite thing about festivals is the fact that you can wander around all day and see bands that you definitely wouldn't have experienced otherwise. This review is going to be a selection of the sets that I had something to say about, but this won't be all the bands that I saw - there were way too many of them for me to talk about all of them! Some of the notable sets that I won't be talking too much about were Cartel, Only Rivals, Neck Deep, Crossfaith and Fireworks - all brilliant sets, but I just didn't see enough of them to be able to review them properly. But now, onto the rest:

I've only been listening to PVRIS avidly for a few months, but they've quickly established themselves as one of my favourite bands, especially after their brilliant opening slot for Lower Than Atlantis last month. I missed the very beginning of their set (one song, 'Smoke') but I was still blown away by the rest of it; running through songs such as 'St. Patrick' and 'White Noise', vocalist Lynn Gunn was completely on point, sounding even better than she did the first time I saw them. I've never seen Alex or Brian look happier, both of them beaming out at the crowd that were eating up every single moment. For this early in the day the reaction was much better than I'd been expecting, and it still surprises me to see how far this band have come with just one album under their belts.  

As if their set wasn't going amazingly enough, a surprise appearance from Josh Franceschi on 'My House' was the icing on the cake, even if his microphone wasn't working for the majority of his time on stage. These guys are definitely ones to watch, and if you haven't listened to them yet it's imperative that you do so as soon as you can. Their popularity is going through the roof and the trajectory is nowhere near tapering off, and I can't wait to catch them for the third time this year at Reading festival - I guarantee they will just keep getting better. If they headline Slam Dunk in a few years time, I won't be shocked at all. 

Setlist:

Smoke

St. Patrick

Mirrors
Fire

White Noise

My House

Next up was the third ever UK show from the acoustic side project of The Wonder Years frontman Dan "Soupy" Campbell. Because The Wonder Years had already been announced as performing at Slam Dunk, it wasn't too surprising when Aaron West and the Roaring Twenties were added afterwards, so it also wasn't too surprising when the Roaring Twenties weren't actually there, and it was just Dan (or should I say Aaron?) on stage by himself. 

If you haven't heard of Aaron West and the Roaring Twenties, the concept behind the act is that the songs tell the story of the worst year of Aaron West's life, and it was really interesting to see Dan embodying the character of Aaron and speaking as him. The Wonder Years have always been super popular because of their lyrical content and how easy it is to relate to them, but this acoustic emo act was obviously the drawing point of many people at this weekend, as the room was full to bursting before he even came out on stage. To have people queuing out on the landing for the third act on the stage is a huge achievement, but considering the fact that before Slam Dunk he'd only ever played one UK show, it just proves that the demand is definitely outweighing the supply. 

Starting off with 'Our Apartment', most of the crowd were shouting along to every word, which didn't let up through 'Grapefruit' or 'Runnin' Scared'. My personal favourite song is 'Divorce and the American South', which had the loudest singalong in the first half of the set. This boosted even higher during the trumpet solo, as the crowd decided to cover for the absent backing band and perform a vocal trumpet solo - which Soupy congratulated us on afterwards, calling for a round of applause for the great trumpet solo - something that definitely lightened up what was an otherwise completely depressing set. But depressing does not mean bad, and Aaron West was one of the best performers I saw in the entire day at Slam Dunk, so I seriously hope that he comes back and announces some full length UK shows at some point in the near future. I couldn't stick around for the rest of Aaron West's set, as I wanted to see some of Beartooth, but the half that I did see was superb.

I didn't think that the Fresh Blood stage could get any busier, but when I returned to see Fort Hope I sadly couldn't even get into the room. I stood outside and listened to a section of their set - most notably 'Sick', which sounded pretty sick ('scuse the pun) even from outside on the landing. With the band having signed their first record deal in the last few days, this crowd is just going to keep growing, and I'm so proud of how far these boys have come from back in the My Passion days. The UK rock scene is on the rise, and Fort Hope are leading the pack. 

I saw a bit of A Loss For Words at Slam Dunk last year and I thought they were pretty awesome, so I was bummed out when I discovered that they'd announced their break up before I'd even gotten around to listening to any of their full length albums. When it was announced that they'd be performing at Slam Dunk on their farewell tour, there was no chance that I was missing it. 

Joining the set to hear 'Pirouette', I was amazed when there was a surprise guest appearance from the vocalist of Save Your Breath, Kris Richards, whose band broke up back in January. I was a big Save Your Breath fan, so the moment was rather bittersweet, but it really embodied the entire ethos of Slam Dunk festival - having fun with your friends - and with a singalong of epic proportions it was perfect for this summery festival crowd. With singer Matty thanking his "brother" for appearing on stage with him, it really spread the love - something that A Loss For Words seem to be really fond of, as Matty was also wearing a t-shirt proclaiming 'I support same-sex marriage'. 

One of the most notable things about their set was the amount of bands they were shouting out to, thanking Decade, Light You Up, Transit, PVRIS and Neck Deep, to name but a few. Dedicating 'Distance' to Fireworks was also a poignant moment, with A Loss For Words splitting and Fireworks going onto hiatus, but there wasn't time to dwell on the emotions because the set was just too much fun. Nowadays, pop punk bands seem to take themselves much too seriously, but A Loss For Words were having so much fun and it was definitely encouraging the crowd. 

My sixth time seeing Lower Than Atlantis was also my shortest time, as I only managed to see three of their songs in the fifteen minute gap I squeezed in at main stage. It was impressive that they seemed to on top of their game, as this was their second festival set today (the first being at the BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend in Norwich) but if anything that made them sound tighter, because they'd had the perfect warm-up this morning.

After catching them on their UK tour last month, I didn't think Lower Than Atlantis could get any better, but vocalist Mike Duce seemed to be so much more confident in front of this crowd, belting out every word and getting it shouted back in his face twice as loud. 'Ain't No Friend' had everyone dancing, while 'English Kids In America' is still a festival classic - perhaps even more memorable today than it was at Reading festival last year. I stuck around long enough to hear 'Deadliest Catch', my all time favourite of their songs, and I sincerely wish I'd been able to hang around longer, because they were sounding even tighter than normal. With a large tour announced in December, I'm sincerely hoping I'll be able to go along to one of their shows, because it would be brilliant to see them wrap up their biggest ever year as a band on such a high note.

Back at the Fresh Blood stage, the crowd outside the room had gotten even larger than it was for Fort Hope, meaning that I had to strain to hear This Wild Life over the voices of fans waiting outside. After such an extensive co-headline tour with As It Is over the last few weeks, I assumed that most of the people who wanted to see This Wild Life would have already seen them - this belief was naive, as disappointed fans were turning away in droves when they realised that there was no way for them to push into the room to see the band. This Wild Life were actually one of my most anticipated bands of Slam Dunk, so I stuck it out and managed to hear a good few songs, especially once the crowd dispersed a little bit and you could hear the music outside. 

'History' is one of their most well-known songs, and this was confirmed when they played it first, with the singalong from the crowd sounding much louder than the band themselves, the same of which can be said for 'Over It'. 'Ripped Away' sounded absolutely flawless, but the highlight of the part of the set that I saw was definitely their cover of Blink-182's 'First Date', which was a surprising but perfectly performed cover. 

I left after hearing 'Better With You', one of my favourite songs, but that wasn't before I noticed that even their co-headline tour mate Patty Walters, lead vocalist of As It Is, was unable to get into the room. This band are such a massive deal, something that I hadn't realised until this show, but I think it's a brilliant sign - they deserve to have all of this attention, because Anthony and Kevin are both such talented songwriters and performers. I haven't had the opportunity to see a This Wild Life headline show yet, but it's definitely something I'm going to ensure that I do next time that they come to the UK - I need to experience this show on a bigger scale, and I need to actually get into the room next time!

I've had a love-hate relationship with Don Broco recently, as I haven't really enjoyed any of the singles that they've been releasing from forthcoming album 'Automatic', but that completely changed throughout their set yesterday. Starting off with 'Money Power Fame' was a brilliant way to drag the crowds attention to this band, who threw every ounce of their energy into their performance. A Don Broco show is a high velocity show, and that didn't change at Slam Dunk; if anything it ramped up even higher, with frontman Rob Damiani going absolutely crazy up there.

Newest single 'Automatic' didn't get that much of a reaction from the crowd: possibly because of the relatively young age of the song, or possibly because other people are agreeing with my opinion of the new material. However, something that you can't deny is the fact that they performed the song live amazingly, and it's impossible to move your eyes away from the stage from the second they start from the second they exit.

Older songs 'Whole Truth' and 'Priorities' both got amazing responses, with the crowd kicking it up a gear and dancing more than I'd seen them all day. I had to leave half way through their set, to run across to Seaway, but I'm definitely feeling more love towards Don Broco after seeing the new songs in a live environment, and remembering how encapsulating their live shows are.

I only managed to catch one song from Seaway, due to some terrible set clashes, but the one that I saw definitely deserves a special comment, and that was 'Your Best Friend'. I'd been having a pretty terrible morning - missing Set It Off and We Are The Ocean, and suffering with a terrible migraine - but after hearing such a fun song live I just couldn't stop myself from dancing and beaming from ear to ear. I don't know what it is about these Canadian fellows, but they're so full of fun that I can't help but fall in love with them a little more every time I listen to them. I haven't been disappointed by a single one of their songs that I've heard so far, and after purchasing their full length album 'Hoser' at the festival, I'll definitely be listening to them more. 

However, I had to leave Seaway quite early to get along to Finch, who were another of my most anticipated bands of the day. Since Finch's reunion tour a couple of years ago, I've been getting quite excited about the day when I would finally see them live, and I couldn't believe it was finally here. 

I will admit that I didn't know many of the newer songs that they played, as I only managed to purchase their newest album 'Back To Oblivion' at the festival, but the ones that I did hear sounded brilliant. I joined their set on 'Anywhere But Here', and was amazed by how much the band were putting in to the set - some of the older hardcore bands that I've seen have been quite complacent in their live shows, but Finch were excelling the performance I'd experienced at the Hidden In Plain View show last month, which was insanely high. The new music definitely padded out their set, putting a brilliant amount of life into it, and instead of being disinterested by the songs I didn't know I found myself falling in love much further with this band. 

'Letters To You' is obviously one of Finch's more well-known songs, so a lot of the crowd did seem to only be in attendance for this one, demonstrated when the moshing went through the roof for the duration of the song. A hardcore anthem, it's difficult to find someone who doesn't know this song, and I was amazed by how brilliantly the band played it over ten years since they wrote and released it. After going through two break-ups, it's impressive that the members still perform so well together, and their chemistry is palpable throughout the crowd.

Finishing with 'What It Is To Burn', another of their most popular songs, it was surprising to see another guest appearance from Josh Franceschi, who mentioned the fact the he wanted to perform the song with them in an issue of Kerrang! a few weeks ago. Seeing a dream come true like that live on stage should have been corny, but after seeing Josh moshing side stage throughout the previous couple of songs in their set, you could really see how much it meant to him, and he threw everything he had into his vocal (which, thankfully, was on a working microphone that time!). I can't believe that I waited this long to see Finch, and I will not be waiting this long until the next time. 

I don't really have that much to say about Taking Back Sunday that I didn't already say in my review of their show in Oxford in December, but that isn't a bad thing because it proves that they are consistent. Their banter was still lacking, which was much more noticeable (and cringe-inducing) in this environment, but the rest of their performance was one of my highlights of the entire day. I said before that Taking Back Sunday really know how to craft a brilliant setlist, and while they played most of the songs that I'd seen them play only a few months ago, they played them all fantastically so I had nothing to complain about. 

All of their biggest hits: 'MakeDamnSure', 'Cute Without The 'E' (Cut From The Team)' and 'You're So Last Summer' were all present, as well as a good chunk of their more recent releases, meaning that there was something there for every era of Taking Back Sunday fan. The majority of the crowd did seem to be turned off from Taking Back Sunday, but that was kind of understandable with them sandwiched between Don Broco and You Me At Six, both who are relatively new on the scene, meaning that their fan base might have been too young to fully appreciate Taking Back Sunday when they were at the height of their career. I was kind of disappointed with the crowd, who didn't seem to be making any effort at all - the whole point of a festival is to enjoy bands you wouldn't normally see - but the fans that were getting involved were going crazy. It would have been nice to have a few surprises in their setlist, other than just the inclusion of 'Happiness Is...' bonus track 'How I Met Your Mother', but it was still a lot of fun, and I was glad that I could stay for their entire set. 

Setlist: 

Flicker, Fade

What's It Feel Like To Be A Ghost?

Number 5 With A Bullet

How I Met Your Mother

Liar (It Takes One To Know One)

Stood A Chance

Timberwolves At New Jersey

A Decade Under The Influence

Faith (When I Let You Down)

You're So Last Summer

Better Homes and Gardens 

Error:Operator

You Know How I Do

Cute Without The 'E' (Cut From The Team)

MakeDamnSure

You Me At Six were definitely the highlight of most people's day, and with their promise of playing older material there was no question in my mind that I was going to see every single second of their set. I've always been a huge advocate for them playing earlier songs, so my wish was finally coming true. I wasn't disappointed when the started the set off with the double header of 'The Truth Is A Terrible Thing' and 'Save It For The Bedroom', and going by the reaction from the crowd this set had been a long time coming. People were flooding in from every direction, screaming the lyrics from the top of their lungs, and it really felt like something special was happening - the excitement in the air was palpable. It didn't let up through the first five songs, concluding with 'Jealous Minds Think Alike', which is one of the best songs You Me At Six have ever written - there's a reason that they catapulted into such heights of fame, and it's mostly due to the skill and potential they displayed in their formative years. 

However, after the fifth song in the set things quickly went downhill. Due to a medical emergency with a fan, the band had to stop the set, so Josh attempted to banter with the crowd - talking a bit about their time away in Australia last week, and referencing some football rivalries - but after the banter sunk like a rock he went off-stage while the medics worked. A little over half an hour later, the band came back on stage, and it's testament to You Me At Six fans that they all stayed calm and civilised despite the lengthy gap, allowing the medics to work and for the band to give them the space that was necessary. Oftentimes things like this can go very badly very quickly, with fans throwing things and complaining about the lack of music, but that wasn't demonstrated at all during this set - everyone was extremely civilised, even if some people did get bored and wander away to The Wonder Years.

A brief intermission here, to give a shout out to The Wonder Years, who seemed to be playing a blinder of a set. I was disappointed that I was going to miss them to see You Me At Six, so the gap in the set was a blessing in disguise - due to the silence at the main stage you could hear every word of The Wonder Years set going on at the other end of the road. Dan's vocal sounded so stronger and powerful over the pop punk backtrack, which was surprising after he admitted during the Aaron West set that his voice was rather shot, and it was a real hint towards how expert he is as a frontman - he really knows what he's doing. It was my second time seeing The Wonder Years, and while I wish I could have seen and heard more of them, I was happy enough with what I got. 

After You Me At Six walked back out on stage, Josh Franceschi announced "someone's life is way more fucking important than our little band playing songs at a festival", a sentiment that he reiterated on his Twitter following the incident, and it really was heart-warming to see the frontman of such a massive band caring so much about his fans. You Me At Six might have exploded, but they're still just five boys from Surrey at heart.

I'd been anticipating quite a large cut from the set following the time that they'd been off stage, but they still completed their entire set - bigger hits like 'Room To Breathe' and 'Lived A Lie' running parallel to older songs 'The Rumour' and 'Take Off Your Colours' - and it was a breath of fresh air to get a mixture of both eras in a You Me At Six show. Often when I see the band live I find myself getting restless, but this was the perfect mix of fun and serious, meaning that there wasn't a single moment of the set that fell flat for me. This was the best show I've ever seen You Me At Six play, and I think it's going to stay that way forever, as the band have said that they will be cutting the older songs from their set completely following these three festival performances. I sincerely hope that they'll consider the crowds reaction during 'Always Attract' and rethink that decision, because that kind of colossal reaction only happens in older songs that mean a lot to all of the fans, but I'm sure they know what they're doing. 

The band are going off to record their fifth album this summer, and while I'm nervous about what the result will be, I'm excited as heck as well. As Josh sang, "the problems that have come haven't yet torn You Me down" and I'm sure they aren't going to any time soon.

Setlist: 

The Truth Is A Terrible Thing

Save It For The Bedroom

Loverboy 

Stay With Me

Jealous Minds Think Alike

-

Reckless

Lived A Lie

No One Does It Better

Take Off Your Colours

Kiss And Tell

The Rumour 

The Consequence

Fresh Start Fever

Always Attract

Room To Breathe

Bite My Tongue 

Underdog

All Time Low and You Me At Six - O2 Arena London, 14/02/15

With steely determination glinting in my eye and a spring in my step, I left my hotel early. I was convinced that this was going to be the first time that I would go to an All Time Low show and not miss the opening act. 

Getting to the O2 Arena ten minutes before Walk The Moon hit the stage, I quickly jumped in the queue for merch, planning on purchasing it and getting to my seat before they began. Then, bad things happened - the queue inched along, slowly at first but getting rapidly faster... And I finished buying my merch ten minutes after Walk The Moon left the stage. One day, I will see All Time Low's opening act. Today was not that day. 

All Time Low were the penultimate band every night of this tour (which I don't think exactly equates to a co-headline tour, but that's a discussion for another time) and they were also the band I was most excited about seeing live again, so when they started I knew I was in for a good time. Kicking off with 'A Love Like War' was a surprise, because it seemed like a song that would fit better towards the end of a set, but by taking a risk and putting it in so early on it immediately grabbed the crowd. If you've been to an All Time Low show before, you'll know that the atmosphere is always palpable, with big singalongs and high energy consistent factors throughout. Playing the O2 Arena was an ordinary All Time Low show magnified tenfold, and the response from the crowd demonstrated just how successful this band have become. 

With a co-headline tour, you never know what percentage of a crowd is going to participate for the band that they weren't attending solely to support, but with over half of the standing area jumping and moving for All Time Low's entire set, they definitely weren't neglected for being on early. Older favourites 'Lost In Stereo' and 'Damned If I Do Ya (Damned If I Don't)' were obviously going to be brilliantly received, but the reception for newer songs was frankly jaw-dropping. 'The Irony Of Choking On A Lifesaver' had fans screaming their lungs out, as did 'Somewhere In Neverland' and 'Backseat Serenade.' Even brand new single 'Something's Gotta Give', which has only been out for around about a month, had a reception that was utterly impressive, with most of the crowd singing along to every word. The most emotional moment of the night was still 'Therapy', made more touching by the entire front half of the crowd holding up handmade paper hearts, and it's a credit to All Time Low that what is probably the most memorable song of the set is also the one that slows it down, putting less emphasis on the stage presence. 

Of course, this is All Time Low, so as well as music their set was filled with childlike banter reminiscent of Blink-182. Guitarist Jack Barakat announced quite early on in the night that "I think I've had sexual interactions with 30% of the crowd," the mood was quickly set as the crowd laughed along, and it was further cemented as he wrapped a bra around his head, jumping around the stage wearing it for the entirety of a song. Of course, with it being Valentine's Day, the sleazy jokes were out in force, with Jack asking "Are there any couples that will let me watch them make out with each other? Please. I need this", and with a crowd that was willing to play along it managed to come off as funny rather than awkward. Later on in the set, while getting fans on stage to join in singing 'Time Bomb', Jack announced that "If you're not wearing underwear you're automatically allowed to come on stage. That's why I'm here!" and it's great to say that that was definitely not the only reason. If you take the banter out of an All Time Low set, you definitely detract from the fun of the situation, but they can hold their only musically too. I just prefer to see four friends having fun than four guys being serious and not interacting with a crowd. 

With a headline show at Wembley Arena next month - which everyone was reminded of, when Alex Gaskarth mistakenly shouted out "Hello Wembley!" instead of O2 - and their sixth album 'Future Hearts' coming the month after that, it will be very interesting to see where All Time Low go from here. Their last couple of albums have been rather hit and miss, comprised equally of pop-punk magic and boring filler tunes, but I'm hoping that will change with 'Future Hearts'. I really want to see All Time Low back on top, because they have been working their asses off for this, and it would be a shame to see them lose it. I'm seeing All Time Low live again twice this year, and I've already pre-cordered 'Future Hearts', so if you want to know how they fare over the next couple of months you should definitely keep an eye out on my blog!

Setlist: 

A Love Like War

Lost In Stereo

Heroes

Stella

Damned If I Do Ya (Damned If I Don't)

Forget About It

The Irony Of Choking On A Lifesaver

Weightless

Therapy

Somewhere In Neverland

Backseat Serenade

Time Bomb

Something's Gotta Give

The Reckless and the Brave

Dear Maria, Count Me In

Closing the show were You Me At Six, homecoming heroes hailing from Surrey, playing their second headlining tour in support of their fourth album, 'Cavalier Youth'. In this touring cycle I had seen the band three times already (including two sets at Reading festival, which I reviewed back in August), so I knew what to expect from their newer songs, meaning that I wasn't anticipating their set that much at all. Starting off with 'Room To Breathe', the fun in the room automatically lowered, because the one word I would use to describe You Me At Six is serious. Whereas All Time Low run around stage and make dick jokes, You Me At Six stay as still as possible and try to perform flawlessly. 

I was grateful for the fact that the 'Cavalier Youth' songs were widespread throughout the set, because I really detest the new album. After 'Room To Breathe', there were only another four songs from the album scattered throughout, so it was great that, for once, You Me At Six seemed to be getting the hang of comprising a varied setlist from multiple albums (well, still declining to include any songs from 'Take Off Your Colours', which will always be a sore spot). Playing 'Contagious Chemistry' was the biggest surprise compared to their usual setlists and, if anything, it just proved exactly why You Me At Six should try to angle their album more towards their pop-punk roots than towards the indie-rock that they've been attempting to emulate. However, my disappointment resurfaced during 'No One Does It Better', which the band constantly decide to shorten. Any band that play the single version of a song live, rather than the album version, will always aggravate me. If you write a version of a song to go on an album, you should always put your eggs in that basket, rather than the basket of the shorter - and less emotionally affecting - version.

However, other than declaring the fact that they were going to be writing their new album soon, nothing that exciting or noteworthy happened during the set. Yes, the pyrotechnics looked amazing, with a variety of fireworks and waterfalls that were extremely impressive. Yes, the band were on point, sounding exactly like they do on their recordings, proving that they are a good live band. But to be a truly amazing live band, you need to have a stage presence that completely absorbs every member of the crowd for every second that they're watching you, and that's something that You Me At Six are sadly lacking. Since the first time I saw them, way back in 2010, they've come a long way: number one album, headlining Wembley Arena and now headlining the O2 Arena, but they really do need to think back to what made them stand out from the crowd in the first place, because at this rate they're going to become forgettable. This was the seventh time I've seen the band, but it took the number one spot for the least impressive show of theirs that I've witnessed. Jokingly, vocalist Josh Franceschi referred to You Me At Six as "mediocre rock-and-roll" and he definitely hit the nail on the head with that statement. 

Setlist:

Room To Breathe

Stay With Me 

Loverboy

Contagious Chemistry

The Consequence

No One Does It Better  

Underdog

Carpe Diem

The Dilemma 

Reckless

Crash

Fireworks

Forgive and Forget

-

Bite My Tongue

Fresh Start Fever

Lived A Lie

'Cavalier Youth: Special Edition' by You Me At Six

I reviewed 'Cavalier Youth' when it was first released all the way back at the start of the year, and this is what I said then:


"Following the release of lead single 'Lived A Lie' and follow-up 'Fresh Start Fever', my expectations of You Me At Six's fourth full-length were raised pretty high. Their third release 'Sinners Never Sleep', released just over two years ago, reached number 3 on the UK album charts and inspired a live DVD of their biggest headline show to date, aptly titled 'The Final Night Of Sin'. With TFNOS being the highest point of YMAS's career to ate, the follow-up needed to be spectacular. 
However, it falls short of the mark. In the past I've criticised Josh Franceschi's lyrics for being lazy (an example being during 'Crash' when he croons 'I know I've said this all before'). This is still a major fault with their newest release. Opening song 'Too Young To Feel This Old' contains the lyric 'what happens next, who cares?' which immediately makes me answer 'I don't'. 'Win Some, Lose Some', 'Cold Night' and 'Wild Ones' are too slow and repetitive, causing the feeling that something essential is lacking in this album that has never been absent in a YMAS release before. 
The album picks up drastically during 'Hope For The Best', with a fast paced intro which grabs the audience, the lyrics 'I hope for the best, I prepare for the worst' showing that despite being a band that can sell out Wembley Arena, Franceschi still has doubts and he hasn't let the fame get to his head. 'Love Me Like You Used To' is another high point on the album and when Franceschi demands 'Love me like you used to [...] just love me like you need me' fans are not going to refuse.
'Be Who You Are' is, for me, the biggest disappointment on the album. After the speedy delivery of 'Love Me Like You Used To', it feels awkwardly placed in the track listing, making the album sound more mix-and-match than a final, polished product. With a run-time of 1:48, the song sounds unfinished and incomplete, with the cliched sentiment 'You are my little star' making me feel sick for the sugary sweetness.
Followed by the uplifting and inspiring 'Carpe Diem', soon to be a stadium anthem adored by all YMAS fans, 'Be Who You Are' just seems inconsequential and unnecessary. 'Carpe Diem' feels more honest to YMAS and, along with 'Lived A Lie' and 'Fresh Start Fever', is one of the only songs that I could envision at any point in their back catalogue. 
It's good to see the band going in a new direction and you can definitely feel that the experiences that they gathered during their last album cycle have impacted their writing style, as you can feel that they're aiming towards stadium fillers, even if they do miss the mark on a few songs. Old YMAS fans will not be turned off and they're likely to gather a few more in, especially with the close 'Wild Ones' giving an atmospheric feel that will appeal to London Grammar fans and will be massive on the festival circuit this summer. I just can't imagine this album having as big an impact on YMAS's career as the game-changing 'Sinners Never Sleep'."


Apparently 'Cavalier Youth' was destined to have a big impact on You Me At Six's career, because it ended up shooting to number one, their first album to reach such a high position. I have always had a disconnect with You Me At Six recently released albums; it took me three or four months to like 'Hold Me Down' and a good few listens to appreciate the skill and talent showcased on 'Sinners Never Sleep'.
However, I still don't really understand why everyone is so enamoured with this album. I still love the singles ('Lived A Lie' and 'Fresh Start Fever' respectively) while 'Room To Breathe' and 'Forgive and Forget' seemed extremely forgettable the first time I heard the album but now they're probably my two favourite tracks after experiencing them live at Alexandra Palace back in April. 'Hope For The Best' and 'Carpe Diem' are still brilliant, but as a whole it still doesn't feel like a cohesive collection of songs, so I still feel like I'm walking away more confused than satisfied by this release.
So you might be wondering "if you didn't like the album that much the first time around and you still don't particularly love it now, why did you order the re-release?"
Partially because of the beautiful repackaging; the black and white is reminiscent of 'Sinners Never Sleep' and I think it's so well designed, with amazing photography.
But the main reason?
There is a simple answer to that question - the acoustic tracks.
Since the release of their Record Store Day vinyl back in 2011, I have been a strong advocate for You Me At Six to do an acoustic, unplugged album, so with these five tracks I get a bit of a taste of what I've always been craving. Acoustic You Me At Six is far better than normal You Me At Six and I could argue this until the cows come home. After experiencing their secret set at Reading, in which they played these five songs, I knew I had to pre-order it and I've been anticipating its release for the last two months.
The rearrangement of 'Lived A Lie' is much better than the original song, and the original is probably my favourite song off of 'Cavalier Youth', so it gets off to an extremely strong start. Second up, 'Fresh Start Fever' and I'm in equal parts impressed and disappointed how raw and exposed Josh Franceschi's voice is. There are pieces that seem a bit too raw and badly sung, but it adds to the emotion in the song and it makes you feel as though you're experiencing something really important. Too many bands nowadays use too many effects on their music, even when attempting to get a live sounding recording, so these Dean Street Studios sessions are brilliant. I still don't like 'Cold Night', so I wasn't in love with the acoustic because it still felt too boring, but 'Room To Breathe' is breathtaking. Out of all of the acoustics, 'Room To Breathe' is definitely the standout one - the guitars are brilliant and Josh's vocal is completely on point. In my opinion songs like this suit his voice much more, as sometimes during their songs I feel as though he's pushing and straining his vocals but his voice sounds so much better when he relaxes into it more. 'Wild Ones' seems like a strange one to conclude the five tracks, because after 'Room To Breathe' it just falls a little bit short. Regardless of that, it's still a really good reissue and if you haven't already picked up 'Cavalier Youth' I'd recommend getting it if you like You Me At Six doing acoustic stuff. If they don't play any acoustic songs on their February arena tour with All Time Low I'm going to be extremely disappointed, so I hope they include a couple of these to shake things up a bit.

Tracklist:
Too Young To Feel This Old
Lived A Lie
Fresh Start Fever
Forgive and Forget
Room To Breathe
Win Some, Lose Some
Cold Night
Hope For The Best
Love Me Like You Used To
Be Who You Are
Carpe Diem
Wild Ones
Lived A Lie (acoustic)
Fresh Start Fever (acoustic)
Cold Night (acoustic)
Room To Breathe (acoustic)
Wild Ones (acoustic)

Reading Festival 22-23-24/08/2014

I'm not gonna write this like a normal review; examining and cross-examining all of the acts I saw in this, the best weekend of my life, because that would take the fun out of things. At festivals, I think one of the best things to do is to have fun, make friends and investigate new bands you've never thought to listen to before, all things of which I did a lot of. 

However, as I have this review blog, when it came to bands I loved and had seen before, or bands that I had (usually inaccurate) preconceptions about, I thought it would be much more beneficial for you for me to talk about things that I feel I am an expert in the field of. Am I an expert of dance music? No. 100% not. So am I reviewing any of the (snippets of) dance songs I discovered this weekend, while running from the NME/BBC Radio 1 stage to the main stage? No. Do I feel as though I'm an expert in rock music? Hell yes. So that's what you'll be getting from this review. Now you know this, it feels like time to jump in, so let's start with... 

Friday:

First up was the highly anticipated 'global debut' (actually the third global show, but a festival debut is pretty decent boasting too) of ex-My Chemical Romance frontman Gerard Way. With the release of 'Action Cat' just two months ago, many of the songs featured in the set were unknown, but that didn't make it any less fun or any less compelling. Gerard Way is a frontman and a half; charismatic, charming and filled with boundless energy. Wearing the blue suit instantly recognisable from the recently released 'Hesitant Alien' album artwork, the crowd in the well-filled tent were automatically bouncing along to the opening notes of 'Bureau', followed by the singalong 'Action Cat'. His third song (which I've since found out was titled 'Zero Zero' was captivating and it's not often you see a crowd so enthralled with unknown songs. Breaking it up with 'Millions', the track that started the rumour mill about a solo project so many months ago, is a stroke of genius, keeping the crowd interested throughout 'Juarez', 'Drugstore Perfume' and 'Get The Gang Together', which featured Gerard screaming like a man possessed, exuding everything that made My Chemical Romance so spectacular. The lyrics to 'No Shows' were released last week and despite that being relatively recently fans were already singing along as though the album had been released. Finishing the set up with The Jesus and Mary Chain cover 'Snakedriver' might have seemed like an odd move, but I think it puts a nice comma in the sentence that is Gerard Way's new chapter. And with US shows in October just announced and the promise of UK shows in November, we'll be seeing more of Gerard Way soon, and that can never be a bad thing.

After a bit of a wander about and some encounters with bands I've been meaning to check out, I arrived at main stage to see Deaf Havana who, sadly, just didn't seem to be in best form today. Their headline show at Oxford in April was absolutely superb but today James Veck-Gilodi seemed to be struggling through the songs, making '22', 'Boston Square' and 'Anemophobia' seemed strained and messy which was a real shame.

Contrastingly, after running across field to Mallory Knox I couldn't have been more pleased. Arriving in the tent for my personal favourite 'Wake Up' I was surprised and proud to see such an amazing crowd reaction for the band who were main stage openers last year. With 'Asymmetry' coming out in just two months time I was expecting a good mix of new and old material and I wasn't disappointed, with the set consisting of 'Death Rattle', '1949', 'Hello' and 'Lighthouse', dispersed with new song 'The Remedy' and recent release 'QOD II'. When I saw Mallory Knox at Slam Dunk in May I felt a little disillusioned, with them not really living up to my expectations, but give them time to have a break and a stage like this and they certainly do shine. With their upcoming November tour featuring support from Frnkiero and the cellabration it was already worth checking out, but if you're only going for Frank, please stick around for an amazing performance by Mallory Knox.

Following Mallory Knox, with another run across the field, I arrived at Jimmy Eat World's main stage set in the middle of 'Praise Chorus'. With their second set, headlining the Lock Up Stage later in the day, rumoured to be the tenth anniversary playback of the 'Futures' album in full, I wasn't sure what to expect from this set, but I saw a brilliant mix of the best of an underrated band. For most of the set (comprised of 'My Best Theory', 'Big Casino', 'Chase This Light', 'Let It Happen', 'I Will Steal You Back' and 'Authority Song') there was little to none crowd reaction, but finishing up with two fan favourites, 'Sweetness' and 'The Middle' saw people running to the stage to dance to songs they would have been craving to hear live ten years ago. Jimmy Eat World might be one of the most experienced bands on the bill today, but they're definitely not one of the most disappointing.

The same can be said for Glaswegian rockers Twin Atlantic. After (yet another) trek back up to the NME/BBC Radio 1 tent, I managed to hear the end of 'Free', followed by the beautifully soul-touching acoustic 'Crash Land'. 'Make A Beast Of Myself' had the entire crowd singing along, mimicking vocalist Sam McTrusty's accent on the word 'universe' proving how much the fans care about this band. Wrapping up with 'Heart and Soul', the first single from their recently released third album 'The Great Divide' (which went into the UK Official Album Charts in a brilliant sixth position) was predictable but memorable and I will definitely be catching these guys again.

Next up were Enter Shikari who, sadly, were not having a great day. Due to distortion and mic problems, it just wasn't their finest house. With drummer Rob Rolfe wearing a 'Love Syria' shirt and singer Rou Reynolds focusing on educating and inspiring the crowd to 'Say no to homophobia. No to sexism and misogyny. No to the slimy 1% who own 50% of the world's money', the music side of things is just lacking. 'Sorry, You're Not A Winner' evokes the expected crowd response of clapping and chanting along and 'Arguing With Thermometers' makes people go crazy, but other than that the set seems odd and unrecognisable. But this could have just been the distortion and mic problems, with sound fluctuating between loud and quiet and an inability to make out which song was being played at points throughout the set, as I've never seen a bad Shikari show.

Later on in the day, the second Jimmy Eat World set was revealed to be the highly anticipated 'Futures' in full, showing a much better reaction from the crowd that was mostly comprised of hardcore Jimmy fans. Sadly, I only caught the beginning of the show, as I was beyond excited to see Paramore, but they seemed to be performing better than they did in their earlier set.

Before I even start writing about Paramore, I'm gonna be completely honest and say this is going to be biased. Paramore have been one of my favourite bands for as long as I can remember and I've never managed to catch any of their live shows. So I obviously found their performance completely flawless. I'm sure you've already heard about the sound issues during 'Ignorance' and the acappella performance of 'The Only Exception', but those issues just made the show a once in a lifetime experience. Yes, it was a shame that the headline set that should have been an absolute triumph was riddled with issues, but it just showed what professionals Paramore is comprised of. Instead of taking a break, leaving the crowd booing and unhappy, they carried on despite the fact that everything was against them, and they battled through and came out on top. Anyone who has ever accused vocalist Hayley Williams of lip-syncing could completely eat their words, because her vocal performance was completely on form and utterly free of pitching issues. I've already admitted that I'm completely biased, but I like to think it was rightly so. All of my preconceptions about Paramore were absolutely confirmed. They truly are one of the best bands on the planet.

Setlist:
Still Into You
That's What You Get
For A Pessimist, I'm Pretty Optimistic
Ignorance
Pressure
Decode
The Only Exception
Last Hope
Brick By Boring Brick
Misery Business
Let The Flames Begin
Part II
Proof
Ain't It Fun

On the other hand, fellow co-headliners Queens Of The Stone Age just weren't Reading material. Playing their most popular song, 'No One Knows', second in their set caused a large chunk of the crowd to flood away to other stages, or to even leave the festival early. Singer Josh Homme seemed too introverted and melancholy after the absorbing stage presence of Hayley, making the set feel long and boring. It feels like they are a band much more suited for a headline slot at Download or Sonisphere. While most people were doubting Paramore's suitability as a headline act, it seems that people should have been worrying about Queens of The Stone Age's ability much more. Without even thanking the crowd or saying goodnight the set ended rather abruptly, making the conclusion of Friday night rather anti-climactic.

Saturday: 

The first band I had previous knowledge of on the Saturday were Lonely The Brave, who played at Warped Tour UK back in November and performed on BBC Radio 1 Rocks back in June. Their set at Warped Tour was pretty forgettable and they were completely overshadowed at Radio 1 Rocks by the other superb bands who were performing in that week (namely Of Mice and Men, Mallory Knox and Lower Than Atlantis). And no matter how much I wanted Reading to tell a different story, it was just much of the same. The start of the set seemed stronger than usual, with vocalist David Jakes communicating with the crowd and proving his soaring vocals are something that sets them apart from the rest of the upcoming British rock scene, but after ten minutes every song in the set sounded exactly the same. Maybe, when they have a few albums under their belt, they'll have more of a variety, but at this current time they really aren't living up to their potential.

A band who were living up to their potential are American Authors, best known for song of the summer 'Best Day Of My Life', who absolutely smashed their first UK festival appearance. A lot of the songs were relatively unknown but that didn't stop the crowd from bouncing along at every opportunity, showing that these guys really are ones to watch.

Running from American Authors over to the BBC Introducing stage for their secret set, it was an utter disappointment to approach the tent and discover Jake Bugg wailing out his so-called 'hit songs'. For a secret set the crowd turn out was appalling and I wasn't about to add to it, leaving immediately to catch the end of Royal Blood's set (who, despite being a band I'd never listened to before, blew me away).

Next up, Lower Than Atlantis, who have been throwing out hits left, right and centre in the lead-up to their self-titled album release next month. The set started off much the same as any Lower Than Atlantis set; 'If The World Was To End', 'Love Someone Else' and 'Motorway of Life' evoking the same usual, amazing singalongs, followed by 'Marilyn's Mansion' which seemed like an odd choice for a festival but got everyone moving more than I expected it would. 'Deadliest Catch' kept the tempo up and continued the throwback to older tunes, followed by 'Another Sad Song', with the lyrics "we all make mistakes from time to time, unfortunately for me, being me was mine", giving a heart-breaking look inside the head of vocalist and lyricist Mike Duce. Following this touching moment with 'English Kids In America' perfectly exemplifies the development that the band have gone through in the last three years, with 'Beech Like The Tree' inserted between the new songs, meaning that 'Here We Go' closed their set. This was a complete triumph for a band who have gone from strength to strength and can only get stronger. If Lower Than Atlantis are performing at Reading Festival next year, they need to be on main stage and they need to be pretty high up on the bill; it's only what they deserve.

Setlist:
If The World Was To End
Love Someone Else
Motorway of Life
Marilyn's Mansion
Deadliest Catch
Another Sad Song
English Kids In America
Beech Like The Tree
Here We Go

Following Lower Than Atlantis, over on main stage, were The Hives. I've only ever known two songs by The Hives; 'Tick Tick BOOM' and 'Hate To Say I Told You So', so I didn't have any expectations from their live performance, but it was the weirdest thing I've ever experienced. Period. At the halfway point in 'Tick Tick BOOM' all of the members froze on stage for a good minute or two, while ninjas swapped members guitars. Singer Howlin' Pelle Almqvist got all of the crowd sitting down, shouting "Don't stand up, I'll tell you when to stand up! I said sit down, don't take a picture!" before taking a selfie with a fan and running further and further out into the crowd, with a worried security guard tailing him the entire way. The banter was impeccable ("Everybody shut up for a while!") and despite the fact that it was completely bizarre and one of the most random things I've ever witnessed, I'm not gonna be forgetting The Hives live show any time soon.

Back over to the NME/BBC Radio 1 stage and it's time for one of my all time favourite bands, Don Broco. Starting off with a partially acoustic 'Yeah Man', before exploding into fan favourite 'Thug Workout', singer Rob Damiani was quick to establish "I don't want anyone getting squashed, take care of each other alright!" and while the push-up squad might not have been out in full force today there were still a hell of a lot of people who turned out to see this magnificent performance. Despite the fact that the microphone disconnected quite early into the set, the crowd carried them through the issues meaning that everything was resolved before it became a nuisance. The problem was fixed before they jumped into 'The Whole Truth', following it up with a new song that includes everything we've learnt to love in a Don Broco song; woah-oh singalongs and drummer Matt Donnelly performing backing vocals. The rest of the set comprised of everything you'd expect from Don Broco: 'Priorities', 'Fancy Dress', 'Let's Go Back To School' (with a pre-song call out to Lonely The Brave, Marmozets and Lower Than Atlantis for being with them in the school of upcoming rock), 'Actors', finishing with 'You Wanna Know', the song that had been out for less than a week last time they played at Reading Festival. If you haven't heard of Don Broco you need to check them out right now, as they've been announced as the headliner for the Kerrang! Tour 2015 and their new album is going to be absolutely fantastic.

Setlist: 
Yeah Man
Thug Workout
The Whole Truth
New Song
Priorities
Fancy Dress
Let's Go Back To School
Actors
You Wanna Know

Both Foster The People and Imagine Dragons did rather predictable set closers; the former finishing with their biggest two hits 'Pumped Up Kicks' and 'Don't Stop (Color On The Walls)' and the latter performing the extended version of 'Radioactive' that has become well known on the festival circuit in the last year.

I was excited about seeing Issues and was not disappointed, even with only knowing a couple of the songs they played. The sing-along for 'King Of Amarillo' was a brilliant show of how they are quickly growing to have a huge fanbase and, with the announcement that they're supporting Bring Me The Horizon on their debut show at Wembley Arena, that fanbase is only going to get larger.

Jake Bugg and Arctic Monkeys are both acts that I would never have willingly gone to see out of a festival environment, so I was extremely hesitant about attending either during Saturday night. But with no one else to see, that's exactly where I ended up. Jake Bugg and his wailing vocal had not improved from his earlier acoustic set, much to my dismay, so fighting through bleeding ears I hung around for the end of his set before taking a break to go and listen to Band of Skulls, who played the uplifting and catchy as hell tune 'I Know What I Am' which cheered me up immensely. Arctic Monkeys were, surprisingly, better than Jake, playing a lot of songs that I actually recognised: 'Do I Wanna Know?', 'Arabella', 'Don't Sit Down 'Cause I've Moved Your Chair' and, my personal favourite, 'I Bet You Look Good On The Dance Floor'. Despite the fact that I absolutely detest the band I can't discredit from their ability to headline a festival of this stature, even though it absolutely pains me to say that it was a pretty decent set.



But there was no way I was staying for the rest of it, because that would have meant missing Of Mice and Men. And that was just not happening. Kicking off with 'Public Service Announcement', the opening track from newest full length 'Restoring Force', showed screamer Austin Carlile bursting into action and the high energy lasted through the rest of their fifty minute set. Since the release of 'Restoring Force' back in January I've been saying it's one of the best albums I've ever heard, and that doesn't change in a live environment. The set was flecked with older songs, such as 'OG Loko' and 'The Depths', but the majority was comprised of their new release, with 'Feels Like Forever', 'Bones Exposed', 'Would You Still Be There?' and 'You're Not Alone' all included in the set. Newest addition to the band, Aaron Pauley, proved how invaluable he is with his spectacular vocal performance and showed everyone that this might be a heavy band but they can have their emotional moments. With this being their first time playing Reading festival it was brilliant to see such a great crowd reaction and these guys are definitely one of the biggest cross-over bands from this genre into the mainstream. If they aren't back at Reading festival in the future, it'll only be because they're too busy headlining Download or Sonisphere.

Sunday:

Opening main stage on the Sunday were The Story So Far, a band I didn't have much previous knowledge of but had always intended to listen to, who put on a great performance and had a good crowd turnout for such an early band on the final day of the festival. With the recent stunt that Parker Cannon pulled on Warped tour (if you don't know what I'm talking about check it out) everyone had been talking about this band and they were definitely worth arriving early to experience. Despite the fact that I didn't know any of the songs I still had a very enjoyable time, and with Parker saying "Thank you for supporting us when we sucked! Well... We still suck," it shows that this band have got a long way to go before the understand the talent that they possess.

Next up, Emily's Army on the Lock Up stage. Drummer Joey Armstrong, son of Green Day's legendary singer Billie Joe Armstrong, is the reason that most people know about this band but they aren't as similar as I had expected. You can definitely see the influence, don't get me wrong, but there are also vibes from The Beach Boys which make Emily's Army an amazing combination. Again, I didn't know any of the songs (apart from their cover of 'Dancing On My Own' by Robyn) so I can't really assess whether they lived up to their songs in a live environment, but the show was fun and absorbing so I can't really fault it anyway.

I checked in on Tonight Alive for two songs: 'What Are You So Scared Of?' and 'Listening'. Quite frankly, I wish I hadn't bothered. After the show at Oxford I was feeling so much more enamored with Tonight Alive, because I'd never really managed to see the appeal that's caused such a huge fan base growth so quickly for them. At their Oxford show Jenna McDougall seemed so down to earth, wearing jeans and a t-shirt, but walking around stage in yellow jumpsuit trousers and a humongous hat paired with dreadlocked hair, it was just so far removed from that performance. Before anyone starts ranting, I don't judge musicians ability on their looks, it was just one of the many reasons I was confused by this sudden alteration. Her voice seemed shrill and off pitch and it just didn't live up to what I'd seen only five days before. One of the reasons I could see the appeal of Tonight Alive was because of how normal and easy to relate to they seemed to be, but that's completely changed now.

Another thing that completely changed was my opinion of The Neighbourhood. Don't get me wrong, I adore The Neighbourhood. I don't think I can explain how much, or why, but something about this band just absolutely grabbed me. Their full length album, 'I Love You', is one of the smoothest debuts I've heard since 'A Fever You Can't Sweat Out' by Panic! At The Disco hit the shelves back in 2005, but I just didn't expect it to translate to a live performance. I always felt that the album was slightly auto-tuned... I don't know if it actually was, but on 'Sweater Weather' especially you can definitely hear an effect. So despite the fact that The Neighbourhood are one of my favourite bands at the moment, I was absolutely terrified about seeing them live. But all of my fears were completely dissipated. 'WDYWFM?' saw people flooding into the tent at a speed that I hadn't witnessed since the performance by Gerard Way, 'Jealou$y' was well recognised despite the fact that it wasn't on their full length release, while finishing up with 'Sweater Weather' (introduced with the no fuss statement of "We're gonna do the sweater one,") and 'Afraid' was both predictable but perfectly executed.

Going from The Neighbourhood back over to main stage, I finally got to witness live the new Young Guns song that I left during their performance at Gloucester Guildhall. They performed the two new, previously unheard, songs (since revealed to be titled 'Memento Mori' and 'Rising Up', according to the BBC 1 setlist) one after the other which was an amazingly ballsy move for a festival set, following them with well-known crowd favourites 'Towers (On My Way)', 'Dearly Departed', 'You Are Not (Lonely)' and 'Bones'. Young Guns always perform without fault and I can't wait to see them again in the Wembley Arena environment in December, supporting Bring Me The Horizon (alongside Sleepwave and Issues, whose Reading set I reviewed earlier).

After the disappointing secret set on Saturday, I didn't get my hopes up for the secret set on Sunday, but I was pleasantly surprised when You Me At Six walked out on the stage. I've always been an advocate for them releasing an acoustic album (or at least another acoustic EP) following 'The Acoustic Sessions' they released in conjunction with Banquet Records for Record Store Day 2011, so an entire acoustic set was like heaven for me. On the one hand, I did find it frustrating that all of the songs were taken from their most recent album, 'Cavalier Youth', which I think is the least impressive album they've created, but it was good to hear newer songs arranged in a different manner. The set was only five songs long: 'Lived A Lie', 'Fresh Start Fever', 'Cold Night', 'Wild Ones' and 'Room To Breathe', but it was one of the most beautiful and unmissable moments of the weekend, so you should probably go and watch it, or order the special edition of 'Cavalier Youth', out in October.

Due to staying at the You Me At Six acoustic for a little bit too long, I did miss the beginning of Papa Roach (but a reliable source has informed me that I only missed 'Infest', as I arrived for the end of 'Between Angels and Insects') but the rest of their set was pretty impressive. I'm gonna be honest and admit that I haven't listened to much Papa Roach since the release of 'Metamorphosis', so I didn't know 'Where Did The Angels Go' or 'Burn', but watching the energy that vocalist Jacoby Shaddix was putting into the entire performance really made me want to catch up on their recent releases. 'Forever' was an unexpected inclusion in the set list, made all the more enjoyable for that, but 'Scars' was an anti-climax, with backing vocalist Jerry Horton completely over-powering Jacoby, making the moment less heartbreaking and more irritating. The only recent song that I recognised was 'Kick In The Teeth' (due to it being completely over played on Kerrang! in the weeks following its release) but it had a much better atmosphere live. I didn't know 'Silence Is The Enemy' or 'Still Swinging' but watching Jacoby running up and down the barrier in front of the crowd, randomly jumping on them or high-fiving them, was an experience I don't think I'll ever forget. With a brief interlude to pick out people in the crowd (among them someone carrying a large... erm... male instrument) Jacoby gave a quick impromptu cover of 'All Star' by Smashmouth after seeing someone dressed in a Shrek mask, declaring "Ugh, I hate that song, that shit makes me wanna throw up. I hate you Shrek," followed by '...To Be Loved', 'Getting Away With Murder' and the popular, anthemic 'Last Resort'. If there was such a thing as not liking Papa Roach, any doubters in the crowd would have been converted with this set.

I didn't catch all of Neck Deep, but it's better than I've ever managed before (having missed them two times already) and I was pleasantly surprised. I'm not such a fan of the new pop-punk resurgence, filled with more punk than pop, but having heard such amazing things about Neck Deep and seeing their supremely fast growth in America over the last year I was eager to see them in a live environment. I wasn't disappointed. 'Losing Teeth' and 'Crushing Grief (No Remedy)' were extremely well executed and even though I didn't know many of their songs I had an all round good time. Breaking up their set for a quick run over to Sleeping With Sirens (I was desperate to hear 'If You Can't Hang', don't judge) I managed to get back just after 'A Part Of Me' started and it was great to hear such a good singalong for the homecoming heroes. With the Intercontinental Championships tour next February, Neck Deep are cementing their name as the best band in British pop punk and I don't think anyone is surprised.

Back to Sleeping With Sirens for the very last word of 'Congratulations', I will admit I was fangirling just a little bit. I've been a fan since the acoustic EP 'If You Were A Movie This Would Be Your Soundtrack' and seeing them live feels like it's been a long time coming, even if it's been just over two years. Playing 'Here We Go' followed by 'Low' proved to be a slow procession into the set, with 'Trophy Father's Trophy Son' and 'Tally It Up, Settle The Score' proving, in my opinion, that 'Let's Cheers To This' was a much better release for the band. Squealer (well, with that high pitched vocal can you really call him anything else?) Kellin Quinn was superb, hitting notes that I had no idea existed, but breaking up a fast paced and fairly heavy set with the acoustic rendition of 'With Ears To See and Eyes To Hear' (following the hilarious "I like your giant cock, thank you for bringing that with you!") was a stroke of genius, showing everyone that this band aren't just popular due to the astonishingly high vocals; they genuinely do have substance. This was proved even further with the arrival of new song 'Kick Me', with it's repetition of 'Shit, shit, shit' easy to remember and catchy as hell. Wrapping up with 'Do It Now, Remember It Later' and, the only song performed from their first album, 'If I'm James Dean, You're Audrey Hepburn' shows why this band are so far up on main stage and will be so much further up next year.

Setlist: 
If You Can't Hang
Congratulations
Here We Go
Low
Trophy Father's Trophy Son
Tally It Up, Settle The Score
Scene 5: With Ears To See and Eyes To Hear
Kick Me
Do It Now, Remember It Later
If I'm James Dean, You're Audrey Hepburn

Following Sleeping With Sirens on main stage were A Day To Remember. I've only ever seen them once, acoustically, so I had literally no idea what to expect from a live performance. I will admit, after the album 'Homesick', I kinda gave up with A Day To Remember. I don't know why, it just seemed to happen. Starting off with 'The Downfall Of Us All' automatically had me hooked, as it was one of the best songs on that album, but I lost my focus again throughout '2nd Sucks' and 'Right Back At It Again', meaning that even the triumph that was 'I'm Made Of Wax, Larry, What Are You Made Of?' didn't completely redeem the set in my mind. Honestly, I'd written them off completely, with 'Why Walk On Water When We've Got Boats' seeming an odd fit to the set and 'All Signs Point To Lauderdale' sounding so much like so many other songs I've heard recently. However, my mind completely changed when they played 'If It Means A Lot To You'. It's the song that, I think, is clearly the best song A Day To Remember have ever written. Following it up with 'Homesick' was a stroke of genius, with frontman Jeremy McKinnon zorbing across the crowd and making sure that everyone was having an amazing time. He's amazingly charismatic and his stage presence is completely absorbing (get it, cause he was zorbing?...) and it's undeniable what an amazing live band they really are. I still wasn't sure on 'End Of Me', so the new songs are going to take some time to get used to, but 'Sometimes You're The Hammer, Sometimes You're The Nail' was so completely them that it's easy to see the influences from their earlier albums are still very much in play now.  'All I Want' caused one of the biggest singalongs of the weekend, by far, while finishing with 'The Plot To Bomb The Panhandle' was unexpected and more exciting because of that.

Setlist:
The Downfall Of Us All
2nd Sucks
Right Back At It Again
I'm Made Of Wax, Larry, What Are You Made Of?
Why Walk On Water When We've Got Boats
All Signs Point To Lauderdale
If It Means A Lot To You
Homesick
End Of Me
Sometimes You're The Hammer, Sometimes You're The Nail
All I Want
The Plot To Bomb The Panhandle

I don't know enough about The Kooks to form a solid opinion, but if you want a nice nostalgia trip with a bit of recent pop chucked in they're a safe bet. With favourites 'Naive', 'Seaside' and 'She Moves In Her Own Way' scattered about the set and newest singles 'Around Town' and 'Down' at the beginning of the set, there was nothing really missing from this performance (apart from what I believed, apparently wrongly, was their biggest hit 'Always Where I Need To Be') and it seemed pretty well done even though I had nothing to really base an opinion on.

Having missed the surprise guest appearance from Alex Gaskarth of All Time Low, the end of You Me At Six's set was much the same as any You Me At Six set; all the songs sound pretty good but they just don't get me excited anymore because of the fact that the conclusion is always so predictable. Playing 'Room To Breathe', their newest release, along with 'Bite My Tongue' and 'Lived A Lie', there was nothing that shocked me, which meant it was a pretty average set to wander along to. I'm glad I saw the acoustic set, because it was something unique, but if You Me At Six don't shake up their set list a bit more before the co-headline tour with All Time Low I'm going to be majorly disappointed.

Talking of disappointed, that's exactly what I was with Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. Or rather, I was disappointed with the crowd's reaction to them. If you go to a festival and there are bands/acts you don't want to see, just don't go along! Even if it means you aren't close enough to your idols during their set, just don't put yourself through the torture. From where I was stood, Macklemore was putting on an amazing performance; he ran through all of his major hits (namely 'Thrift Shop', 'Same Love' and 'Can't Hold Us') in the first half of his set, while also giving us a listen to his new hit 'Arrow', but when they showed the crowd on the screen more than half of the people at the front just had no interest at all, which really bugged me. I'm not the biggest Macklemore fan. I only know the names of a few songs (to be precise, four songs; the four I just talked about) but I know that when you go to a festival you go to have a laugh and to have some fun and if you can't dance along to 'Thrift Shop', I don't know what you can dance along to. I would have stayed for more of the set if I hadn't been such a big letlive. fan (and I still only managed to catch their last song) because it was a massive laugh and it was a very entertaining set, one of the most entertaining sets of the weekend to be precise.

Following my (brief) attendance of letlive.'s set, I skedaddled across to the Festival Republic stage to watch Mayday Parade, a band who have never managed to succeed in the mainstream but still have rather a dedicated fan following. No discredit to them, but it was a predictable set. Having seen and reviewed them back in February, it's now six months later and I have nothing different to say. Frontman Derek Sanders was still lovable and energetic, but there's still no spark that will grant them the success they've been working hard towards for nearly a decade.

Setlist: 
When You See My Friends
Jamie All Over
Three Cheers For Five Years
12 Through 15
Ghosts
Black Cat
Oh Well, Oh Well
Jersey

Next, with another predictable set closer, were The 1975, who finished with their massive hits 'Chocolate' and 'Sex'. Vocalist Matt Healy seemed squeakier than usual, but no-one really cared at the end of the night; a good song to dance to is a good song to dance to, with or without vocal issues.

Finally, the main event. Closing the entire three day weekend of Reading Festival is a big feat for any band and none seemed better equipped to handle it than Blink-182, what with it being their second time in five years. As with any good Blink-182 show, it did not go as smoothly as anyone had planned. Tom DeLonge was stumbling over his words more than a drunk guy attempting to get home, fumbling through intermission speaking and even getting the words to 'Always' muddled up. His pronunciation still hasn't gotten any better either, but if it had would we really have been attending a Blink-182 concert?! Again, the only word to describe the set list would be predictable with a little sprinkle of weird; no one was expecting snippets of covers or new lyrics for well known songs. But with no new album released since 'Neighborhoods', the album that filled most of their last Reading headline set, it seemed a bit premature to reinstate them at such a high degree. Don't get me wrong, this is a band I will respect eternally for birthing such a diverse and impressive range of new acts. But tonight just didn't seem to be their night. Yes, they played all of the hits (I'll insert the set list below, I don't really have any specific comments on specific songs) but they didn't seem as sharp as usual, apart from drummer Travis Barker who doesn't seem to have an off switch to his perfectionist playing. The banter seemed a bit off-kilter and just didn't flow as easily as a usual show, which made the entire experience a little bit vexing. However, it was still an amazing performance. It might seem like I'm saying a lot of negative things but out of the three closing acts that performed this weekend, Blink-182 out shined them all, without a doubt. Interacting with the crowd, getting people dancing and jumping along, it was all out party season and it definitely felt like a welcoming to a band who might have been slacking a little bit recently but still have a solid collection of fans to fall back on. The introduction to the encore seemed abrupt, with vocalist Mark Hoppus shouting "that's it, that's the end," before the band left the stage for what felt like an hour and then exploded back out with 'Violence', 'Dammit' and 'Family Reunion' (followed by a drum solo by Mark that was absolutely amazing) but with a band the size and calibre of Blink-182 they're allowed to make some oddball decisions. How many bands would play a headline set at Reading Festival and turn out the lights at the midway point to play a song called 'Happy Holidays, You Bastard' in the pitch black? Not many, which is why I believe they're one of the best headliners that could have been chosen despite vocal issues and a bunch of dud notes.



Setlist: 
Feeling This
What's My Age Again?
The Rock Show
Up All Night
Down
I Miss You
Dumpweed
Wishing Well
Happy Holidays, You Bastard
Always
Stay Together For The Kids
Asthenia
First Date
Easy Target
All Of This
Hybrid Moments
Man Overboard
Ghost On The Dancefloor
All The Small Things
Carousel
Violence
Dammit
Family Reunion