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... 

TOP FIVE WEDNESDAY: Top five books more people should read

(Top Five Wednesday was created by GingerReadsLainey. Find out more at the Goodreads group!)

The topic for this week is actually underrated books, but because I talked about that on Top Ten Tuesday last week, I thought I'd change it up a bit. These five books are all ones that I've rated five stars, but despite recommending them to all of my friends and colleagues, hardly anyone picks up. I need people that I can talk to about these books, dammit!

5) 'Volition' by Lily Paradis

Not many books make me cry, but this one had me bawling my eyes out until 2am. It looks like it's not in print anymore (the only copies I can see on Amazon are up in the hundreds!) which explains why not many people have read it, but I wish it could be picked up by more people because I loved it.

4) 'Far From You' by Tess Sharpe

'Far From You' appeals to readers of all genres: thrillers, romances, crimes, contemporaries. Despite being a YA book, it has a far-reaching appeal, and I genuinely believe everyone could find something to love about this book. But whenever I get all excited about this book and talk about it in conversation, people's eyes glaze over and they just look confused. 

3) 'The Last Leaves Falling' by Fox Benwell

'The Last Leaves Falling' by Sarah (now Fox) Benwell is one of the most beautiful books I've ever read. It focuses on a teenager who has ALS, and after all of those people participated in the ice bucket challenge to raise money to assist sufferers I thought they'd want to read more about it and understand exactly how people are affected. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. I only know one other person in real life that's picked this book up. I'm ashamed.

2) 'A Quiet Kind of Thunder' by Sara Barnard

Okay, this book has only been out for a couple of weeks, but that doesn't mean people can just ignore my recommendations! I have performed soliloquies to multiple people about how amazing this book is, and none of them have run away mid-conversation to go and buy it as soon as they could. Why?!

1) 'Red Rising' by Pierce Brown

I know for a fact that some of my friends are going to LOVE this book, but none of them seem to want to take my word for it. Despite enthusing about my adoration for this series for the last two years, I can't name a single person that I've recommended it to that has told me that they love it too. Argh!

I hope you enjoyed this Top Five Wednesday! If you've read any of the books, please let me know - I need someone to flail with! 

BLOG TOUR: 'Burned and Broken' by Mark Hardie - SPOILER FREE

Welcome to my stop on the 'Burned and Broken' blog tour! It's taken me a while to get my thoughts about this one in order which is why this post is going up so late in the day, but what I can tell you is that it's a very enjoyable read, and one of the most intriguing crime debuts I've ever picked up. 

'Coming back into consciousness... his senses gradually returning... but they were piecemeal, disjointed... disconnected.'

It's a disorienting way to start the novel, but that's what makes it so damn effective.

The body of DI Sean Carragher is found in a burnt-out car on the seafront. Recently suspended, he was the subject of an internal investigation after an assault allegation was filed by a suspect he'd interviewed. Carragher was part of the team investigating the death of Alicia Goode, a sixteen-year-old who plunged to her death from an overpass, seemingly a drunk accident. But nothing is normally that clear cut, and the team know not to believe in coincidences. Could their deaths be connected?

It's down to DS Frank Pearson and DC Cat Russell of the Essex Major Police Investigation Team to solve the cases before anyone else can get hurt. But Pearson has health problems and family issues to worry about, and Cat has the Professional Standards Department grilling her to find out more information about Sean even before he dies. 

With so much going on, will they be able to find their killer? 

It took me a while to get into 'Burned and Broken'. Mark Hardie has a unique writing style, but it's hard to adjust to.
The first 150 pages were a struggle. There aren't many indentations which means that the paragraphs are long and hard to concentrate on, but the sentences are short, often just one or two words strung together. The juxtaposition confused me. My uncertainty deepened when I realised that some of the chapters were literally two or three pages long, the chapter breaks inserted in places that weren't sensible and interrupted the flow of the story.
However, after I'd gotten to grips with the style I really enjoyed this novel. Don't discount it too quickly, give it a chance! Mark is such a genius storyteller, his plot so tightly woven that there's no chance of peeking through and seeing what's coming before it happens.
Part one is set in the four days preceding Carragher's death, part two dealing with the aftermath and the investigation. We follow all of the characters closely, getting into all of their heads to discover their back stories and the insecurities that plague them. Knowing that this is the first installment in a series (a preview of the sequel, 'Truly Evil', is featured at the end of the book) it makes sense that the focus is heavily skewed towards the people rather than the crime-fighting. The characters interact beautifully, particularly Cat and Frank: they have an almost paternal relationship, and I'm interested to see how their partnership develops in the future.
Personally, I find it difficult to care about the characters in crime novels; I'm always much more focused on speeding to the end and resolving the case. The opposite happened during this story. I found myself losing interest in who had killed Sean Carragher, because I was so absorbed by what was going on with Frank and his ex-wife Ruth, and how Cat was dealing with being one of the only female officers on the team. They're so realistic, and I'm craving more adventures with this team.
I don't want to give too much away about who the culprit was, but I do want to applaud Mark for writing about teenagers in the care system. In the past there have been reports regarding abuse in the care system, but this is a topic that's frequently brushed under the carpet: to have it so directly tackled is refreshing. Pearson and Russell are both compassionate, subverting every 'good cop, bad cop' expectation, and both characters care about getting justice but also doing the right thing. It's a match made in heaven, and there is so much storytelling potential within them.



It's been a while since I last read a British crime novel, but Mark Hardie has revived my love for a genre that I'd lost touch with and I'm extremely grateful for that.
There is some resolution at the end of the story, but a lot of loose ends are left untied. I can't wait to see what happens with the subplots that are laced throughout this novel, and I'll definitely be picking up books by Mark in the future.

TOP TEN TUESDAY: Ten thrillers that look fascinating

(Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and The Bookish!)

Unless you don't come 'round these parts often, you'll know that I mostly talk about YA books here. I've been reading more crime and thriller books for blog tours (specifically 'The Dry' by Jane Harper and 'Burned and Broken' by Mark Hardie, the post for which will be going up later today) and it's made me want to read more this year.
These thrillers are all ones that I've been looking at reading for a while, but haven't had time to just yet.

10) 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' by Steig Larsson

Looking back, it seems that this book was responsible for catapulting thrillers to the forefront of public awareness. I bought the entire series years ago, but because they're so chunky I haven't read them just yet. It seems necessary to at least give this series a go.

9) 'The Ex' by Alafair Burke

I was interested in this one because the cover reminded me of 'Viral' by Helen Fitzgerald, which I'd just borrowed from the library. I always get intrigued by covers that ask questions, particularly when the taglines are that large and memorable. I haven't heard anything about this book, and I want to keep it that way so that I can be surprised!

8) 'The Girl in 6E' by A.R. Torre

This book grabbed my interest because it reminded me of the promo pictures for season one of 'American Horror Story'. I don't know too much about it, but it's the first in a series so I'm hoping I'll like this one.

7) 'Too Close For Comfort' by Eleanor Moran

I only discovered this book last week, when I was shelving returns at the library: I really liked the cover, so I looked it up on Goodreads and now I can't wait to read it. A friend of a friend of our protagonist commits suicide, but all is not as it seems and her close-knit group of friends seem to be keeping secrets...

6) 'Pretty Is' by Maggie Mitchell

Two girls get kidnapped for two months when they're twelve. Nearly twenty years later, they must confront their past. I'm fascinated by what happens to kidnapping victims after the fact - one of the reasons I liked Pretty Little Liars and 'The Dollhouse' by Nicole Thorn so much - and this one definitely appeals to me.

5) 'Disclaimer' by Renee Knight

I was lucky enough to find a signed copy of 'Disclaimer' in a charity shop, and I STILL haven't read it! A woman has a book on her bedside table, and while reading it she realises it's the story of a dark time in her life. Damn. 

4) 'Her Every Fear' by Peter Swanson

Having read and enjoyed 'The Kind Worth Killing' - so much so that I wrote two reviews, one spoiler-filled and one spoiler free -  I've been looking forward to reading another Peter Swanson novel. I have a copy of 'The Girl with a Clock for a Heart' and I'm going to read that one soon, but 'Her Every Fear' - which was released this month - looks gripping.

3) 'Good Me, Bad Me' by Ali Land

This is another new release, so I don't feel so bad for not having read it yet. I spotted it at the library the other day, and while the cover is intriguing the synopsis is even more so. Annie's mother is a serial killer, and the only way she can make it stop is to turn her into the police. Even better this is a debut novel - I love discovering new authors!

2) 'The Girl on the Train' by Paula Hawkins

I bought this the day it came out. The hype surrounding it was unreal, the reservation list on all of the copies in the library was over twenty people deep, and I wanted to get my hands on it instantly. Safe to say, I didn't read it. I still haven't read it. But one day, I will.

1) 'Gone Girl' by Gillian Flynn

When you think of the word "thriller", the first book that pops into your head is 'Gone Girl'. I'd intended to read this fairly soon after it was released, but things got in the way... Now it's been years, and while I haven't got explicit spoilers I have a good idea of what the twist in the tale is. I'm still looking forward to seeing how Gillian Flynn gets there, though!

I hope you enjoyed the topic I chose to write about for freebie week! What did you talk about on your Top Ten Tuesday list?

WTF Did I Miss This Week? #16 (w/c 16/01/17)

The publishing world:

There were some awesome cover reveals, including one I was involved in!:

New releases included:

In other news:

• Jay Coles announced his debut novel, 'Tyler Johnson Was Here'. It's inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, and will be released in spring 2018...
• ...while Emily Suvada's YA debut, 'This Mortal Coil', was acquired by Penguin Random House and will be released towards the end of 2017. 
• Matt Haig announced that he's finished his new novel, 'How To Stop Time', and it will be released in July.
• Sabaa Tahir had a very eloquent response to someone who asked her why she was supporting 'Carve The Mark' despite the racist and ableist criticisms surrounding it.

The music industry:

A bountiful number of new releases this week:

Some big new music this week, including:

The comeback single from Gorillaz, their first new song in six years:

A pretty cool lyric video for that One OK Rock and 5 Seconds of Summer collaboration:

'Bad Behaviour', the first single from The Maine's new album, 'lovely, little, lonely', which will be released on April 7th:

The first single from Coast To Coast's upcoming EP, 'The Length of a Smile':

And a very hot video from Biffy Clyro (and not just because Simon Neil is always shirtless!): 

Also this week:

• Lower Than Atlantis released a 'Boomerang' into the world
• twenty one pilots finally played their cover of My Chemical Romance's 'Cancer' live
• Mallory Knox are 'Better Off Without You'
• Billie Joe Armstrong's son Jakob Danger released three new songs
• Chad Gilbert of New Found Glory fame teamed up with LEGO to release 'Build Free'
• Slaves released their first single since their implosion last year, aptly titled 'I'd Rather See Your Star Explode'
• Last, but most certainly not least - I'm literally shaking as I'm typing this - SONNY MOORE IS BACK IN FROM FIRST TO LAST! Check out their new song, 'Make War', and get hyped with me.

A bunch more tour announcements for you:

• Basement are touring the UK with Higher Power from the end of February. For some reason they're playing two small shows back-to-back in each city - odd.
• One OK Rock are touring Japan from February to May, being supported by bands including Don Broco and Fall Out Boy.
• We Are The Ocean announced their impending break-up, accompanied by three farewell shows at the end of March.
• High Tyde have announced a small run of dates in March, supported by The Pale White.
• Hey Violet will be embarking on their first ever US headline tour in March, supported by Jessarae.
• Counterfeit will be headlining shows across the UK and Europe throughout March and April. They'll be playing songs from their debut album, 'Together We Are Stronger', which will be released on March 17th.
• To coincide with their album announcement, The Maine announced a world tour running from March to August.
• Best friends Coast To Coast and Better Than Never are embarking on another co-headline tour in April. Support at the majority of dates comes from Pine. 
• Patent Pending will be returning to the UK in April.
• Real Friends are touring the US from April to June. Accompanying them on the run will be Tiny Moving Parts, Have Mercy, Broadside and Nothing, Nowhere.
• Evanescence are playing a one-off London headline show on June 14th. Guessing this means they're going to be added to Download festival that weekend!

In other news:

• Kris Kristofferson has announced that he'll be playing Glastonbury...
• ...while Boardmasters, Isle of Wight, Chicago Open Air and Lollapalooza Paris had line-up announcements...
• ...and a bunch of bands were added to Warped Rewind At Sea. I'm so tempted to get a passport!
• There was also an announcement of an announcement: the next Reading and Leeds headliner will be unveiled next week. 
• Deaf Havana announced that the support from their upcoming UK tour will be Dinosaur Pile-Up and DEAD!...
• ...while Decade will be accompanied on their tour by Spring King and Wallflower...
• ...Against The Current will be teaming up with Hunger...
• ...and You Me At Six are bringing Tonight Alive and Black Foxxes around arenas in the UK. 
• Deez Nuts revealed that their new album, 'Binge & Purgatory', will be released April 7th.
• Despite there still not being news about their fifth album, 30 Seconds To Mars have announced another Camp Mars.
• Over-achievers twenty one pilots have now been nominated for a BRIT Award. Based on the artists they're up against, I think they have a good chance of winning that one.   
• CJ McMahon has rejoined Thy Art Is Murder...
• ...Pendulum have announced their first London show in six years...
• ...While another exciting reunion came in the shape of Audioslave, who are getting back together to play a one-off Anti-Inaugural Ball in protest against Donald Trump's inauguration. Who knew Trump could make something amazing happen?
• Signing off with some sad news, Ben Marvin, co-vocalist and founding member of Hacktivist, has announced he's leaving the band. Bummer.

My dream book conference

Eventbrite invited me to take part in this project, and it sounded like so much fun that I couldn't wait to get on board. If you haven't heard of Eventbrite, they're the largest self-service ticketing platform in the world that helps people find and plan events.
The project that I was invited to participate in was planning my dream book conference.

There are so many different authors and genres that it took me a very long time to decide what I would even want my conference to focus on, let alone who I'd invite! But after much deliberation, I decided that if I was going to host a book conference, I would host...

The majority of the most anticipated young adult books being published this year are from UK authors, so the UKYA scene deserves to have a light brightly shone upon it. 

For moderators, I'd definitely have to pick Lucy and Rachel, the hosts of #UKYAchat and #SundayYA respectively. I always join in with both of their chats on Twitter and never find myself bored, because they ask the most insightful questions.

Now, for the authors:

• Sara Barnard
  'Beautiful Broken Things' was one of my favourite debuts of all time, but I'm now calling Sara's second novel, 'A Quiet Kind of Thunder', my favourite book of all time. OF ALL TIME. That's a big claim. 
• Juno Dawson
  I loved 'All of the Above', and I can't wait for 'Margot and Me' to be released next week. Juno is transgender and has been sharing her journey in weekly columns for Glamour magazine, so she's definitely one of the most inspiring UKYA authors around.
• Lisa Williamson
  'The Art of Being Normal' was another debut that I LOVED. I went along to a panel with Lisa and David Levithan, and I was blown away by the answers she was giving. Lisa's second novel, 'All About Mia', is being released at the beginning of February, and I'm sure there will be just as much to ask her when it's finally out.
• Holly Bourne
  The Spinster Club trilogy has made feminism cool for the young generation, so inviting her along to participate in this conference would convert the entire room!
• Sarah Crossan
  Sarah beat off stiff competition last year to win the YA Book Prize for her free verse story 'One'. She's releasing a new novel soon, along with...
• Brian Conaghan
  , who recently won the Costa Children's Book Award, so it would be amazing to have both of these brilliant minds at the same event. 

I could go on, but I don't think you could fit many more authors in - particularly because I'd want all of them to talk for hours, which could make the conference overrun a little bit!

If you're thinking of planning an event, check out Eventbrite's conference management page. They've been used to organise TED talks in the past, so you can guarantee that they'll get the job done right.

If you were going to organise your dream book conference, what topic would you pick and who would you invite?

TOP FIVE WEDNESDAY: Top five Marmite books

(Top Five Wednesday was created by GingerReadsLainey. Find out more at the Goodreads group!)

Some books are like Marmite: you either love them, or you hate them. I'm a lot better at hating books than loving them, so this has been a very hard topic for me to choose titles for. I finally managed to narrow it down to five, though!

5) 'Divergent' by Veronica Roth

I can understand why people hate the later books in the series, but when I read it I thought that 'Divergent' was flawless as a series opener. It can work as a standalone, but it also sets up an enigma that urges you to carry on with the rest of the books, the huge cast are interesting and varied and it stood out from other dystopians (which was hard, because at the time of its release dystopians were vastly over-saturated!). 

4) 'Animal Farm' by George Orwell

I almost picked '1984', but I didn't love the entirety of that novel (you've got to admit there are some bits that drag!) but 'Animal Farm' was perfect from start to finish. I can understand people disagree with George Orwell's overly-political metaphors, but I think using animals is a genius way to evaluate humanity without obviously criticising.

3) 'The Catcher in the Rye' by J.D. Salinger

I've read 'The Catcher in the Rye' twice, and though I didn't like it as much the second time as I did the first, I still really enjoyed it. A lot of people think it's utter trash, but I think it's a brilliant classic and can definitely be called one of the first YA novels. 

2) 'Looking For Alaska' by John Green

I know a lot of people love 'Looking For Alaska', but most of the people I talk to say it's not their favourite John Green book. I thought 'Paper Towns' was okay but I absolutely hated 'The Fault In Our Stars', and I've had quite a few passionate arguments with people about why 'Looking For Alaska' is superior! 

1) The Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer

No, I haven't read the gender swapped version of 'Twilight' that was released for the tenth anniversary, but I actually loved the series when I first read it. For someone who has always been terrified of finishing series, I was surprised when I managed to read all four of these fairly chunky books within a week. 

I've read a lot more since picking these up, and I have a feeling that I'll be a lot less affectionate towards them if/when I reread them, but I definitely can't see why people slate them as much as they do. 

I hope you enjoyed this Top Five Wednesday! Do you love or hate any of these books, or do you just feel ambivalent towards them?