I’m usually not that in to support bands that I don’t know. In fact, I missed one (or maybe two) of VANT’s opening songs because I wanted Boojum.
But they were really good. And I say this as someone who never really ‘got’ the Arctic Monkeys/Vaccines etc vibe that VANT are going for.
The politically-minded quartet sounded incredibly polished and managed to get through ten songs in their 30-minute set – an impressive feat that gave a room full of people who had, for the most part, never heard of them leaving with a reason to tune in again.
Cited as one of The Telegraph’s Sound of 2016 acts earlier this year, the band’s debut album DUMB BLOOD which launches in February is definitely something to keep an eye out for.
You Me At Six made the odd decision to not tour their most recent album, Cavalier Youth, in Ireland and we may never truly know why. If memory serves correctly, this leaves a gap of headlining Dublin shows for them that stretched from April 2012 to October 2016.
This Academy show was (gloriously) an 18+ affair with tickets still available on the door – a far cry from the sold out Olympias filled with 13-year old scene kids of the past. But it worked, and it worked well.
A rather fast-paced night saw the band run through a mix of eighteen songs in just under an hour and a half on stage. Those looking for old fan favourites like Save It for the Bedroom or Finders Keepers could forget about it as it seems any remnants of 2008’s Take Off Your Colours had been destroyed.
A far cry from the sold out Olympias filled with 13-year old scene kids of the past.
In one of the more confusing moments, frontman Josh Franceschi informed the crowd that his booking agent had confirmed a Dublin return in the new year only to backtrack and say this wasn’t true, but that he would make it happen for us.
Maybe it’s because I’ve gotten old, or maybe I’m just still disgruntled over the four year wait, but I wouldn’t hold my breath on that one.
Highlights of the night included a subdued rendition of Too Young to Feel This Old prefaced with some choice words about Donald Trump, and Plus One – a recently released song from the upcoming Night People LP.
We also got a sneak peek of another song off the increasingly promising album (due in January) in the form of Swear, which makes a welcome return to the band’s previous sound that was definitely absent on Night People’s title track.
Franceschi’s instructions before Forgive and Forget saw a room full of people on their friend’s shoulders, leaving everything at the door and simply focusing on having a great night. This was the moment of the set for me that truly felt like You Me At Six were back.
For a Monday night, the crowd were electric and did not give up until they were confident the band weren’t coming back. The pure energy present in The Academy clearly makes it extremely worthwhile for You Me At Six to return to smaller venues where they feel most at home.
Exclusively wears skinny tracksuits and a county minor jersey (or a business class half zip when it’s cold). Often seen travelling in packs and talking about hot chicken rolls.
2. The Well-Travelled One
The person making a return to college after Erasmus. Constantly talking about how much better German trains are and their need to return to a place where everyone just ‘gets it’.
3. The First Year
Usually lost but pretends not to be. Overdresses for the first six weeks before slowly, very slowly, they become a normal student and show up to lectures in whatever is clean, or just doesn’t show up at all.
4. The Secondary School Student
Usually from ‘just over the road’. Technically a college student, but came to UL with all of their school friends who they will continue hanging out with for four years while clinging on to their immaturity. Mostly seen whistling at passers by or just generally looking pretty stupid.
5. The Busy One
A member of at least four societies, three clubs and student council. They also play a musical instrument, volunteer for everything, have a QCA of 4.0 but still always manage to make it to quiet pints in Stables. How? HOW?
6. The Special Snowflake
They probably have a ‘quirky’ hair colour, study Japanese because it’s a ‘quirky’ language and only go to nightclubs because it’s ironic, apparently. Oh, and they’re probably vegan too but you definitely already knew that.
All those other countries in Europe seem to know their own language and also be fluent in English…so how hard can it be
Realise it is that difficult
Grammar? Word order? What do you mean Google Translate isn’t a reliable source?
3. Struggle with basic sentences
Ich bin? Ich heiße? Mein Name? WAS IST MEIN NAME?
Immediately forget everything the second you actually need to use it
So you’re in the country, ready to take the lead among your friends and interpret all the street signs and menus, then suddenly you end up crossing the Italian border after ordering something that definitely wasn’t nuggets.
Lose all speaking capability around natives
You think you’re good at the language you’re studying? Think again. Around native speakers, you will be reduced to mumbling and a complete loss of vocabulary, while they spit out English words that you’ve never even heard of.
Contemplate forgetting about the whole idea of a second language…
Ask yourself if you really need to put yourself through this, I mean, everyone speaks English anyway, right? You didn’t want to move abroad anyway. Nope. Not worth it.
…but realise you are actually improving and be happy in that knowing a second language will open so many doors for you.
I’ve been in college for nearly a full year now and I can safely say undertaking a journalism degree was one of my better decisions. But it was a last minute one, mainly because of the stigma that media jobs are obsolete.
I’ve always enjoyed writing but never wanted, and still don’t want, people to read my fiction, so from young enough I had dreams of being a journalist. Until I forgot about them. Yep, that’s right. I forgot I wanted to do journalism.
I think I have a route to go down, college-wise…whoa..haha
In secondary school I had this obsession with looking up courses and colleges. As in, I was just starting TY and knew what courses in what colleges had what modules. During this time, I was dead set on doing Politics and International Relations. I enjoy politics, I can write essays and I like languages so it seemed obvious to my 15-year-old self and I even decided that DCU was the best place to do it. So while everyone else was still going to teen discos and still thinking about their Junior Cert results, I was planning my future.
International relations in DCU gone down 10 points. Keep it up for two years pls
The same year, I re-watched the entirety of Grey’s Anatomy and looked up how to become a surgical nurse. Did it really matter if I didn’t have Junior Cert Science? I’m sure I could pick it up…
someone remind me why I signed up for a 26 week course on computer programming taking place on Saturday mornings
TY also saw me investigate computer science, video games and animation. I liked the idea of it, it would pay well but I was god awful at maths and couldn’t draw to save my life.
Like being Facebook savvy doesn't mean you're ready for a degree in computer science
In 5th year I went to the DCU open day, where going to the Politics and International Relations talk wasn’t even on my agenda because I had already forgotten about it. Instead, I found myself at a talk for Global and International Business studies. Guess what I came away wanting to do? I also attended a talk on Journalism and Communications but didn’t think a lot of it as the journalism course required a B1 in English and Communications didn’t sound overly appealing. So now I wanted to do business, and I hope you’re keeping up.
I also went to a UCC open day that year where I decided that Government would be a great course for me. At this time, I was feeling pessimistic about my Leaving Cert, found the lowest points course in UCC and was surprised to find I would actually be okay if that happened to me. I was convinced that’s where I was headed. But they were also launching a new film course and I liked watching movies and their facilities were cool, so I wanted to do that too.
Sometimes it's 2am and I start thinking about 5th year and the future and want to start nervously rocking back and forth
In my final year at school, I decided there was no way in hell I was doing business in college. Everyone wanted to do business in college. It’s not that I wanted to be different, I just wanted a more definite direction. Business was my best subject by a long way and everyone presumed I would want to go into that field but I couldn’t, and still can’t, imagine anything worse. So I looked elsewhere, again.
This is when law happened.
A couple of months in to 6th year I went to UL where the only talk I went to was for Law Plus and the guy made it sound perfect for me, and I thought it was. Up until then I had never told anyone about my career musings, even when I thought I was dead set on one. But I decided this time I finally had to reveal to people my true career path – law. It did not help that I was on a Suits binge when I decided this.
I filled out the CAO with things like Law, European Studies and International Relations and got used to the idea of having picked my course and could now focus on getting the points for it. I had brief moments of wanting Criminology in UCC and placed it on my CAO too, but I wanted to go to Limerick more than I wanted to go to Cork.
Woke up this morning with the impending CAO dead line looming over me
Then CAO deadline day came. The Leaving Cert was over, I was confident I had done well and would be able to begin Law Plus in September, but there had been something in the back of my mind for a few weeks. I remembered the Evie from a few years back who liked newspapers and writing, and I thought about what law would really be like, because I was definitely not as cool as Mike Ross. And I changed it. You heard me, I changed it, on deadline day, and that’s okay.
It’s okay to change your mind and it’s okay to choose what you love instead of what people think might make you more money. I don’t know if there’ll be a job for me at the end of my time in UL but I’m being given the best opportunities. With my course, I’m learning a language, I get six months of work placement and I get to study abroad. Those experiences will help me no matter where I end up.
I think the most important piece of advice I can give anyone is that you have to give things a chance or you’ll regret it and waste your time wondering ‘what if?’ I put down Journalism and New Media in UL, I got the points and started the course in September and I haven’t looked back since.
Let’s get something out of the way first – wrestling is fake. You know it, I know it, everyone knows it and the beautiful thing is that no one cares. If you were enthusiastically watching and enjoying Breaking Bad and I told you that everyone in it was actually acting, would you be upset? I didn’t think so.
Anyway, Wrestlemania is happening this Sunday night at the AT&T Stadium in Texas at 12am GMT. The pre-show begins at 10pm and that’s worth tuning in to, for reasons I will explain below.
You can watch it on the WWE Network (think Netflix but wrestling), which is free for a month if you sign up now and €12.99 per month thereafter, meaning you could technically watch this pay-per-view for free and then cancel the Network if you wanted to, but let’s not be ridiculous here.
There are 11 matches scheduled across the night. Here’s what they are and why they’re happening:
Kalisto (c) vs Ryback – US Championship Title Match
Ryback is The Big Guy, Kalisto is the little guy. This match is exclusive to the WWE Network and will be on the first hour of the pre-show. Expect lots of cool flips and catchphrases. Here’s a crazy spot Kalisto pulled off earlier this year:
The Usos vs The Dudley Boyz – Tag Team Match
If, like me, you watched some WWE when you were younger and have recently gotten back into it, you’ll probably be wondering what The Dudley Boyz are still around for. The answer? Not much. They’ve gotten tired of putting people through tables, turned heel and are now set in a pre-show tag team match against the loveably boring Usos, who are also brothers, but real ones.
The Total Divas vs Team B.A.D and Blonde – 10 Diva Tag Match
There is one Divas match on the main pay-per-view for the Divas Championship, but the final preshow match involves every other diva on the main roster and even Eva Marie. Yeah. You read that right. Interestingly, when she came out in a ‘shock moment’ not even her own supposed team mates were happy about it, so it should be fun to see where that goes. It’s an interesting dynamic – the stars of the E! hit reality show Total Divas vs everyone else who wasn’t good enough for the title picture this time around. Nevertheless, expect lots of Eva Marie heat and potentially witness Brie Bella’s final match before retirement.
The 3rd Annual Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal
This match actually got moved to a main PPV slot at the last minute so I’m hoping for something good. The format is 20 wrestlers in the ring, throwing each other over the top rope, Royal Rumble style. Last man in the ring gets a neat trophy and mild glory. Confirmed to be in the match are the likes of Big Show, Kane, Tyler Breeze, Goldust and the Social Outcasts.
The New Day vs The League of Nations – 4 vs 3 Handicap Match
The League of Nations are booty so the New Day are going to fight them. But it’s not for the tag team titles. For some reason. Take a shot every time someone says ‘booty’ or advertises Booty-O’s. On second thought, don’t – you might not make it to the main event.
Kevin Owens (c) vs Sami Zayn vs Dolph Ziggler vs Zack Ryder vs The Miz vs Stardust vs Sin Cara – 7 Man Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match
I really hope this match is as fun as I want it to be. It’s likely going to end up with Zayn vs Owens in the ring, but wouldn’t it be nice if Zack Ryder managed to win? I’m a massive fan of the underdog, and an even bigger fan of his excellent musical endeavour, Hoeski.
Chris Jericho vs AJ Styles – Singles Match
This pair have been feuding for a while on WWE television but it’s still not getting old. Jericho is showing off his best heel skills while WWE newcomer AJ Styles is going over big time. Expect this match to be full of skill and Jericho’s heelish antics.
Brock Lesnar vs Dean Ambrose – No Holds Barred Street Fight
This is going to be an all out brawl. There are no rules, weapons are allowed and Brock Lesnar is a beast. In the past few weeks Dean Ambrose has been gifted Mick Foley’s barbed wire bat and Terry Funk’s chainsaw. Will it be enough to get him out of Suplex City? I guess we’ll find out on Sunday night, haha Maggle!
Charlotte (c) vs Sasha Banks vs Becky Lynch – Divas Championship Triple Threat Match
This is the match that I am most hyped for, a statement that I’m not sure reflects particularly well on this year’s booking. Charlotte will have her father, Ric Flair, at her side while there’s rumours that Sasha Banks’ cousin Snoop Dogg will make an appearance in her corner. Meanwhile, Becky Lynch has…well, she has me, okay? I’m certainly rooting for the Dublin girl and would love to see her pull off a win while the others are too caught up in their antics to prevent it.
Shane McMahon vs The Undertaker – Hell in a Cell Match for Control of Monday Night Raw
I love a good stipulation match and it doesn’t get better than this. If Shane wins, he gets control of Monday Night Raw and the Undertaker can never compete at Wrestlemania again. If you asked me a few months ago who would face The Deadman and Wrestlemania and why, I could have had 50 tries and wouldn’t have guessed Shane’s return. I’m hoping Shane goes off the top of the cell, but considering he is 46 this is probably just wishful thinking.
Triple H (c) vs Roman Reigns – WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match
The main event no one asked for but got anyway! I’m joking, of course. Unlike most (IWC I’m looking at you), I’m relatively excited for this match. Maybe not as the final match of the night but excited nevertheless. Reigns has been going against The Authority for some time now, and is looking to finally regain the World Heavyweight Championship for Triple H. My guess is there will be a swerve here, I just don’t know what. Reigns winning would please no one, Trips winning would be kind of sad in 2016. The Rock is supposed to make an appearance somewhere during the night, maybe he’ll help his cousin Roman Reigns. The question is – could even The Rock get Reigns over?
St Patrick’s Day can bring out the worst in us, and by us I mean tourist retailers and stereotype-feeding Americans. I found 9 items that embody everything wrong with “Patty’s Day” culture across the pond.
Do people think drunk is the default Irish setting? I mean, sometimes it is, but do we really have to make ugly tank tops about it?
7. I actually came across a worrying amount of merchandise with the words ‘hooligan’, ‘shenanigans’ and ‘malarkey’ but most of them were too tragic to even put on this list. The best part about this one was the use of a four-leaf clover.
9. And now, for the pièce de résistance. There’s too much going on here. Pattie’s day? Donald Trump wearing a leprechaun hat? The insinuation that St Patrick’s day was ever not great? …I need to lie down.
I won tickets to All Time Low’s Back to the Future Hearts tour through a ‘like and share’ on Facebook. Who knew those things could actually be won? No one. Absolutely no one.
I probably would’ve went anyway, I’ve seen them every year since 2010, but not having to pay was delightful.
For the last two years All Time Low have played here on St Patrick’s Day and and for the last six or so years they’ve played the Olympia Theatre. This time, they’ve come early and stepped up to the 3Arena with the production to boot.
Against The Current are a good band and lead singer Chrissy Costanza has a hell of good set of pipes. It’s hard not to compare female leads in rock to the likes of Hayley Williams or Tay Jardine so I won’t (but if you like them you’ll love her). The band’s biggest moment was their excellent cover of Uptown Funk and I definitely want to hear more from them.
Let’s get this straight – It was very weird and perhaps even slightly uncomfortable to see Good Charlotte supporting All Time Low. I have longed to see Good Charlotte live for some time but the arena setting didn’t feel like a good fit. Not to mention, Joel Madden seemed pissed off about who-knows-what for the first half of the set, going through the motions of songs like Girls and Boys and The Anthem.
I guess they’re pretty sick of playing Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. It has been 14 years, after all
However, something happened halfway through – the band played a (brilliant) new song, Makeshift Love, and Joel exuded passion and enthusiasm from there out. Even though this is the first Good Charlotte tour in five years, I guess they’re pretty sick of playing Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. It has been 14 years, after all.
Much like when Yellowcard supported All Time Low in 2010, there was no sense of bitterness amongst Good Charlotte over playing second fiddle to a band who grew up listening to them and it seemed like they were genuinely just all good friends helping each other out. Plus, Good Charlotte played The River so how could I not be pleased?
All Time Low are my favourite band to see live and there’s a reason why I keep going back to them. Usually I know what to expect from an All Time Low show but this was different, this was arena. The band entered from a rising platform and there was plenty of pyrotechnics and smoke. But none of this took away from what we were all there for and that was the music.
All Time Low continually put on great shows and there’s a reason why people return to them
The band released their sixth studio album Future Hearts last April to critical praise as it was filled with arena-rock anthems like Kids in the Dark and Runaways. These songs certainly delivered in the large setting that also made classics such as Coffee Shop Soundtrack sound even better.
Alex Gaskarth and Jack Barakat are known for their witty stage banter and not-appropriate-for-kids jokes and this night was no different in that respect. There was also a lovely moment when the band brought out their crew, a cake and a round of shots to celebrate the end of tour and their tour manager’s birthday.
Photo: Tom Falcone Photography
Overall, the show felt personal without being a mess. One of my favourite moments was when Joel Madden returned to sing Bail Me Out, telling a story about having to bail Barakat out of prison that I don’t think people realised was a joke. At least I think it was.
The song is one of the catchier ones on Future Hearts that definitely has Good Charlotte vibes.
Photo: Tom Falcone Photography
All Time Low closed the show with Dear Maria, Count Me In as they usually do and Barakat sent himself into the crowd during this, causing a security nightmare that’s always hilarious to watch.
It’s difficult to impartially review a band when you’ve seen them so many times but I will say this – All Time Low continually put on great shows and there’s a reason why people return to them. Their first arena outing in Ireland was fun and full of shiny production and tricks. Perhaps they’ll return to the Olympia next year and while I would definitely prefer this, it can’t be said that they didn’t give it everything they had.
It’s hard to believe Mayday Parade have only put on shows in Ireland twice and at this show almost exactly two years after their first visit, I’m confident we will get another in the near future.
I cannot comment on the first of the three support bands, Beautiful Bodies, because the queue to get in to the building even 30 minutes after doors had opened was too long to bother with and I favoured coffee. However, my sources inform me they were pretty good.
I’ve been to a lot of gigs in the Academy over the years and I’ve never seen it as jam-packed, especially considering this was a Tuesday night in term-time.
The second support band, Have Mercy, were your typical pop-punk affair (which I have absolutely no problem with) and had some catchy jams and a lot of enthusiasm. There was also a significant portion of the crowd who seemed to be big fans which is always good to see when a band first comes here – hopefully they’ll visit again and regenerate the currently dismal gig scene.
Arizona group The Maine played next and in my mind could be described as a co-headliner slot. I had been listening to The Maine since my pre-pubescent emo days and finally seeing them live swelled my lil emo heart.
The queue to get in to the building even 30 minutes after doors had opened was too long to bother with and I favoured coffee
They were electric, enthusiastic and oddly enough incredibly inspiring. John O’Callaghan’s motivational rants seemed to lift the room and offer something slightly different to the usual “let’s curse and talk about Guinness!” attitude that’s always so prevalent with American bands.
As for the music, the set list journeyed through the band’s discography and had something for everyone. There was plenty of catchier tunes which made me long for a real headliner soon where they could show off their entire range. A particular highlight was Everything I Ask For – a song from The Maine’s first studio album Can’t Stop Won’t Stop released in 2008.
Then came the main event.
When I saw Mayday Parade two years ago in the same venue I was up front and completely lost in the awe of having them finally standing on the stage. This time, I was able to appreciate the smaller things.
Mayday Parade came on stage to One Of Them Will Destroy The Other – the opener from their new album Black Lines. It was an ideal beginning that allowed the crowd to let loose and the band to take it all in.
The set list was dotted with new songs that were performed to a high degree even though the crowd may not have had the time to get to know the words as is typical when touring a new album.
I always believe the most magical moment of any gig is when the vocalist stands back and lets the crowd take control of the song
The guitars were smooth and I must always commend drummer and sometimes-vocalist Jake Bundrick’s talent for his effortless multi-tasking, even though his mic never appeared to be turned up quite enough.
The real star of the show, as is usually the case with bands like Mayday Parade, was lead vocalist Derek Sanders who truly shone when left on stage alone to perform Terrible Things, one of the band’s many slow tear-jerkers that had even the heaviest of eyeliners running.
I always believe the most magical moment of any gig is when the vocalist stands back and lets the crowd take control of the song. Sanders has this art down perfectly, allowing us to perform parts of some better-known songs like Three Cheers for Five Years and Oh Well, Oh Well.
But this method was most mesmerising during Miserable at Best, another slow piano-driven ballad. For the final chorus the band exited the stage, leaving the crowd to continue singing – and continue they did. Until the very last note the volume in the Academy could not be rivalled.
Of course they then came back.
Mayday Parade closed the night with the classic Jersey from 2007’s wildly popular A Lesson in Romantics and I’d like to think everyone left satisfied that the night was €20 well spent.
Now there’s only one question – where can I buy tickets to their next show?
Evie - Not The Pokémon 