Review: You Me At Six @ The Academy, Dublin – Oct 10th 2016

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.

 

Review: All Time Low @ 3Arena – Feb 16th 2016

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.

Review: Mayday Parade @ The Academy, Dublin – Feb 2nd 2016

 

Photo: twitter.com/maydayparade

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?

Photo: twitter.com/maydayparade