Tonight’s band is one that firmly resides in both the pop punk and metalcore camps and is loved because of it. A Day To Remember have sold out this O2 show long before tonight and the queues that snake out from both sides of the venue show that pretty much every ticket holder is champing at the bit to get on with it. Electric atmospheres are often spoken about inside venues, but having one outside is pretty new to me.
The queue outside is something that I got to be well acquainted with as I had to wait over an hour to collect my ticket from the box office. Sometimes these things happen and it’s no-one’s fault, but it did mean missing a chunk of openers Split Chain. Being searched twice by the same guy (who also managed to drop a bag full of photography gear on the ground) didn’t leave me in the best mood… but I’ll try not to let it taint an honest opinion of these guys.
They fall more into the post-hardcore world than anything you could consider punk or certainly pop. There’s some tracks where you have to ask yourself if they’re actually covering Deftones or just sound exactly like them. That’s not a bad thing, though. There’s a good energy on the stage and the frontman is definitely game for the show. They’re also playing to a full house from note one which had the crowd onside by the end of the set – even one attempted crowd surfing which was abandoned about two feet downstream. Definitely ones to watch if you’re into the heavier side of ADTR but might be a bit much if you’re one of the pop punkers here.
If there’s one act who can blast the sheer frustration out of your day, it’s this one. ADTR come on to a stage that’s shooting fire up from the back and blasting dry ice from the front. The sound is instantly deafening and the crowd release more energy than the Trinity explosion.
It’s clear that crowd surfing is expected from the wall of security beyond the barrier and they’re put to good use throughout the night. If they’re not catching fans as they’re rolled and flipped over the barrier, they’re punching back the huge beach balls that are thrown out into the crowd early on.
With the beach balls, dry ice, fire, confetti, and ear drum splitting volume, this show could have been placed in an arena and not lost any energy. It might have added something as occasionally the jets of CO² drowned out the sound with their loud hissing being so close to the crowd. That’s honestly the only bit we can nitpick.
This is a band that sounds heavier live than they do recorded… and that’s not a bad thing. The extra fury makes the experience all the more cathartic. The melodic passages flow between the angsty screaming beautifully and frontman Jeremy McKinnon is world class in terms of his charisma and effortless showmanship. Major props are due to the crowd, though… a sea of surfers, a perpetual mosh pit, taps AFF shoulder standing, clapping along, and every word being shouted from the bottom of their hearts and the top of their lungs. And yes… we do get the Kelly Clarkson cover.
Tonight was a bonus for the Scottish fans as we don’t get a Slam Dunk festival, and what a bonus it was. If you missed out, you really missed out!
Photos by Catching Light Photography
Catching Light Photography
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