Confetti, a guy in a spider-man outfit firing t-shirts into the crowd and toilet paper. These are just a few of the things that A Day To Remember bring along to their shows for the fans to enjoy. Add to that a crowd that has been one of the most responsive I’ve seen at a gig all year and ADTR put together a gig that won’t be easily forgotten. Opening with ‘Downfall Of Us All’ and getting the crowd going with a vocal chant, ADTR kicked off their set at full pace and didn’t let it falter.
Playing a selection of songs old and new, including a performance of ‘Speak Of The Devil’ which they hardly ever play live and it’s still one of the best in their repertoire. Fans knew all the words and sang everything back as well as crowd surfing and giving their all in the pits that appeared. One of the best moments of crowd participation I’ve seen all year was when toilet roll was passed out to the crowd for them to throw around the venue. It all comes together as proof that seeing ADTR live is always a fun time.
As for the sound quality, it sounded exactly like you’d want it to. Everything from the original recordings only it all sounded so much better. The riffs were clearer, the bass had more punch to it and the drums had every beat sounding perfect. And vocally everything was crystal clear. Notes were kept in time and in pitch giving fans the performance they deserved and needed.
In the songs that they write, there’s always been a great sense of humor to the lines that get everyone going before the breakdown. Most famous of which will probably be the throat clearing in ‘I’m Made Of Wax Larry, What Are You Made Of’. The energy they present themselves with is one that’s highly contagious. Able to move around the stage whilst keep the performance quality at a high level. they make it look easy and effortless but that’s mostly through the fact that you can clearly see how much they’re enjoying themselves.
Whilst encores are mostly a standard thing at live gigs, it’s the way they’re dealt with that creates the entertainment. In this case the crowd managed to confuse the band by chanting “Yorkshire” in which the singer and guitarist responded with a cover of an Oasis song. Even though that’s from the other side of the pennines, it was still well performed and showed that the band are respective of big bands in other cities and genres. After that they started with ‘If It Means A Lot To You’, opening it the way it should be done with just acoustic guitar and vocals. Getting close the the build up, the other musicians joined the stage and gave way to the final chorus with the full backing. When a band pulls off a song the way it should be, it only adds to the impact of it making it one of the best performances of the night.
This being the second time I’ve seen the band (first being London Roundhouse back in 2009), they managed to one up an already memorable performance and provide an experience that could be felt long after I left the venue. Securing themselves as one of the best bands to see live in any genre, A Day To Remember will always be worth seeing again and again.
