SOUNDWAVE SIDESHOW
A DAY TO REMEMBER + THE GHOST INSIDE + I KILLED THE PROM QUEEN
UNSW Roundhouse, Sydney
Tuesday February 25, 2014 :
Photographs and review by: Ashlee Kellehear
The body heat resonated through the Roundhouse like a thick blanket; sweat beaded, hair frizzed and clothes stuck. The bands hadn’t even started yet and already, it was the perfect scenario for a rock show. As most of the enthusiastic punters claimed their ideal positions in the pit or along the top balcony, others took the time to stock up on merch and buy a quick beer. Things were settling in.
8:30 ticked over, the lights dimmed, the crowd cheered and the amplifiers shook the floor. Radalaide boys, I Killed The Prom Queen took to the stage and immediately boosted the testosterone levels throughout the room. Vocalist, Jamie Hope popped himself up on the barrier and scanned the room as the fans at his feet looked up and reach out towards him, all the while his fellow band mates assumed their positions on stage. Jumping back on to the stage shortly after a quick intro, he and the band combined forces and kicked in to full swing, performing an action packed 45 minute set. The crowd responded perfectly to their intensity, immediately opening up the floor or jumping up and down simultaneously at the first instance Hope suggested to. I genuinely found myself locking onto the amazing stage presence of guitarists Jona Weinhofen, Kevin Cameron and bassist Benjamin Coyte, all of which never once stopped putting 100% of their effort in to their performance. Guitar swings, punk jumps and excellent solos, the boys certainly put on a good show. As their set concluded, Hope once again returned to the barrier, this time throwing himself in to the crowd (and losing his nifty red cap) and completed the final notes of the last song, along side excited fans.
Up next, Los Angeles boys The Ghost Inside took to the stage and welcomed the crowd with beaming smiles. Jonathan Vigil constantly trekked up and down the length of the stage, always reaching out into the crowd and looking genuinely surprised at the crowds reaction to them. The band certainly had an affect on the crowd, with some very enthusiastic sing-a-longs occurring throughout the set and some very intense circle pits also. Even more impressive was the crowdsurfing that the band managed to conjure from the crowd, so early on. They definitely made the security of the night work extra hard for their pay check and the crowd hardly let up, even after the band had left the stage a few stragglers still made their way over the barrier. It almost felt as though their set was over and done with in no time and I would have actually like to have seen a bit more of these guys; I definitely found myself getting into their set. But looking down at my watch, I soon reminded myself that the cherry on top of the cake was about to hit the stage and I found myself getting pretty damn excited.
The crowd chanted and cheered as the lights went out and one by one, the members of Ocala Florida’s A Day To Remember hit the stage. Singer Jeremy McKinnon greeted the crowd by blowing enthusiastic kisses and then proceeded to amp the crowd up, screaming ‘Sydney Australia!’, to which the crowd surged forward. Opening with All I Want, the band immediately set the pace for the night and gave the crowd incentive to mosh as hard and sing as loud as they possibly could. Crowd favourites, I’m Made Of Wax Larry, What Are You Made Of?, Homesick and 2nd Sucks continued the pace and the heat levels in the venue went through the roof. With a healthy mix of old school tunes, obvious crowd pleasers and new material off their recently released Common Courtesy, by far the most positively received song of the night was the first ever Australian performance of You Had Me At Hello. Beginning with McKinnon and fellow guitarists, Neil Westfall and Kevin Skaff on acoustics, the members encouraged the crowd to illuminate the room with phone lights and sing along as passionately as they could. In true form, the remaining members Josh Woodard on bass and Alex Shelnutt on drums, accompanied the still performing members on stage and the song truly exploded as it jumped from acoustic sing-a-long to powerhouse ballad. A positively wonderful performance and one both the band and crowd seemed genuinely pleased with.
At the halfway mark of the set, the hamster ball appeared and housed McKinnon during the first verse of It’s Complicated. Rolling over the heads and hands of the crowd, KcKinnon did a full lap of the dance floor before returning to the stage to take over vocal duties from Westfall.
The band enlightened the crowd on some interesting facts about their day before the show; specifically, recounting their first ever attempt at surfing at Bondi Beach (and in general) as well as pointing out a punter in the crowd whom they said they had passed whilst he was playing their music in his car. Another first time experience, according to McKinnon and to show his thanks, he basically hooked said punter up with any interested lady in the crowd by hinting ‘he has a really nice car’ – Move over MatchMaker.com, we have a new relationship specialist in town!
As the set continued, more crowd pleasers rocked the venue, including the breakdown central of all ADTR songs, Mr. Highway’s Thinking About The End and the rocking love song, Have Faith In Me. To wrap it up, the band ended with Plot To Bomb The Panhandle and no sooner had they hit the last note, did the crowd start demanding more. 60 seconds later, the band returned to the stage and McKinnon announced that ‘if you’ve been a band as long as we have, it’s assumed you’ll get two encore songs! But you know what, we’ll give you three!’. Violence kicked in to full gear and was immediately followed by All Signs Point To Lauderdale and a toilet paper fight between band and crowd. And as things finally began to wrap up (for real this time) McKinnon screamed ‘sing it if you know it’ to which the crowd immediately began singing the infamous ‘da da da da da da’s’ of The Downfall of Us All.
What was my 5th time seeing ADTR, felt like the most special. These guys just don’t seem to ever falter and are genuinely one of the strongest touring bands in the world right now! With pure devotion to their fans and a work ethic that is unrivaled, ADTR will no doubt be pleasing the masses for years to come. Hurry back soon boys – we miss you already!
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