UNSW Roundhouse, Sydney
Saturday September 6, 2014 :
Opening the night of this sold out event was local pop punk group, With Confidence. By the time they hit the stage, The Roundhouse was almost full with fans getting down early to secure a good spot to see the headline acts, which the boys were obviously stoked to be supporting. They had a crazy amount of energy and great stage presence, and although I felt I was a little bit old to be in their target market; the teenage girls in the crowd loved it however. These guys have a lot of potential with their strong voices and catching tunes, so I’m sure we will be hearing a lot more of them in the future. Along with some originals, the boys played covers of ‘No Scrubs’ and ‘Mr Brightside’, which successfully warmed up the crowd and set an enormous amount of energy for the rest of the night.
Following on was Tonight Alive, a band that no longer needs an introduction, as there is no denying that this pop punk group from Sydney have transformed into superstars, taking the world by storm and making Australia proud. This was their first set of shows back in Australia since they played Warped last year, while also being the first anniversary of their release of, The Other Side, two signifiers that this was going to be an extra special show and one certainly to remember.
Tonight Alive’s set was so tight and professional, that they had the crowd eating out of the palm of their hand, hanging onto their every word. Lead singer, Jenna McDougall and everyone’s favourite girl crush has matured incredibly as an artist since their humble beginnings of playing shows in clubs and basements during the early stages of their career, while I was also incredibly impressed with the improved instrumental talents of the boys in the group.
They opened to a sea of screaming fans with their latest hit, ‘The Edge’; a song featured on The Amazing Spider-Man 2 soundtrack and has resulted in the band gaining even more worldwide success. Throughout their set, the level of intensity between the fans and the band didn’t drop at all; every member of the crowd was clearly having a blast. With a shout out to old school Tonight Alive fans, the band revisited songs ‘Wasting Away’ and ‘What Are You So Scared Of’, which are two of my personal favourites, before slowing things down for an emotional and touching solo acoustic performance of the track, ‘Amelia’. Fans clearly respected this and it became a really special moment shared between the audience and McDougall. With a massive new surge of energy, Tonight Alive finished their set with ‘The Fire’ and ‘Lonely Girl’, causing the crowd to erupt into dance and leaving them wanting more, while also growing in anticipation for what You Me At Six were going to bring.
You Me At Six’s set was phenomenal, to sum up in one word. I have seen these guys play a few times over the years and this so far has been their best set I’ve seen them play and also one of the best shows I’ve attended. Like Tonight Alive, YMAS have matured and grown into an incredibly professional, cheeky and succinct band, that now play tight as hell sets, which leave everyone addicted to their tracks.
The boys showcased a range of songs from all albums, including ‘Kiss and Tell’ from their debut album, Take Off Your Colours to their more recent releases of ‘Forgive and Forget’ and ‘Room To Breath’ from the album, Cavalier Youth. This allowed you to see just how much the band has lyrically and instrumentally progressed throughout the years, as they now seem to be exploring a darker and more mature sound. But no matter what they played, the crowd absolutely loved everything they were given.
A definite highlight for the night was during the song ‘Reckless’, where Franceschi asked every single member of the audience to remove an item of clothing and swing it in the air for the course of the song, although not everyone obliged, a sea of all sorts of clothing starting coming off and waving above everyone’s head, proving to be a hilarious few minutes. Another great moment was during their song, ‘Cold Night’, where due to Josh’s request, a few dozen fans jumped onto the shoulders of others and danced along above the rest of the audience. The crowd interactions in both these songs were definitely a sight to be seen and made the entire set feel even more intimate and crazy.
As to what seems to be the norm these days at shows, the band abruptly finished their set and left the stage, the crowd obviously begging for more. Of course the guys obliged and returned for encore to belt out the songs, ‘Bite My Tongue’, ‘Fresh Start Fever’ and ‘Lived a Lie’. These tracks definitely have a much heavier, and darker tone and are some of their biggest and most popular tracks to date. The crowd had no intentions of slowing down either, as they belted out every word in line with Franceschi until the very end.
There is not one aspect of this massive show that I could fault. Each band’s stage presence, song choice and music quality was all incredibly high and had a much more professional feel to shows that Tonight Alive and YMAS have put on in the past. It leaves me incredibly excited for what they will bring next, as I’m certain they will only get bigger and better. All bands were so engaged with the crowd and one of the best things was seeing just how much fun they were having, it showed a real love for what they do and an appreciation of all their fans. The atmosphere of the crowd was phenomenal and the overall experience of the night was amazing, those attending the next lot of shows around Australia are definitely in for something special.
Reviewer: Jessica Ward
Photographer: Ashlee Kellehear
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