What Do You Believe In London?

You Me At Six - 45 Minutes of footage.

Back in August when the posters were up at Reading Festival I honestly could not believe that the five Surrey lads were going to be headlining Wembley Arena and if the news were true I was not going to miss out on what was sure to be an insane night. 

Gaining a spot near the front I waited with excited anticipation along with the rest of the crowd who were slowly filling in the gaps around me. We Are The Ocean were the first band to take on the daunting task of  proving that You Me At Six were right to keep the night a "Best of British" affair and play to 12,000 Sixers all eagerly awaiting their leaders. Admittedly, I'm not their biggest fan but having said that they put on a good show playing a combination of their new songs and the old. 

We Are The Ocean - Runaway

The waiting seemed to be getting too much to stand for people down in the pit and before Deaf Havana took to the stage a crowd surge saw me get separated from India and Megan (I found them again before YMAS). Considerably nearer the front I was now lodged in a space suitable for a small cat. Before I had a chance to try and find my way back, the lights went out once more and the crowd threw themselves into Deaf Havana's The Past Six Years. Again, Deaf Havana are a band that have never really done it for me, and after watching them play around three songs before disappearing back at a You Me At Six gig is Southampton, I remained a cynic through their set. That is until they played their final song, a stripped back version of Hunstanton Pier, and I started to hear what everyone else had all along. 

Deaf Havana - Hunstanton Pier

The Final Night Of Sin would mark my fifth time 

seeing the band live since their tour with Paramore back in the day of Take Off Your Colours, so I was content knowing that they wouldn't disappoint, but when the room turned pitch black and the vibrations of Dan thumping on his drums behind the curtain actually made my feet lift off the ground I knew they were going to go above and beyond all expectations I had. An epic musical intro began the gig of a lifetime before the curtain was dropped and the band blasted their way through The Swarm. The first part of their set left everyone breathless from the energy of songs such as Loverboy and The Consequence. 

Part way through the third song of the night, Little Death, Josh Franceschi asks the 12,000 strong crowd "What do you believe in London?" and for many out there the answer to that question is a long and complicated one. However, that night You Me At Six made the answer very simple. Everyone out there believed in the sheer power of music and more importantly everyone believed in them.

Not forgetting early favourites You Me At Six played Take Off Your Colours and Save It For The Bedroom with Josh stopping halfway through the former to acknowledge how far some of the fans had traveled and to point out his 85 year old Grandma who had come to join the madness. The crowd's desperate need to breathe was timed perfectly with the slowing down of the set with the beautiful Always Attract which Josh dedicated to his sister Elissa. The crowd sang along, sounding more stunning than ever, a fact which didn't escape Josh as he looked incredibly emotional and told the crew to turn the lights onto us as we "scream the next lines back to them" and declaring "that's the fucking capital of our country right now". And yes, I cried. 

Always Attract

To add further tears to the puddles now forming in the room Crash (the kind of sequel to Always Attract) followed. Ten minutes previously the crowd had been dying for the set to slow down but now as we were all drowning in tears You Me At Six's decision to speed back up playing Finders Keepers and asking for jazz hands on Playing The Blame Game was much appreciated. Before Liquid Confidence started Josh told everyone to hug our friends because "having a good time with your mates is important". Diva Josh just couldn't stay hidden as, like at Reading, he demanded we get our shirts in the air and claimed "we look beautiful London" - i'm pretty sure some girls actually ended up completely topless. The line from the bridge "you are the first to question my achievements, but that's all right, my dreams i've been living" must embarrass whoever the song is about as Josh defiantly points to the stage proving that the incredible talent that is Josh, Dan, Matt, Max and Chris are in fact living their dreams. 

Unconvinced we had cried enough the band then launched into Fireworks and the debut of When We Were Younger. Josh got down on his knees, singing into the crook of his arm. Wandering over to the side of the stage he looked up at where his family were sat and pointed at them whilst belting out "I do it for you" and finished the heart breaker of a song with "when I was younger I promised you both, that when I was older, I'd headline Wembley" to the raucous screams of the crowd.

When We Were Younger

The encore comprised of the belter Stay With Me and then came the moment we had been dreading. Between the "final" night of sin, the references to You Me At Six in the past and the news they would be taking longer to write their next album a good number of people had convinced themselves that a hiatus was in line for the young rockers and it felt as though this would be the moment they broke it to us. We clutched hands as Josh announced he wanted to call this part of the set "famous last words" and thanked us for making their dreams come true, told us how someone in their crew told them on the Paramore tour that they would never be that big and they had proved them wrong. He said that secondly another event was supposed to take place there that night - the X Factor final - and certain publications said "that rock music was fucking dead but have a look for yourselves, is it?" The crowd booed and cheered along as appropriate before Josh said that "we will not be silent no more, this song is called Bite My Tongue" and alas the wild animals were unleashed, the room turned into a giant mosh pit and fingers were pointed sky high as 12,000 people screamed "fuck you" in unison. 

Bite My Tongue

Underdog was the final song of the night. The crowd jumped and yelled along but Josh had to say something else. He shhhed the crowd and said that he expected us to be the loudest crowd doing this part and on the count of four he wanted us to scream "underdog" as loud as we could. And boy, did he get what he wanted. Hands came up clapping to the music, Josh counted "1, 2, 1, 2, 3 ,4" and then with an almighty roar the crowd yelled "UNDERDOG" with volume and intensity I didn't believe possible. 

Underdog

That night a hair-raising show took place that will be forever in the memories of everyone in attendance. There were fireworks, smoke machines, dazzling lights, an abundance of confetti and heart-felt speeches which showcased the striking event and dexterity of five best friends who through their passion and determination achieved their dreams.
Now I don't know about you but i'm going to go back and watch video's on YouTube and sob uncontrollably until the DVD comes out. (Then i'll watch that and carry on sobbing)