They Did A Song With Who? (Part Two)

Anavae, Arthur Walwin & Charlie Bass (Violet) - Closer

"You let one single string raise your head in the morning, give you an excuse and reason to be"

An absolute stormer of a song this track is a true showcase of british talent that we should be proud of. The harmonies between the three are so matched and with the music escalating into full on epic it's hard to believe these guys aren't an actual band that have been together forever.

Zedd featuring Hayley Williams - Stay The Night

"Hold your tongue and hear me out, I know that we were made to break so what? I don't mind"

With Miss Williams being one of my favourite vocalists and Zedd's song being ridiculously catchy it didn't take long for me to love this song.

Tonight Alive featuring Benji Madden - Breakdown

"You give me your reasons but i've heard them all before"

When they released their first album What Are You So Scared Of? the Aussie quintet spent a lot of time on the road capturing new fans with their charged blend of pop-punk. After spending some time off they got the opportunity to record a song with Benji.

Fall Out Boy featuring Elton John - Save Rock And Roll

"How'd it get to be only me? Like i'm the last damn kid still kicking that still believes"

The kind-of surprise announcement of Save Rock And Roll came with a lot of cool collabs with other artists but by far the most shocking was that of Elton John. The track in question shares it's name with the album and also happened to crush the Fall Out Boy fandom.

Lights featuring Coeur De Pirate - Peace Sign (Acoustic)

"We beckon so we can make amends and with the same flip of the hand we curse our friends"

When Lights announced the release of Siberia Acoustic it was a dream come true. There was always something about her music that just seemed perfect to be turned into an entire acoustic album and just like Jesse Lacey said i'm a sucker for anything acoustic. The acoustic version of Peace Sign is gorgeous with the reworking of the french giving the song a whole new sound that extends further than the acoustic. 

I Divide featuring Becca Need-Menear - 27 Down

"You can't wait to say it's not your fault somehow, you don't seem to understand the reason why things have to change"

Another example of up and coming british rock music to sink your teeth into and brag about when they become internationally stars.

PART ONE HERE

Take Me Back: Slam Dunk Wales (27/05/14)

A last minute decision to grab tickets for the final Slam Dunk show of 2014 ended up being one of my best decisions this year. After showing up early to a gig for perhaps the first time in my life we found ourselves waiting in the queue for a good hour when just as the doors were due to open the heavens poured and soaked everyone through. Filing into the tiny student cafe that was used as a stage last year it didn't take long for the room to fill up and with the line-up being a true pop-punk fest I knew it was going to be fun but I was not prepared for just how amazing every one of the bands were going to play.

Save Your Breath started the night off and by their second song had everyone up on their feet and a rowdy mosh pit going. Clearly more known on their own side of the pond,than when I saw them in February, the crowd had just as much energy and enthusiasm as the band themselves as they played some of their best tracks with their closing song, "Nothing Worth Having Comes Easy," drawing the loudest response.

Jumping on stage next were Decade who played with such perfection and were blessed with the rarity that is good sound showing off vocalist Alex Sears' faultless vocals. They had the room in the palm of their hands for an impressive set of up and coming pop-punk that deserves a lot more attention. There were plenty of people that weren't familiar with the band but plenty more comments about how good they were and going home to download their music asap.

If ever there was a band that could make a room full of ecstatic teenagers go wild it would be the relatively new on the scene Neck Deep. Easily future headline material staying stood up when they hit the stage was nearly impossible. Opening with "Losing Teeth" it immediately became a crowd surfing fest with sweaty limbs flying everywhere right until the end of their set "Over And Over." New songs like "Crushing Grief (No Remedy)" had the floor passionately throwing fists in the air whilst the older "A Part Of Me" was on par with some of the loudest singing i've ever heard.

The last time I saw Hit The Lights I was my sister's age back in '08. As they came on stage their upbeat blend of pop-punk was a welcome change from the previous bands' serious tone. Wave after wave of nostalgia hit me as they played tracks mostly from their Skip School, Start Fights LP. "Breathe In" and "Stay Out" garnered the strongest reactions along with golden oldie "Three Oh Nine." 

Finally We Are The In Crowd joined the rest of us in the teeny cafe for their hugest show i've ever witnessed. Every time i've seen them their performance has been better and better but I wasn't expecting just how much better they would be this time around. Opening with "Long Live The Kids" the fire in Tay's vocals were matched by everyone else in the room as we roared back to her, reaching deafening levels when they hit the bridge 'you can't tell us no.' The weirdest stage anyone had apparently ever seen - it was miles back from the barrier with steps and every band commented on it - didn't stop Tay from getting right up in the crowd and ferociously singing "The Best Thing (That Never Happened)" with the rampant crowd. Their fast-moving, intense set slowed down when they played "Come Back Home" for only the third time and we got to hear Tay and Jordan's gorgeous harmonies in real life. They continued on with their high spirited set playing an array of old and new songs 'closing' with "Never Be What You Want" which always garners an electric response. Cardiff is renowned for it's Ferri Chant so much so that the cluster of Cardiff fans at the last Bristol show I went to got the chant going much to Mike's amusement. This time was no exception as the second the fireball of talent left the stage all you could hear was "FERRI, FERRI, FERRI!" Shuffling his way back on stage Mike did a hilarious little rap before being re-joined by his band mates. Launching into "Both Sides Of The Story" the room erupted and stayed crazed right up until the very moment they left the stage after closing their phenomenal set with "Rumour Mill." 

Top Tunes: May

HalfNoise - Mountain

"But half of me is half of you I runaway so you would know. And half of me is half of you I wonder why I let you go"

Aaron West and The Roaring Twenties - You Ain't No Saint

"I grew up and grew dull and you say I wished I hadn't"

We Are The In Crowd - Reflections
"Pinning paper wings on problems hoping that they'll fly away, turn our backs, ignore the truth if they can't support the weight"

La Dispute - a Letter
"I think the thing is that I shut off from everything. From friends and family and my own ambitions. From having fun. I just shut off from everything"

Neck Deep - Crushing Grief (No Remedy)
"I'm sick and tired of all your bullshit when all it is who can scream the loudest"

YOUTUBE PLAYLIST

Take Me Back: La Dispute (17/05/14)

In typical fashion we were late for the doors and missed the first support act Eugene Quell but we turned up just in time for support band O'Brother who came out all clashing drums and powerful vocals that created a mixed reaction in the packed out crowd. There were moments of clarity where the instruments matched Tanner Merritt's angst ridden outbursts but after a while the songs blended into one and the drawn out delivery of every lyric started getting a little too pretentious even for a room full of Jesse Lacey worshippers. There was a touch of Muse about them with the way Merritt projected his vocals whilst the music was more fitting to the headliners. They closed their set and left me wishing i'd checked them out beforehand so I wasn't trying to work out exactly what sound they were going for.

Now it's a week on and i'm still gracing the bruises from the crowd surfing, crowd crushing sweltering hot and very drunk room that Clwb had become. And if you think for a split second i'm complaining then you're entirely wrong. From the moment La Dispute broke into "HUDSONVILLE, MI 1956" the crowd were eagerly trying to keep up with the storytelling genius - what I mean is successfully managing to passionately yell every other word in time.
With a storming set list the crowd got rowdier as the night progressed and the reaction to old and new songs alike were just as excitable instead of being in favour of one or the other like is (unfortunately) common at gigs. After taking several shoes to the head during "Stay Happy There" and "St. Paul..." the set - and Jordan Dreyer who had been bouncing around like a kid that had been injected with caffeine - slowed down for the gorgeous sounding "Woman (In Mirror)." 

With the crowd chilled out Jordan introduced their next song "a Letter" with the line 'this song is for anyone who suffers from a mental illness' and the atmosphere in the room plummeted to a sombre one. The entire room sung along, some joining the band in holding back tears. The frantic crowd returned the second "Andria" kicked in and my brother - who lives under a rock and didn't know Rooms Of The House existed - was shocked at the slightly more upbeat sound to "For Mayor In Splitsville." 

Announcing this was their last song and thanking us for making them feel at home the band launched into "You And I In Unison" and everyone was jumping on top of each other determined to get closer to these musical gods. Somewhere in the ruckus a guy lost his shoe and nearly decapitated me trying to give me a sweaty forehead kiss for finding it - uh, thanks dude. The band disappeared to the non-existent back stage - well the band stayed on stage awkwardly staring while Dreyer sat to the side on his own - and the crowd tried several different chants before settling for screaming "KING PARK" at the top of our lungs. Laughing his way back on stage Dreyer joked how that didn't go quite to plan before the band, of course, closed with "King Park" and the room just about lost it. There was no holding back on anyone's part.

Take Me Back: The Wonder Years (06/05/14)

(Photo from UK tour 2013)

It couldn't have been anymore than a week after their Clwb November date that The Wonder Years announced another UK tour once again heading through my favourite gig city - Cardiff. Snapping up our tickets i've pretty much been counting down the days until the best live band hit our shores.
Halfway through my day at work I got a phone call from my mum telling me my brother was ill, for me to later discover that he was in fact so hungover he could barely stand up. So unimpressed that he was bailing on me I dropped in to his house and made him feel so guilty for being a total bloody idiot that he's paid for our Taking Back Sunday tickets but not guilty enough to change his mind about coming. With all my friends in London I made my dad come with me... mostly so there's someone to hold my phone when it gets crazy. 

By the time we made it to the venue State Champs were just finishing up their set so I found a spot near the front and waited for A Loss For Words. When they took to the stage everyone wandered over from the bar and instantly threw themselves into action as the band opened with "Hold Your Breath." They made it all about the crowd with Matty riling us up and jumping to join us in the pit and even handing us his mic for last song 'Wrightsville Beach." People in the crowd who were unfamiliar with the band even had the chance to join in with the hype when they threw a Jackson 5 cover into their set that had the floor swap moshing for grooving. 

Now, there will never quite be the words to describe a Wonder Years gig. From the instantaneous rush the second they're on stage, to the crowd bellowing the words back so unbelievably loud there is no way anyone hobbles out the venue with fully working vocal chords. There's a sense of unity that i've never felt anywhere else and I don't know whether it's the way we sing those songs for a brief hour and half completely unashamed of admitting lyrics that feel like the darkest parts of ourselves. Or whether it's when you're singing these songs with people you've never met - for the time you're there you all just get it and these strangers feel like old friends. And then there's the absence of the usual bullshit you get at gigs. The people who purposely shove you for the hell of it, the ones who don't help anyone up when they've fallen and the losers who use crowds as an excuse to grope girls. The Wonder Years fans somehow manage to create this perfect crowd where every person is equal whether you're a girl a boy or whatever the hell else. Aliens could show up and I don't think anyone would think anything of it. For me I feel more at home at their gigs than I do anywhere else in the world.

After i've left their gigs I think i've made up this magic and with the venue being that much bigger this time I was slightly anxious it wouldn't be the same but the moment the opening chords of "There,There" struck I knew it would be just as incredible as all the other times. Within thirty seconds it felt like everyone had been standing in torrential rain for hours and after the second song - "Passing Through a Screen Door" - I was a little bit horrified to discover my dad was still in the pit. He'd been awake since 4:30am and still had his glasses on. There's a reason I told him to stand at the back. My high pitched 'dad what the hell are you still doing here' yelp made a lot of people laugh and they helped him get out the pit. Playing the usual favourites it was nice to hear tracks like "A Raindance In Traffic" and "Dynamite Shovel." For the first time i've seen them there's been a 'backstage' for the band to disappear out of for the crowd to demand an encore. When the drums started up everyone drew in a breath, looked at each other and choked out no fucking way all in unison. They were closing with the ultimate set ending "I Just Want To Sell Out My Funeral." It was like reliving the entire gig all over again wrapped up into one song. Except this time, despite it being seemingly impossible, we sung louder.

Take Me Back: 30 Seconds To Mars (14/11/13)

FOR FULL REVIEW CLICK HERE (PAGE 10)

A 30 Seconds To Mars show is always quite the experience with multitudes of visual affects so a show without any technical problems is probably somewhat of a miracle.  Opening with Birth then Night of the Hunter it was during Search And Destroy that the crowd were told to sit down and jump up on three at which point large colourful balloons were blasted into the crowd. Conquistador saw confetti explosions before a fan was brought up on stage to introduce Do or Die sending the floor crazy. Really upping their game on this tour, circus style stunt acts provided hair-raising intervals where one of which had the two stunts men doing flips off of a see-saw.