Review by Jo Lloyd, photos by Mark Lloyd
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPtUV01R1RE
Fans have been going insane for this tour where two of the most popular bands at the moment have joined forces for a five date UK stretch after the huge success of their US leg. Double the talent led to double the fans and double the excitement as the screaming hordes took over Birmingham’s Genting Arena on Tuesday.
All Time Low were first to the amazing set up on stage after support act Walk The Moon had warmed up the crowd. Kicking straight into an energetic ‘Love Like War’, Alex Gaskarth got the excitable crowd worked up with his “Birmingham let’s fucking do this” as they drove straight into clear fan favourite ‘Lost In Stereo’. With an incredible stage presence and an eagerness to get the crowd involved, All Time Low packed their set full of crowd favourites as well as the beautiful ballad ‘Therapy’ dedicated to everyone who had ever felt downtrodden as the arena lit up with phone lights replacing the traditional lighters of my teenage years!
‘Weightless’ included a stunning acoustic intro where the entire arena sang in unison until the rest of the band kicked in and carried on the party atmosphere. ‘Timebomb’ even saw the band picking fans from the front row to get on stage to join the fun. Finishing off with the eagerly anticipated ‘Dear Maria, Count Me In’ showed that this band really know how to please their crowd! With a new album out in April, they sure have got a lot more to give there adoring fans.
Next up came Brit Rockers You Me At Six and although the set wasn’t nearly as energetic as All Time Low, their show proves that they are worthy of an arena sized crowd. Setting the bar high as they stormed in with ‘Room To Breathe’ followed by other faultless renditions of ‘Carpe Diem’, ‘The Consequence’ and ‘Stay with Me’.
Instrumentally and vocally, they nailed their performance and the setting was stunning with a huge screen covering the back of the stage playing a light show and fireworks timed to perfection showering down on the poor security guards at the front!
My only disappointment was the lack of any material from the band’s superb debut album Take Off Your Colours, but with the strength of their more recent material, the set list was pretty packed!
A couple of personal highlights were the hauntingly beautiful ‘Crash’ where the crowd faultlessly joined in and harmonised perfectly with Josh Franceshi and when he got to showcase the full scale of his vocals on ‘Bite My Tongue’ also singing the parts usually performed by Bring Me The Horizon’s Ollie Sykes.
Josh and the boys put on an incredible show and not even his broken ankle could prevent him from giving it his all on stage. A wonderfully energetic evening that left an entire arena full of sweaty, smiling faces in awe of two of their favourite bands.
