Page 49 - Black Velvet Issue 84

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YOU ME AT SIX / ALL TIME LOW / WALK THE
MOON – BIRMINGHAM GENTING ARENA,
10.02.15

Josh Franceschi (You Me At Six). Inset: Alex Gaskarth & Jack Barakat
(All Time Low) Photos By Shari Black Velvet

Ohio band Walk The Moon have an addictively catchy popish beat. that have reached arena status. Their conviction to hard work and good
They lavish synths with clean cut guitars and vocals. The band make you music is second to none, and they’ve deserved every ounce of success.
dance in your pants with radio-friendly tunes such as ‘Anna Sun’ and ‘Shut Josh Franceschi on vocals in particular looks ecstatic to be playing to an
Up And Dance’, while ‘Tightrope’ parades an electro path. The crowd arena sized crowd – he has a beaming grin on his face now and then. Al-
enjoy them and even join in with synchronized arm waves. This band is though it also contrasts to how he came out onto the stage with a hoodie
one you’re bound to hear a lot more from. They’re destined to be all over up, almost as if he prefers to be out of the limelight. “This is a show,” he
the airwaves. proclaims. He tells the crowd that he’s got a broken ankle and you see
The fun factor gets turned up a notch or three for All Time Low. Armed him hopping around on one foot numerous times.
with a large worldly intro spanning the huge arena backdrop they kick off The band naturally play both new songs and older songs. ‘Carpe
with ‘A Love Like War’. There’s a blast of sparkly pyro and the band them- Diem’ from the new album is invigorating. There’s a special moment when
selves are electric. The likes of ‘Lost In Stereo’ and ‘Stella’ win the entire the crowd all bounce along. It’s an anthem that has quickly worked its way
audience with their infectious tunes. “Have you been multiplying while into people’s hearts. The band use blasts of sparkly pyro and at the end
we’ve been gone?” they ask the crowd – as the last time they were in of the set large white balls are thrown out into the crowd. ‘Crash’ sees the
Birmingham they played the 3000 capacity Academy. The band are blown whole of the arena lit up with phone lights. Josh’s vocals are soft and mel-
away to now be playing to over 10,000 rock fans. All Time Low’s set as low. The song turns into an epic number that builds and builds. Josh urges
always hits the spot. They couldn’t go wrong if they tried. ‘Weightless’ is the audience to get on each other’s shoulders for ‘Fireworks’ – and they
sung loudly by the audience before it bursts into musical confetti. Alex do. We’ve never seen so many people on other’s shoulders in one room.
Gaskarth sings ‘Therapy’ on his own while the band invite 10 or 12 fans ‘Fresh Start Fever’ in the encore is one of our favourite You Me At Six
onto the stage to sing and dance along to ‘Timebomb’. By the end of their songs in a long time, and is a welcome spike of energy. The band end
captivating set, they’ve definitely made a lot more fans. Those that have with ‘Lived A Lie’, with makes the blood rush one last time. Confetti bursts
never seen them before will definitely be seeing them again. into the audience. “This is what I live for,” Josh says, pointing to a male
You Me At Six, as the final band of this co-headlining tour, have a lot fan who is on someone’s shoulders in a circlepit. With “We are believers”
to live up to. They don’t have the witty, humorous banter that All Time Low repeatedly sung out, tonight’s crowd are definitely going to be believers
do, they don’t do bouncy pop-punk shenanigans either, yet You Me At Six of You Me At Six for a long time yet.
still perform a set that shows their strength, talent and diversity. It’s amaz- YYYY
ing to think that we saw the band at Birmingham Barfly playing to 2 or 300 Shari Black Velvet
people nearly a decade ago and now those boys have turned into men
CONCERTS