Page 56 - Black Velvet Issue 88

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MAYDAY PARADE / THE MAINE / HAVE MERCY / BEAUTIFUL BODIES – LONDON TROXY, 05.02.16

Tonight, Troxy in London is being treated to an outstanding American cludes with a change of pace for the soaring rock ballad that is 'Another
line-up headlined by Mayday Parade. The first band of the night is the Night On Mars'. If you stumbled into the show accidentally you'd think
energetic Beautiful Bodies, who entice the crowd with their poppy blend The Maine were the headline band with the amount of people going
of alternative rock. 'Invincible' is a big hit, with frontwoman Alicia Solom- crazy and singing along. They left the crowd smiling from ear to ear, and
brino getting everyone to shout catchy chorus line “We are invincible” we're fully expecting to see them headlining here soon.
and moonwalking across the stage. Alicia keeps eyes on her at all times, By now the crowd are well and truly warmed up for the final act, May-
dancing and interacting with the crowd, even grabbing a camera from a day Parade. They storm on to 'One of Them Will Destroy The Other', a
photographer's neck and taking her own photos on stage. Beautiful Bod- powerful pop-punk explosion that shows the crowd why they're the head-
ies don't particularly stand out musically, but they have a refreshing line band tonight. There is screaming left, right and centre as they dive
youthful energy and exuberant stage presence that is certainly exciting. into emotional crowd favourite 'Three Cheers For Five Years', the first
Next up are hidden gem Have Mercy, who bring a touch of gritty, song they ever wrote as a band. The set is an unstoppable blend of new
hard-edged emo rock to an otherwise pop rock line-up. The audience and old material, with frontman Derek Sanders spilling his emotions to
doesn't seem to be connecting with their softening stage presence but the crowd and giving a beautiful vocal performance. Tender tearjerker
there's no doubt that they're good at what they do. Opening with the tran- 'Terrible Things' slows things down, leaving the room silent and sombre.
quil 'When I Sleep', Have Mercy showcase their beautifully crafted blend Derek takes a seat behind his piano for an overwhelming performance
of smooth vocals and thrashing guitars. Vocalist Brian Swindle has an of 'Miserable At Best', which sees the biggest, most heartbreaking sing-
enchanting voice that captivates and loosens up the crowd, and their along of the night with its painfully honest, real lyrics. The funky, upbeat
broken-hearted poetic lyrics definitely strike a chord. They add a wel- 'Black Cat' gets the crowd dancing again, with Mayday Parade really
come diversity to tonight’s bill, but by the time they wrap up their set with showing the extent of what they can do. One minute Derek has the
the emotional 'Two Years', the crowd are hungry for the bands to come. crowd in tears and the next they're bouncing around the stage, dodging
The Maine certainly have one hell of a show in store for us, opening each other with abundant enthusiasm. The encore sees Mayday Parade
with an electric performance of 'English Girls', a punchy song filled with bursting back onto stage and launching into old favourite 'Jersey', uniting
pop-rock goodness. The band’s raw energy immediately gets the crowd the crowd for one last nostalgic sing-along. They finish up with heartfelt
going and frontman John O'Callaghan entertains us with his silky vocals goodbyes and thanking the crowd for the love and support, still as hum-
and charismatic charm. 'Run' showcases the band’s musical talent with ble as the day they started. We can't wait to see what Mayday Parade
mature lyrics and solid guitar licks from Kennedy Brock. The sugary do next.
sweet 'Am I Pretty?' gets everyone dancing and singing along, showing YYYY
how huge The Maine's new material is. John gets everyone in the crowd Carissa Thorne
involved every chance he gets, cracking jokes between songs and initi-
ating a lot of dancing and jumping. The flawlessly energetic set con- Derek Sanders (Mayday Parade) Photo By Carissa Thorne

CONCERTS