2015 has been the year of British bands exploding and playing their biggest ever shows.

While Architects,Mallory Knox and Lower Than Atlantis all tore the Roundhouse apart, another band has decided to step it up a notch and sell out nothing else than the mighty Brixton Academy.

That band is Don Broco.

I was there and, spoiler alert, it was all kinds of mental.

The evening starts with the Americans of Symmetry. I did not get to see their set in its entirety but what I saw confused me. I suppose you could say the lineup in general confused me because none of the support bands really fitted with the headliners' style, if I'm honest. Symmetry's performance, on the other hand, did not bring to Brixton the energy you would expect a support act in such a venue to bring. Even their cover of Katy Perry's Roar seemed to fall on deaf ears and I did not really know what to make of them. They are by no means a terrible band, they showed some talent and there is definitely room for improvement, but it just didn't do it for me.

Second up is London based band Arcane Roots, whom I had seen supporting Enter Shikari in the past – what a different line up tonight. They are better known amongst the crowd and they will, without a doubt, have left the building with new fans (myself included). Their brand of alternative rock and the quality of their riffs won me over in, what, half a second? The crowd is a little bit more receptive than it was during Symmetry and a guy even spent the entire set perched on his friends' shoulders, shouting every word back at the band. Arcane Roots definitely are a band I will watch in the future as I was madly impressed with their performance last night. Well done and all that.

Different band, different vibe with Coasts, arriving straight from Bristol. It now feels like Brixton Academy has turned into a festival, completed with people getting on other people's shoulders. Their cheerful pop music, filled with electronic sounds, earns them a great response from the crowd and their fans seem to be plenty in the venue. The band seems delighted at the opportunity of playing such a big gig and for such a large audience, and their forty five minute set, composed of dancing number after dancing number (topped off by the excellent Oceans), is nothing short of a success and if my endless dad dancing tells you something, it is that I will carry on listening to this lot.

Ah, Don Broco.
They entered my life on a cold January evening in 2012, when I saw them supporting We Are The Ocean and thought they would be a heavy band. A look at Rob Damiani's gingham shirt and white trainers and I understood I was wrong, a minute into their set and I was hooked. Tonight is their biggest headline show to date and even if I keep forgetting how big they are getting, I can tell that it is not surprising the Bedford guys are able to sell out such a venue.

First, it is important to notice the setting for the evening – actual real life palm trees are scattered around the stage and fireworks are thrown in the mix two songs in. After only one song (the opening track being I Got Sick, extracted from the band's latest record, 2015's Automatic), it is easy to understand that it is a special, massive night for them. On top of being their biggest ever headliner, it is for them a way to prove that they are able to be up there with the big leagues whilst still having a foot in the alternative scene that has seen them grow over the years.

A mix of old and newer songs is the best way to prove it, of course. Despite not including anything out of Big Fat Smile, the nineteen song long setlist still features all the singles from 2013's Priorities (Hold On, Fancy Dress, Actors or title track Priorities) as well as the ultimate fan favourite from their early days, Thug Workout. This joking number never fails to drive the crowd mental and turn the place into a giant moshpit, and hearing it in a place such as Brixton Academy is nothing short of crazy. As vocalist Rob Damiani says, even though Don Broco has toured in 2015, playing the likes of the Kerrang! Tour in February and going back to tiny venues to celebrate the release of Automatic in August, their December tour is the first time they properly go on the road to promote the new album. It is only natural that the setlist includes a large amount of songs from the record, and it is fair to say that they sound just as excellent live as they do on CD. Further is just as heartbreaking (and features a string quartet on stage), Let You Get Away makes everyone bounce about the place and Fire (a personal favourite of mine), well... sets Brixton on fire, horrible pun intended. The incredible performance is closed by newest single Nerve and even more fireworks, and I, for one, am in awe.

It was always obvious to me that Don Broco were a brilliant live band, always able to communicate with the crowd and make everyone participate. It is hard seeing them without wanting to do a little dance or without wanting to throw yourself headfirst in the pit. They were my first moshpit, circle pit, crowdsurfing and wall of death experience and even when I am not in the middle, you can always find me in a corner showing off my best (worst) dance moves. I always have time for bands with such enthusiasm that they make me want to dance and make me feel like I'm on top of the world for an hour and a half, and I am absolutely delighted to know they will become that band for more and more people in the near future.