Despite being a band who tours relentlessly and announces European shows quite often, we hadn't seen A Day To Remember on a Parisian stage for almost five years (bar a couple of Hellfest appearances). It's safe to say their Trianon headliner was long overdue, and to make up for lost time, they brought us quite the party.
The evening was opened by one of my favourite bands, the beautiful Moose Blood. Last time they were in France, their gig at the Pop Up Du Label was sold out and packed from front to back, but tonight, they have to win over the capital and a full room all over again. They had the toughest spot of the evening, Moose Blood. It's still early, and their music is miles away from A Day To Remember's heavy sound. Yet, they still make magic, being the truly lovely and talented band they always are. They were just themselves, oozing loveliness and kindness, with frontman Eddy Brewerton thanking us all for spending a little bit of our evening watching them. They brought their sensitive and delicately crafted emo tunes to the stunning theatre, played them with all their heart and all their might, and it was different, of course it was, and there was about five of us singing along, but still, it worked. It was odd, if I'm honest, seeing Moose Blood without a singalong loud enough to deafen the whole town. But it reminded me of what their music truly is - comforting like a soft blanket, a warm cup of tea and rereading an old diary, and joyous and full of life like spending an evening with some of your best friends in the world, laughing and singing along like nothing else matters.
I've always known that Neck Deep were destined for greatness, but I don't think I was expecting anything quite like what happened in Paris. They are no longer the little unknown band who had accompanied All Time Low on tour. They have become successful, one of the greats, and the amount of people bouncing along to opener Gold Steps shows it. Quite quickly, we find our feet in the moshpit, jumping up and down, realising we all have the lung capacity of toddlers but carrying on anyway, because what else can you do when Neck Deep are on stage, themselves spinning around and having a blast? I can't think of anything more obvious than how delighted the Welsh boys were to just be here, playing for us and offering us a ray of sunshine in the cold of February. Their catchy tunes are played fast and loud, and are echoed by the whole crowd - especially songs that seem to be on their way to becoming bonafide classics (Kali Ma, Can't Kick Up the Roots). Quite simply put, Neck Deep are a joy to watch live, their set is solid happiness and it undeniably makes you want to join in. You could have believed it was their own headliner they were playing. I don't know of a lot of things that have come out of North Wales (and yet I sing along to Can't Kick Up the Roots like I've hung out at the Central Station my whole life) but it's safe to say Neck Deep are the very best.
It's Mr Highway's Thinking About the End and its iconic breakdown ("Disrespect your surroundings", anyone?) that will open the evening, and as soon as the first notes echo around the venue, the crowd is on fire. Running around in circles to Paranoia, arguably the heaviest track on the setlist, wasn't my smartest or strongest idea of the night, but at least, it showed me what a great crowd the band were facing. Whatever frontman Jeremy McKinnon asked for, whether it was a circle pit, a wall of death, crowdsurfing, people getting on their friends' shoulders or even using your mate as a surfboard, the audience happily obliges, wreaking havoc in the theatre from start to finish.
Just like Neck Deep, when A Day To Remember are on a stage, they make you want to join in. They have an unbelievable energy, never faltering from start to finish, and it feels like they're not even trying to get people's attention - in the best way, that is. They just walk on a stage, grab their instruments and start playing, and all eyes are on them, attention undivided, lyrics echoed by a thousand people hung on to their every word. When 2nd Sucks' "Just get the fuck over it" resonated in the room, it felt like there were ten thousand of us in there - the shouting along was that loud.
The Floridians are touring Europe to promote their latest album, the heavy Bad Vibrations, and the six songs extracted from it will get the same kind of reaction as older tracks. The circle pit during Paranoia sees a huge chunk of the venue involved, and bouncier songs like We Got This or Naivety will get the whole crowd singing (and me half-accidentally belting out the lyrics to Camp Rock's This Is Real, This Is Me during the chorus of Naivety. It works, you can try). Songs from previous albums are welcomed with open arms, like old friends you haven't seen in a while, because on this side of the world, A Day To Remember are old friends we haven't seen in a while. It's unsurprisingly that I find myself shedding a tear or five thousand to Have Faith in Me, or Homesick.
The first part of the set ends with 2010's All I Want (a classic among all classics) and The Plot to Bomb the Panhandle (from 2007's For Those Who Have Heart), and the band will come back for an encore composed of a lovely rendition of If It Means a Lot to You and bouncy tunes All Signs Point to Lauderdale and The Downfall of Us All. It's during moments like these that you can see the mark A Day To Remember have made on our little world - how many bands have THAT many songs to drive a crowd crazy. This band has got to a stage where they could safely play greatest hits gigs for the rest of eternity and get away with it, but it's obvious they want to go higher and they want to be bigger - and they should. They are one of these bands that have a fair chance at making it to the bigger leagues and the festival headlines, and I can't wait to see it happen.
What a difference five years made.
The last time A Day To Remember had come to Paris, they were shooting for the stars already but their set hadn't been met with the attention and chaos it deserved. Five years later, they have a packed room in front of them, over a thousand people ready to have a party, dance in the confetti and climb on giant inflatable orcas. I think that's what they call making it.
The evening was opened by one of my favourite bands, the beautiful Moose Blood. Last time they were in France, their gig at the Pop Up Du Label was sold out and packed from front to back, but tonight, they have to win over the capital and a full room all over again. They had the toughest spot of the evening, Moose Blood. It's still early, and their music is miles away from A Day To Remember's heavy sound. Yet, they still make magic, being the truly lovely and talented band they always are. They were just themselves, oozing loveliness and kindness, with frontman Eddy Brewerton thanking us all for spending a little bit of our evening watching them. They brought their sensitive and delicately crafted emo tunes to the stunning theatre, played them with all their heart and all their might, and it was different, of course it was, and there was about five of us singing along, but still, it worked. It was odd, if I'm honest, seeing Moose Blood without a singalong loud enough to deafen the whole town. But it reminded me of what their music truly is - comforting like a soft blanket, a warm cup of tea and rereading an old diary, and joyous and full of life like spending an evening with some of your best friends in the world, laughing and singing along like nothing else matters.
I've always known that Neck Deep were destined for greatness, but I don't think I was expecting anything quite like what happened in Paris. They are no longer the little unknown band who had accompanied All Time Low on tour. They have become successful, one of the greats, and the amount of people bouncing along to opener Gold Steps shows it. Quite quickly, we find our feet in the moshpit, jumping up and down, realising we all have the lung capacity of toddlers but carrying on anyway, because what else can you do when Neck Deep are on stage, themselves spinning around and having a blast? I can't think of anything more obvious than how delighted the Welsh boys were to just be here, playing for us and offering us a ray of sunshine in the cold of February. Their catchy tunes are played fast and loud, and are echoed by the whole crowd - especially songs that seem to be on their way to becoming bonafide classics (Kali Ma, Can't Kick Up the Roots). Quite simply put, Neck Deep are a joy to watch live, their set is solid happiness and it undeniably makes you want to join in. You could have believed it was their own headliner they were playing. I don't know of a lot of things that have come out of North Wales (and yet I sing along to Can't Kick Up the Roots like I've hung out at the Central Station my whole life) but it's safe to say Neck Deep are the very best.
It's Mr Highway's Thinking About the End and its iconic breakdown ("Disrespect your surroundings", anyone?) that will open the evening, and as soon as the first notes echo around the venue, the crowd is on fire. Running around in circles to Paranoia, arguably the heaviest track on the setlist, wasn't my smartest or strongest idea of the night, but at least, it showed me what a great crowd the band were facing. Whatever frontman Jeremy McKinnon asked for, whether it was a circle pit, a wall of death, crowdsurfing, people getting on their friends' shoulders or even using your mate as a surfboard, the audience happily obliges, wreaking havoc in the theatre from start to finish.
Just like Neck Deep, when A Day To Remember are on a stage, they make you want to join in. They have an unbelievable energy, never faltering from start to finish, and it feels like they're not even trying to get people's attention - in the best way, that is. They just walk on a stage, grab their instruments and start playing, and all eyes are on them, attention undivided, lyrics echoed by a thousand people hung on to their every word. When 2nd Sucks' "Just get the fuck over it" resonated in the room, it felt like there were ten thousand of us in there - the shouting along was that loud.
The Floridians are touring Europe to promote their latest album, the heavy Bad Vibrations, and the six songs extracted from it will get the same kind of reaction as older tracks. The circle pit during Paranoia sees a huge chunk of the venue involved, and bouncier songs like We Got This or Naivety will get the whole crowd singing (and me half-accidentally belting out the lyrics to Camp Rock's This Is Real, This Is Me during the chorus of Naivety. It works, you can try). Songs from previous albums are welcomed with open arms, like old friends you haven't seen in a while, because on this side of the world, A Day To Remember are old friends we haven't seen in a while. It's unsurprisingly that I find myself shedding a tear or five thousand to Have Faith in Me, or Homesick.
The first part of the set ends with 2010's All I Want (a classic among all classics) and The Plot to Bomb the Panhandle (from 2007's For Those Who Have Heart), and the band will come back for an encore composed of a lovely rendition of If It Means a Lot to You and bouncy tunes All Signs Point to Lauderdale and The Downfall of Us All. It's during moments like these that you can see the mark A Day To Remember have made on our little world - how many bands have THAT many songs to drive a crowd crazy. This band has got to a stage where they could safely play greatest hits gigs for the rest of eternity and get away with it, but it's obvious they want to go higher and they want to be bigger - and they should. They are one of these bands that have a fair chance at making it to the bigger leagues and the festival headlines, and I can't wait to see it happen.
What a difference five years made.
The last time A Day To Remember had come to Paris, they were shooting for the stars already but their set hadn't been met with the attention and chaos it deserved. Five years later, they have a packed room in front of them, over a thousand people ready to have a party, dance in the confetti and climb on giant inflatable orcas. I think that's what they call making it.
