You Me At Six Hold Me Down - Album Review

Released	11 January 2010 (see release history)
Recorded	August–November 2009 at Outhouse Studios, Reading, England
Genre	Pop punk, alternative rock, pop rock
Length	40:37
Label	Virgin
Producer	Matty O'Grady, John Mitchell Rating                8.5/10

Hold Me Down is You Me At Six's second full length studio album released on January 11th 213 through Virgin Records, following a two year gap from previous "Take Off Your Colours", this is the first release with a major label.
Despite receiving mixed reviews, the album features No. 5 on the UK album charts, and also certified Gold in the UK for 100,000 shipments of copies.

Coming far in such a short space of time,. You Me At Six have definitely earnt the greatest new band to catch on to so many people, as I myself have found my lips move along to lyrics ever so easily, keeping the true American pop punk feel to a new British quintet.

First of, introducing us into the new and improved YMAS, we have "The Consequences" with the beaming sounds of an ambulance siren, blares before the first heavy riff of the guitar comes into play, familiarizing us with heir old catchy upbeat beats. Vocal wise, Josh has concered a new stern approach to the start of Hold Me Down, as we are hearing a continuous vocal sound, changed in tone yet still keeping the same repetitive approach from the previous album. As a starting song, The Consequences does well, getting the crowd going with their fast paced British pop punk bounce, the band have infused a rather new bridge, firstly appearing to be the ending of the song, before all tension is picked backed up to highlight it's stress. Here we are hearing a more heavier, layered coverings of sound as, screaming vocals of Josh have been layered on to produce a very effective ending.

Dan flint takes full authority of the next song "Underdog" proving to be a sly slip in the album, this song again reminds us of "Finders Keepers" from the previous album, with it's childish, teenaged dispute themes displayed. However grown up in these two years, there is a clear shown development in their sounding as well as lyrically. To me this is the song which sums up the band with a highly catchy chorus, snappy repetitive lyrics as well as huge mixture of riffs. Being one of the shortest songs from the album, it defiantly highlights Josh's vocals which are strained to prove more power than ever shown before as an artist, growing constantly we are stunned by his talent to overcome such a song.

Snappy, finger clicking beat, "Playing The Blame Game" returns our sense of nostalgia back to the bands origin of themes, with its hateful lyrical aimed at an ex lover, Josh aggressively attacks his past emotions of being betrayed and hurt into a powerful song, recalling some painful memories in which he has overcame, it relates to his young state of being so niave in a relationship and how the misstakes we make were just holding him down. Third song in and the album has alrady proved to top "Take off your colours" with its more structured and clean sounding insturmental beats as well as stern vocal topics.
Attacking the audience enough, it's time for a slghtly less harsh approach to take form into a balad style song, with "Stay with me" provining a more simple layout. A more heatfilled song, stay with me has a chorus which is simple yet thoughful, the stress in Josh's voice changes ever so slightly expanding his pure emotion for you to "stay with him". Again following this pattern of talking about isolation and lonleyless, this song is a plea for help in a rough time in the darkness alone. Keeping the hard instrumental background, this song gives off a completly different feel and atmosphere to the album, proving that YMAS are versitle, pulling off an emotinal song yet still adding their punk vibe to it.

I would say that this album focuses mainly on the previous heartbreaks of broken relationships which went wrong, leading these unresolved feelings aside to be put into a song. Closly following this slow balad style, "Safer To Hate Her" relates to their previous work, pushing forwath a more serious and strong side, showing Josh to be ineffectively and strong. Chucking in another follow up " Take Your Breath Away" ends the upbeat battle of ballads, clearing all the rocky feels to the collection of songs.
I feel the band have been very clever in the placement of songs as adding a collection of ballads together hooks you to listen to more of the album as though its an untold story waiting to be unfolded, the quintet have gathered their thoughts leaving the listener to relate closely to what they are singing about, with each song interlinking with the other, it proves to paint a bigger picture.
This driven obsession in which is lyrical claimed in this song, drives the passion in what Josh has with his music to that one lover he is always thinking about. "I only have eyes for you" yet never letting go of what's no longer his.

Like stay with me, "Liquid Confidence" restores the album back to reality a bit, as the band have shown a progression in the petty little bitchiness of girls, this song proves to be a breaker of boundaries. Settled in the middle of the album, the softer intake sweetly settles you down, with the light touch of Josh's vocals, drummer Dan flint also creates a break here, easing up a bit on the heaviness. The song is more stretched out lyrically, yet keeping the short snappy, repetitive bridge in, it's structure keeps true to the bands intentions. And of course this is the calm before the storm as next to follow "Hard To Swallow" sweeps right in with it's 1, 2/2 beat repeating over and over again, You Me At Six have now mastered this to be their trade into beat. Josh competing with his vocals a further amount, he has explored new heights within this song, providing a new sound in each pitch he reaches. The whole songs sounds kicks about this whole riot theme which is just waiting to be exploded with the build up of the bridge sets the pre chorus up before exploding right into the final chorus with full enthusiasm.

"Contagious Chemistry" again is another build up song which layers quickly emerge in a louder tempo of sounds collaborating with its metronome drum bass, the song is easy to follow along with just at first glance. However a surprised ending tops the song with it's full frontal outbreak of "You Bitch!"
For me, "There Is No Such Thing As Accidental Infidelity" does not seem as relevant to be in the album, a lot of it's sounding are just grabbed from other song in this album, however the bass and drums are key to be heard here, showing off with they're tricky composition,  Josh's dragged out lines, pull him back to his soft ballad side and we are made to feel at ease, the faded out ending then composed well with the next intro sounding a lot like a Young Guns song. This new familiar sent, then takes on a bold structure as "Trophy eyes" is layered with a breaking chorus once again, if there's one thing that you me at six get right, it's there brilliantly composed choruses. Involving an instrumental side more than lyrical, this song breaks from all the rest, clearly standing out amongst the album allowing the other members to shine through.

Finally we end the album on a dimmed light, "Fireworks" proves to be a song which you would find of a Paramore album. Taking slower steps, Josh is almost talking here, recapping a memorable, heartwarming story which is troubled, where the soft strums of the guitar accomply it perfectly. Lyrically this song is strong and a wise choice to finish the album with as it leaves us thinking deep in thought, touching deep and meaningful memories. Reaching the peakness of the bridge, Josh pulls out all his strings, topping that high note and leaving it in the air in a pure rage of passion and emotion, when hearing the song it really does touch you to feel his pain as you can easily relate.

Overall, I believe the album to be as strong as the first, however not quite topping it. A massive improvement has been shown here from just two years ago, releasing this album with Virgin has done wonders for them , allowing them to get further noticed and famous. It just shows how much work they have put in has paid off, with Sinners Never Sleep to be their third album and another on its way in 2014, the future is only just beginning for YMAS.

You Me At Six - Take Off Your Colours - Album Review

Released	October 20, 2008 (see release history)
Recorded	March–May 2008 at Outhouse Studios, Reading, England
Genre	Pop punk
Length	51:09 (Original) 69:07 (Deluxe Edition)
Label	Slam Dunk, Epitaph
Producer	Matty O'Grady, John Mitchell Rating                 9.9/10

I'm dating back a bit now to You Me At Six's first ever album, which was released in 2008 and labeled as a pop punk genre, which seems to be a change to what they are now. The reason in which I am doing this review of their oldest album is because I want to compare and contrast the difference of each one, as I have spotted a clear marked theme in each one which strongly sets them apart, showing the transformation of a progressive band in the music industry. Starting out with five very young and new lads from Surrey, they have composed together a typical band formation, trying to make it big.

If you're not already aware of this band then let me introduce you to them. Lead vocalist Josh Franceschi who was 17 at the time of this album joined by Max Helyer (guitar and backing vocals), Chris Miller (Guitar), Matt Barnes( bassist) and finally Dan Flint (Drummer). Now they sing about the typical teenaged boy stuff in this album as you are aware for most young bands sing about which are: girls, gossip and the usual dramas of a teenage life take priority in their stories, I find them to tackle this with with more humor and sarcasm, yet still keeping that cheesy, poetry love crap in there.

To me this album proves to be one of their strongest, despite its underrated recognition, musically and lyrically, You Me At Six take on the true punk elements infusing it with new pop melodies, composed into 13/18 songs.

The deluxe edition which was released a year late, added on five, already improved, immaculate songs to the album, proving its strength as a whole.

From begging with "The Truth Is A Terrible Thing" to "Gossip" the intro and out-tro both infuse together to build up a confused difference in two separate songs, however building up to the chorus the term is marked with the very catchy, clappy beat which is carried out throughout.  Keeping in touch with the same heavy guitar riffs, the pitch changing vocals, Gossip takes the album more to the heart of it all, as it really gets you into the head banging movement, finding yourself pumped for the next bouncy beat. The easily learnable lyrics catch your attention just hearing them at first glance, you will be able to pick them up almost instantly as being truly simple the band have kept this sing along tune intact for their fans to join in at any point.

As the album dives into its fourth song which is "Jealous Minds Think Alike", it thrives to prove to be the strongest, also being the first ever song I heard from them, it caught my ears in a drum beat. Slightly differing from the past few songs, it takes on a more structured and professional turn, diving into a brilliant chorus, with uplifting vocals as well as thrashing guitar and drum beats, the song is clearly following a pop rock style of music. Another main point which sets it apart is its strong out-tro and intro into the song, it still follows the nostalgic rhythm from the previous songs, however it is set apart with its memorable breakdown of a finish.

From one great song to another, "Save It For The Bedroom" proved to be another catchy tune, right from the intro of the 8/8, guitarist Chris and Max has pulled you right into this hypnotic pule which is then broken by vocalist Josh, joined by Dan, bursting into an outbreak of drums.

Reminisces back to the start of the album, this song is another crowd-pleaser with its catchy lyrical notion of "who's keeping score on who is who's whore" seems to be worth remembering  before the breakdown of "Too far, save it for the bedroom" replays over and over again before it all comes to slow, crashing end of pure instrumentals. 

Just halfway in the self titled track "Take Off Your Colours" displays the troubled teen problems, deeply engaging with girls, being lied to and fakness, more upbeat than the next song "You've made your bed" which takes this theme even deeper, the change in pitch and tempo presents a self-referential ode to a ex-girlfriend, directly speaking to her through a mix-match of lyrics. Gradually getting slower and slower, "Tigers and Sharks" highlight this with it's though paced trail of words, as you can easily follow Josh's spirit of betray and heartbreak come crashing down in pure emotion from the chorus where everything is dropped into heavy, passionate screams.

Lifting moods up high, yet still keeping the same themes by containing heavy layers of guitar sounding, almost post-hardcore the band have made their trademark of a killer chorus. "If You Run" its self sounds like you are on the run, with its false start and repair verse in which the guitar focuses heavily on, before giving up that outburst into the chorus. Another favorite is hidden towards the end as "If I Were In Your Shoes" proves to be the proper head mosher in this album, as the belting of the chorus allows the audiences to relate quickly, getting them into the right mod for the guitar solo before restoring them back to the playful lyrics. 

Playing with our emotions once again, another speed stopped, "Always Attract" provides a sweet sounding acoustic echo of a love ballad. May seem a bit unusual to find, this song fits in with this album as it keeps in touch with its repetitive guitar rifts along with the slow calmness of Josh's voice, sending us quiet for three minutes to just think and absorb. We are soon joined by his sister, Elissa who features as a guest on this track, harmonizing, beautifully for heightened ending, joined by an instrumental clatter, of the rest of the band joining in this crescendo. 

Ending the album with, "Rumor" just takes you on your journey back to the start of the album, with just a few new adjustments. By the end of this you will have heard a very solid and strong album, produced by five very young, yet extremely talented young lads who have shown that they have more for us to listen to, and in the future will achieve what they had originally set out to do.

With the five added bonus tracks, this easily tops all of their other albums, providing a solid 10/10, full of spectacular melodies, that capture your ears intensely.

Adding "Kiss and Tell" to start off the bonus tracks, it has already shown the progress of the band waiting a year, with their cleaned up vocals and perfected instrumental sound. Keeping in touch with their repetitive lyrics, being blasted at the crowd, they have taken on a much heavier approach.

Placing "Finders Keepers" in with a brand new music video, the band have also grown as teenaged boys into adults, as this song explores more about them growing up and past experiences in which they have decided to let go of and face more serious issues and relationships. Yet there is still a key, teenaged boy, jealous vibe going on with Josh adding his sarcastic "I bet you're sorry" commentary in, the song takes on a whole new atmosphere. Pleasurable yet getting you thinking this song puts you in a doubtful mood, re visiting memories in which you can relate to with the childlike lyric of "Finders keepers" being played over again, the aged band are still delivering their presence. 

However I will admit that "Sweet Feet" and " All Your Fault" don't relate much to the Deluxe as well as the other songs, as these songs both distant them self the new mixture of feelings. Following on from a childlike theme, Sweet Feet does follow this through, "I hate to say I told you so..." another, cocky line placed, showing more of Josh's funny side into the song it makes its more and more original to them as a band than just another heartbreak song.

In my opinion, the last two songs were alright to be added to the Deluxe, as they seemed pretty irrelevant to be on the album, yet added to the closure of TAKE OFF YOUR COLOURS. Both date back to the starting songs, keeping in touch with 4/4 beat and the causal head nodding, ending the song with a strained note.

Like I have said before, this album still proves to be my favorite, even now with the advancement of YMAS, I always date back to this track listing to find all the bangers and songs I can confidently sing along to, proving it to be worthy for their best album yet, without them even realising at the time.

Track Listing

01. The Truth is a Terrible Thing
02. Gossip
03. Call That a Comeback?
04. Jealous Minds Think Alike
05. Save It for the Bedroom
06. Take Off Your Colours
07. You've Made Your Bed
08. If You Run
09. Tigers and Sharks
10. If I Were in Your Shoes
11. Always Attract
12. Nasty Habits
13. The Rumour

DELUX:

14. Kiss and Tell
15. Finders Keepers
16. Sweet Feet
17. All Your Fault
18. Blue Eyes Don't Lie

Jake Bugg: Shangri-La – Album Review

     

Released	18 November 2013
Recorded	2013 at Shangri-La,Malibu, California, U.S.
Genre	Indie rock
Label	Mercury (UK), Island (U.S.)
Producer	Rick Rubin Rating

Shangri-La is the second studio album by the English indie rock artist Jake Bugg. Released on November 18th 2013, the album was produced by Rick Rubin, which was then named after his very important studio in Malibu, California where the recording of this album took place.

Two years after his very first debut album arrived, following  tales of drugs and violence growing up on a Nottingham council estate, the 19 year old finds himself in a completely new surrounding and setting as this is highlighted by his album art work. Comparing the two, this new and improved Bugg, shows the bright future, with a long shot of his whole body, strong and confident, whereas with his first self titled album, gives us a more close, intimate saddened feel.

Following the first single release of "What Doesn't Kill You" in late September, gave us a short taste of what we would expect to find on his improved album, the high beats and fast lyrical motion of his words, imminently tells us a whole new story, with its live, catchy rhythm and and various solo tunes, Jake Bugg has adapted a whole new mood of positivity and brightness, shocking the audiences at first on such a change, but at the same time feeling a whole new liking to the song. Just a few months after the second release of " Slumville Sunrise" in October, a little closer to the release date, supported Bugg's new themes further as an additional music video gave a nostalgic feel to the dead 1963 era, as it felt familiar and had a degree of novelty, pushing forward a new, fresh intake into previous music.

Drawing in the audiences with its repetitive strums of a catchy guitar riff, Bugg carries on the fast lyrical speed, matching the head bobbing movement witch you will find, makes you want to move. The music video as well replicates this olden theme, however putting a modern twist, by using his past upbringing of  a "chavy council estate environment" Jake Bugg acts as a thief in robbing a ring for his girlfriend, which he is then chased around, by the use of badly edited green-screening, giving it an authentic, stereotypical music video feel for that era, however adapting this to a postmodern audiences, Bugg has then made it into a short film style of video, with the ending to include intertextuality and humorous  a modern audiences would find funny.

Jake Bugg's album takes on popular music in which america was more fond of around the time, yet bringing his short snappy songs with a British culture, Bugg has streamlines an alternative rock production, making Shangri-La sound more Brit pop than the mainstream 90s indie sub genres.

However not all songs in his album are fast paced and lively, as we get to the third song, "Me and You" still takes on the country theme, however it has slowed down slightly to settle for a more serious and emotional topic in which was previously explored, here we get a sense of the previous Bugg, infused with his new and improved attitude. Keeping in touch with his serious tales, the lyrics on "Seen It All" genuinely sounds like a teenager seeing another get stabbed, again adapted from the verité themed story. 

As well as making beautiful sounding music at such a young age, Jake Bugg has really seen it all, with just 19 years of age, he has been though life long experiences in which he projects into his songs stating "There is a lot of pain out there- the world is a cold place" He explores his own previous experiences into songs which mean more than the face value of them.

In the next few songs in the album, Bugg follows these same themed, slowed down songs as he takes it to the slowest pace with "Song About Love" striking as a young poetic image with his ambitious themes and lyrical photographs, he pretenses the hard life of the feral youth of broken Britain's and how true life real is. 

My own personal view on Jake Bugg is that hes is a great mix of talent, constantly producing modern rhythmatic indie music, relating to current and past themes of Britain in which a little sense of History is needed to understand deeper, however he is "just another lad writing tunes" yet the way in which he does makes him not just another lad. Another main reason in why I only gave it three stars is that it's not as good as the first one, always comparing albums to the previous one, Jake's first debut won me over in an instant, whilst this one had made me listen to it a few times before I got my head round it. This maybe because of his sudden, drastic change in tempo and pitch of the upbeat themes and fast moving words, it was hard to keep up with and follow, whilst his previous felt more relatbale and down to earth.

Bringing us back to his previous work, "Pine Trees" proves to show a sense of reminiscence of "Broken", showing that Bugg still has it in him to sing about these simple, yet effective songs that touch us deeply in a sweet short acoustic feel presented with his raw voice. Positioned near the end of the album, Bugg has used this to his advantage, taking you to a gap of thinking space, allowing the song to flow through in entirety before the last two, more saddened songs set in before picking you up back to your feet.

The album overall does contain some strong, highlighted points however the new atmosphere it brings is hard to compete with the previous one, thus making it weak, all in all, Jake Bugg has shown a clear progression as an artist who is full of surprises, keeping us on our toes for the next release. 

Vans Warped Tour 2013 SUNDAY 17TH @ Alexandra Palace

Back again for another hard hitting punktastic day filled with many more talented bands to mark the final day of Warped UK 2013.
Exhausted from last nights performances, the Sunday of Warped took a back seat, as a lot of filler bands were chucked around the place, giving us time to save our energy for the mighty headliners, Enter Shikari.
After being absent for a year, it was Shikari's return to end the tour in full havoc, as they shortly then announced 2014 will be another static year for them as their focus goes out to writing a new album, so not all is loss.

Not feeling the Sunday bands entirely, as only five sparked my eye to see, I thought i'd go and see the skaters at the half pipe in between bands, seeing as it was Vans Warped tour, there must have been some decent ones there. Surprisingly enough there was only one female skater called Lizzie, who showed to be even better than all the men together. Watching the skate area, as more and more skaters joined the ramp along with two BMX bikers, they put on one hell of a show, taking it in turns with each other as one showed off, the other closely followed, trying to show more skill than the last. Their little competition lasted half an hour, as the crowds eyes were glued following the skaters travel from one side to the other, flipping the board in the hair, twirling around before they caught the ground and imitated the same on the other side. Pure, raw talent was shown here as a variety of contestants from all ages proved their unique abilities to skate at pro standards. My personal favorite was of course the BMX'ers as they could ride head level into the air, with no hands, and do double flips, causing the crowd to cheer even louder.

First band up on my list was new pop punk emergence DECADE! as they filled the early set of starting at 1:55, the band took to the Jagermeister stage, with already a large sized crowd behind the barriers, Decade started off their set straight away.
First time seeing them live, they put in a great energetic show joined with a crowd full of enthusiastic fans at the front, jumping around in beat with the music. Filling up a half an hour set, Decade were a great band to introduce you to warped, getting you prepared for what was to come next.
An early start to the signings as at 1:30 Enter Shikari had announced that they would be doing one, causing one mammoth queue leaving the main stage, following the door in a trail of fans, desperately awaiting to meet Shikari.

From one signing to the next, the merch area soon became packed with While She Sleeps announcing their early one at 2:45, an alarmingly long queue formed, with more and more people joining as they found out along the way.

While She Sleeps

While She Sleeps

While She Sleeps

Whilst in the queue we heard rumors that A Day To Remember had arrived and were ready to do a signing at 4, which then followed with an intimate acoustic show at 5:55 at the Jagermeister stage moments after, hearing the news a day before, I wasn't entirely sure wither it was true, however once reaching the main hall we soon found a short line, an hour early waiting for the famous ADTR.
Waiting for over an hour, the band finally decided to show up, with crowds of people eager to see them the line doubled in size of the Shikari one, as not many people knew that they were playing Warped this Sunday. The excitement was building up within everyone's faces, as the thought of being a meter away from them, being able to make eye contact was exciting enough, let alone actually meeting them.

Jeremy  McKinnon

Kevin Skaff

Neil Westfall

A DAY TO REMEMBER

3/5th of A DAY TO REMEMBER greeted us at the signing, all with warm smiles and welcoming conversations which lead us to wait for them yet again for their short acoustic set.

Starting their set of with a song close to home, just off their new album Common Courtesy, "City of Ocala seemed to be the perfect settlement. With an overwhelming crowd already, the space was packed out with thousands of heads all trying to get a piece of them before the guards had to shut the doors off.


The raw echoes of Jeremy's voice just sent shivers down my spine, as hearing an acoustic is much different to hearing them normally, the basic, stripped sound is so powerful yet in its raw state, the sounding filled my heart with happiness and pleasure, accompanied with the soft strums of the guitar. As well as the echoes of everyone in the room, signing back the song, boosted the atmosphere to a further true acoustic set in motion, following their new album, "Right Back At It Again" swept into their next song, keeping in touch with the same atmosphere and movement of the bands journey. (Watch it live here)

Live Acoustic set

Right back to an oldie, "All Signs Point To Lauderdale" was next, as this was a song everyone could join in, relating to through the lyrics, screaming it right back at them with full rage and passion. (watch)

Drawing to an end, the band had only one song left, which of course had to be All I Want, finishing their four song set, ADTR made up for such a short play by bursting right into the first verse, joined with the crowds voices, accompanying it perfectly for a finished ending. 

Warped Tour, made the right choice in having them play a secret set for the Sunday, as it added to the high spirited day, and also brought a sense of surprise to what seemed to be an immaculate night. (All I WANT)

As soon as the last strum vibrated into the air, I left imminently to the West stage to catch While She Sleeps, as they had already clashed, only missing three songs, I joined the packed, sweaty room ready to get some energy flowing.

Like always, Sleeps know how to put on a show, even at Warped they seemed to grab everyones attention with their fast paced music, keeping the crowd moving constantly in aggressive states, forming pits all over the place.

More than ever, the band have progressed, in the way they interact with a live crowd, as big as Warped, they seemed to direct them all in the right hardcore movement. 

Just a few hours away from the headlining band we were all waiting for, Enter Shikari, three more big bands were set to play just before. One being Yellowcard who have always been a personal favorite to me, listening to them from such a young age, and now being in the same room as them, watching them play live was another thing. It took me back to my childhood, where they were all  I used to listen to, and when they played Ocean Avenue to end their set, the whole crowd went insane. The main thing that struck me about Yellowcard was their diverseness as a violinist was in the band, which you wouldn't normally see in a pop punk genre or any band set up.

They played such happy and upbeat music it was hard not to fell the rhythm flow through your body, the mood was set in high hopes, as they promised a return to the UK soon as it had been far too long. The first time seeing them live, they capture their sound on CD and amplified it into the crowd 10x better, as for a live band goes Yellowcard hit all the right notes.

But before the main headliners would take to the stage, Billy Talent and Rise Against were up just before, which was a plus for me getting to actually see them for the first time.

Certainty great in position, the two bands got the room packed,  and the crowd going, all hyped up just before Shikari took to the stage.

9:30 rolled around and it was time for the last ever band to perform at Warped 2013, Enter Shikari hit it all off with a slow introduction to System.... Meltdown! As one by one each meter joined the stage, with the crowd greeting them with lyrics.

With a 13 song set list, the band had chosen the right bangers to fill it up in true Shikari style, as right away people started to loose their shit and go mad along with the music, letting themselves flow along with the manic electronic music. The set up for Shikari was with their usual logo, strobing lights, flashing all over the crow. Picking up the pace a little bit, "Sorry You're Not A Winner" then followed with its lively, broken down guitar rifts, infused with its erratic verses.

 The whole set was only an hour long, however it seemed to take up the whole afternoon, filling time for hours rather than just once, they certainly kept us interested and feeling alive, with each song placed to set a different motion and atmosphere for the night, the band kept us interacted with their hardcore electronic music.

Halfway through I even noticed a guy in a wheelchair, centered in the pit with his friends safely guarding him, I guess nothing would stop anyone from having a good time tonight.
Infusing old songs with new ones, Shikari's set was lined perfectly, causing havoc and chaos all over the place, tearing down Alexandra Palace for the final night of Warped tour, ending with Zzzonked the place was left in complete ruins.

Once again Warped tour has brought bands from all over the world to the UK for two special days of madness, and I look forward to seeing it happen all over again, next year!

Vans Warped Tour 2013 - UK SATURDAY 16TH NOVEMBER

The legendary Vans Warped Tour was back for the second year in the UK, but this timing bringing us two days of absolute mayhem. November 16th-17th was booked at Alexandra Palace for the world wide famous event to be held at for thousands of fans.

I was lucky enough to get a weekend ticket for both days, appreciating the split of the mammoth list of bands which were announced to play that weekend.

(See below for tour poster)


The tour kicked off at around 1pm where the doors of Ally Pally opened, with thousands of heads emerging through the forum, awaiting anxiously for the stage times to be announced, checking who they were going to see and when. At this moment the forum was crowded with many people of all ages and gender, roaming around the halls, screaming with their friends, running off in all different directions to catch the first band.

The first band I wanted to see appeared to be Neck Deep, and starting at 2:45, I had plenty of time to ponder around the merch halls and stages to see if anyone was about.
Just like last year, It was in the exact same space, packed as ever with people running around, getting free stuff from the Impericon and many other stalls. Already I was so thrilled with the fact of actually being there and standing inside Alexandra Palace, moments before my many favorite bands play. Just the feeling you got when you entered the building was enough to get you going for the whole day, as all I could feel was excitement and anticipation for each band to take to their set.

As soon as it hit 2:30, I headed over to the Jagermeister Stage for Neck Deep. This was my third time seeing them this year, and second time that week as previously traveling to Leeds for TWY tour, I knew the set list off by heart. Neck Deep proved me wrong, as previously not giving a halfhearted performance, I have had second doubts about them performing at warped. Starting the set off with a crowd who seemed even more pleased to be there than the band, a pushie pit of young teens circled in the middle as Kick it set off. Playing the large Jagermeister stage, Ben was bouncing all the way along it back and forth, proving a much energetic, pop punk performance before departing the stage to join in with the fully erupted, crowd surfing manic which awaited him at the floor. The band, wasted to time into getting right into the music as one song finished the next started with the heavy influence of the 4/4 drum beat, kicking in with the uprising guitar riffs, which was then later joined by vocalist Ben.
 Just about to finish the set, the band declared they would be playing "Part of me" their famous acoustic song with the help of the crowd, now seeing this done before, it could have all gone pare-shaped, however at warped it seem to work, with Ben passing the mic out to the crowd, so we could take over for the final song, Neck Deep ended their set in harmony with everyone.

Right after they were all done, I wen't to the main stage to wait for The Wonder Years to come on next, but before them Crossfaith were just finishing their set which proved to be packed with vibrating figures, bobbing up and down, causing the ground to shake. Watching this form the West stage, I could tell that they had just finished a manic set, as their fast paced, heavy strums sent echoes of moshers all around the room, warming the crowd up before The Wonder Years took off.

 Shortly after, the pop punk legends, TWY took to the stage, dragging a wave of people with them as everyone shot to the front, finger point along to "Passing through a screen door" as they opened up with upbeat song. One of the bands I was most looking forward to seeing was them, and as always they had proved to put on a show, as their set was a lot shorter than when I saw them in Leeds, this didn't stop Soupy from making his ironic, beautiful peaches about memories hes grown up with, inspiring him to carry on writing these beautiful songs. A lot of people would find them repetitive, but with the pure passion in his voice as he broke down with each story, it was clear that it came from the bottom of his heart and he truly did mean it. The set lasted for about 45 minutes with the band playing a mixture of songs from The greatest Generation, Suburbia and The Upsides, they had constructed an immaculate set list, causing surfers to plunge over and over again, enjoy the much happy atmosphere. The Wonder Years are a band who never disappoint and always bring everything they have to their shows, even at warped, you could tell that they were glad to be playing in front of any crowd, as they were doing it for themselves as well as their fans. A lot of other people really got into them as a lot of, small pits were forming with people running into each other, not caring what they were doing but just having fun in the process. Really enjoying their breathtaking performance it was back to the merch stalls for Neck Deep's acoustic set.

This took part whilst Real Friends set was on (bummer I missed them but at least I got to see them in Leeds)
The five piece band crowded round lead singer Ben who sat in-front with his acoustic guitar, surrounded by a crowd full of fans who desperate to hear some sweet sounds.
First up was "Head to the ground", with such a close view, I sat directly in-front of Ben as he began singing the first few lyrics of the song before a few more people form the crowd joined in. Watch it here: LIVE
After finishing the last verse, he had a little chat with the rest of us, generally asking us what we wanted to hear and if we were enjoying the tour so far, everyone seemed much to happy that he chose to play Dammit by Blink next which was a classic favorite in which the whole room knew and sang along to, before attempting to another song, Ben's nerves got the bets of him and he forgot the next lyrics which resulted in laughter. It's hard performing in front of a crowd and even at the stage in which Neck Deep are at you still get the nerves and forget things, as you could tell Ben would just shut his eyes and sing, he was very frightened but that din't stop him from screaming the next song, which Part of me again. This time it was his pure raw voice, just like in the music video, it echoed around each person, grabbing our gaze imminently. This was my favorite song in which they performed as it's uplifting and bright to end a set with. Luckily this time he managed to remembered the lyrics but passed the guitar on, knowing he'd mess it up, the crowd swayed from side to side slapping in appreciation.

Right after that the band did a signing to meet all their fans and proved to be full of character and chatty to everyone which was nice to see for a change.

 From one signing to the next, we moved on quickly to catch The all mighty Wonder Years as the queue had already gone out the door for them, they were high in demand for a lot of people. Seeing them live is one thing, but when you actually get upfront, face to face with one member and just talking to them is another. The band, again seemed more than comfortable talking to every single person, whilst signing autographs and taking pictures, The Wonder Years were in high spirits for a good few hours after they played an insane set.

Canterbury at their singing

We Came As Romans

 After a couple of signings, a band who I actually wanted to see were playing before Yellowcard and Parkway, Like Moths To Flames.

Providing a different mindset and atmosphere, the crowd was already going crazy by the time I got there, as it being the first time ever performing in the UK, they were more than ecstatic to play for us.
Live, the band proved worthy, and promising to return again, as they could tell they had a lot of hardcore fans out there, repeating back the lyrics, moshing along to each song.
Not even being around for that long, LMTF's have concurred their third year of being a band, as producing such an advanced metalcore sounding, they certainty got me in the motion of their music.

As they finished their set we swiftly moved to the East stage waiting for Parkway Drive, whilst Billy Talent's last couple of songs pelted out.
This way we got a great spot for Parkway as well as seeing them.

The West side appeared to pull a large group of older fans in, and even some from the East stage, as everyone loved a bit of Billy Talent whilst waiting for Parkway.
For me personally, Parkway should have headlined, as a lot of people have traveled a long distance just for them, as time pressed on the room soon became full with many excited faces.

Finally the countdown began with the ticking clock of Dark Days began to settle in, the crowd roared, screaming until each member appeared on stage with their hands in the air.
Right before Winston came on, people in the crowd had already started to form a circle pit, clearing the floor for a much large space. Zooming right into the verse, Winston arrived who was greeted with the fan cheers of the corwd, in perfect pitch, pushing their hands in the air at each word he screamed.

Seeing Parkway before, I knew I could expect it to be a mad one, with the crowd causing much havoc, but at Warped, this proved to be 10x harder, with three pits now forming in all directions of the floor.
Having Just an hour set, the band played out a mixture of songs from Deep Blue, Horizons for the oldies and also Atlas, their latest one, emerging them all within each other, everyone had their favorites played that night.


Situated at middle right, I joined in with the people around me, having enough space to move around in and not get too squashed, whilst hundreds of bodies floated along others heads, surfing their way to the front in a cyclic pattern, which seemed to never end.
In between songs, Winston took the time to give a quick talk to us and speech about themselves and what we wanted to hear as routine, they played Home is for the heartless, Boneyards, Swing, Carrion, Romance is Dead, and many more songs in which we could find ourselves connecting with.

Towards the end of the set, Winston announced that in a previous show they had 800 kids crowd surfing in one set, and asked London if we could beat that, triumph as ever, strong willed and determined, the crowd set out to break the records, and get as many kids in the air, clawing their way to the stage.

Not even counting how many made it, there was a swarm of bodies now, crashing into each other, avoid the three large, manic pits which were still going on, hundreds of kids had participated in this record challenge, proving that London still had it in them.

Honestly better than their last performance, Parkway had made their mark once again, providing Warped tour with an astonishing hardcore show for everyone to enjoy and get battered at, being the joint headliner, they were perfect to just lose your shit to and get battered along to heavy music.

Ending their set with cannons filled of confetti, drenching ourselves with its sparking dust, we all had our final song before the mighty Rise Against took to the stage just next door for the final show of the day.

(More form Rise Against and tomorrows chaos review shortly)
See Sunday review.