While children were still in school and
I was planning my evening Living With Lions were
taking to the stage at the incredulously early
time of 6.45 and shortly after them The Ghost
Inside played to a undoubtedly empty venue. Seriously
guys half your target audience is eating their
mother made tea and drinking some Red Bull so
they can stay up past their bed-times and not
be tired for Maths in the morning; if you’re
reading, obviously you are, then sort it out.
Luckily me and my guest strolled in casually late
and were immediately stopped by a wall of soppy,
stinking, incredibly sweaty teenagers, all wearing
vests emblazoned with logos of bands I had never
heard of, we did however get to the bar with ease;
silver lining.
As with previous years the Eastpack tour combines
the latest musical prodigies with hardened scene
favourites; the two headlining bands this evening
manage to convincingly portray themselves as the
latter and to say anything otherwise would offend
ever youngster in attendance which I don’t
have the heart to do for they are a passionate
bunch.
As August Burns Red take the stage and frenetically
whip and scream their way through their set the
packed crowd, like baying wolves, are chanting
and moshing in unison. Frontman Jack Luhrs has
everyone eating out of the palm of his hand as
he requests for circle pits, more jumping, and
much to securities dismay crowd surfing—hateful,
hateful man. Immediately tops are off, legs are
in the air, and faces are being kicked; none of
it sounds fun, but when hundreds upon hundreds
of people are doing this in unison it is a sight
like no other. August Burns Red are a talented
live band, whether you’re a metalcore fan
or not, they bring with them a sense of purposeful
euphoria.
Their breakdowns, meaty bass, and power drumming
all bring with them a certain charm, but complete
with decent roaring it’s the whole pretty
package that makes them the band they are. Slightly
more mature than you might expect and slightly
heavier than the name suggests August Burns Red
are most definitely a band worth watching and
easily the band of the evening; but you know I
only saw half the gig so I would go making banners
yet.
With massive deafening cheers and the music from
something called Final Fantasy FloridiansA Day
To Remember take their turn at pleasing Manchester,
but their twee Pop-Metal makes for a gig to forget—sorry,
couldn’t help myself.
They crank out all their biggest hits from “The
Danger in Starting a Fire,” to newer single,
“Better Off This Way,” and “If
It Means A Lot To You,” which is one of
their best songs of the evening. The problem with
A Day To Remember isn’t their sound—which
isn’t great anyway—but their over
rehearsed, frankly boring performance style which
sees them strutting around the stage occasionally
shouting something at the adoring fans. Even a
swathe of balloons descending from above the heads
of fans and incessantly being batted around, and
popped at lightning speed, can’t make this
band interesting. They’re just trying too
hard. Right on queue they whack out the acoustic
numbers for the encore; which causes hypnotic
silence amongst the giddy; it’s the best
way they could end a mediocre show.
Nobody will remember them today and nobody will
be talking about this year’s Eastpack tour
being one of the great line-ups, but it wasn’t
all that bad, it was brimming with kids who love
these bands with every pore and when watching
the bands didn’t quite cut it the audience
sure make fine viewing.
August Burns Red 3.5/5
A Day To Remember 2.5/5
Review By Lauren Mullineaux |
