Live: A Day To Remember @ Academy 1

A Day To Remember
Academy 1
15^th November
4 stars

Promoted as the final ever Eastpak Antidote Tour, starting in mainland Europe and ending with a string of UK dates, it brings a stellar lineup from the other side of the Atlantic.

Dominating  the stage are Floridian hardcore-pop-punk-whateveryouwanttocallthem five-piece A Day To Remember, blowing up over the past year after the release of latest album, What Separates Me From You, and deservedly so. Successfully carving out a niche in the saturated market of bands in related fields, breaking down borders and redefining genres to create the music they and their fans want.

Most bands leave their pyro and confetti displays until the end of their set, yet ADTR go straight in. Starting with ‘Sticks & Bricks’, it turns into instant confetti-blasted insanity.

Punching through the next few songs with no breaks, the energy level is at its fullest. A mass amount of toilet roll is flung around as they play their way through current single, ‘All Signs Point To Fort Lauderdale’, continuing with “the heaviest song we’ve ever written”, ‘Mr. Highway’s Thinking About The End’, from album Homesick. Keeping the tempo high, they blast through ‘2nd Sucks’ and classic ‘Why Walk On Water…’ where Jeremy McKinnon requests a giant circle pit from the participating members of the crowd.

The last song before the encore is most probably in every fan’s top 5, the ever popular ‘The Plot To Bomb The Panhandle’, before returning to the stage for a stripped down acoustic version of ‘If It Means A Lot To You’, receiving the loudest sing-a-long of the entire lengthy set.

Finally ending with an insane amount of confetti, balloons, blow-up beach balls and crowdsurfers for ‘The Downfall Of Us All’ and witnessing a superb show from start to finish- it is likely to take the majority of the dripping wet and bruised crowd a while to recover, but bloody hell was it worth it.

A Day To Remember – All I Want (live)