It was the second night that You Me At Six were playing the Birmingham Ballroom and yet again the venue was completely sold out. Bouncers struggled to control the hordes of fans flooding through the doors. Anyone actually trying to get in would have to deal with the hundreds of adolescent females, screaming, crying and passing out before they made it past the barriers. On the other hand, the good news for older fans was that there’d be no cue to get to the bar.
However, to say that the venue was only occupied by screaming fan girls would be a sweeping generalisation. Many different people were showing support and as the first act entered the stage, Clash began to see why.
One cannot deny the amazing ska-fuelled talent that is The Skints, however it did seem a slightly strange choice to have them as first support act of the evening. Possibly it was to try and calm down the female population within the room. Whatever the reason, it was definitely working as everyone danced along to their beat. It was just a shame most of the audience in the venue weren’t old enough to know this band’s legacy.
Next to take to the stage were emo stars from Florida, Mayday Parade, followed closely after by Kids in Glass Houses. No one could deny the great line up of talent coming from the stage as these two bands gave their epic performances. People from the balcony watched as small mosh pits became apparent in this already revved up audience, all knowing that this was only a taster for what was still to come.
As the last support finished, the lights went down and the curtain dropped to make way for the final sound-check. Suddenly every person was screaming and every hand was now reaching towards the stage; this could only mean one thing, Josh Francesch and his band were finally here.
It is fair to say that these guys no longer need any introduction, which was made extremely obvious very early on in the night. The entire room was jumping and moshing as the band kicked into their hit, ‘Lover Boy’. It’s not often you see both band and audience sharing the same amount of energy, but as the night went on, it was clear each party was loving the show as much as the other.
Towards the end of the set, Josh declared that it was time “to slow things down.” The crowd screamed, waving their hands back and forth as the band broke out into the new single ‘Nobody Does It Like You’.
As soon as You Me At Six left the stage the fans began to cry for more. It was time for the encore and what better way to open it than with the song ‘Encore’ itself. Smoke rose from the stage, filling the room as a giant mosh pit covered the whole of the Ballroom’s floor. The energy remained right to the very end as the band played their few songs including the almighty ‘Underdog’ and finishing with ‘Bite My Tongue’ before leaving Birmingham’s stage once and for all.
With so much energy, life and pure passion for music demonstrated at that venue, it’s hard to capture the event through the power of words. However, there has been a recent debate about the rise in ticket prices, but if line ups as good as this keep coming up on the bill then there should be no complaints about value for money.
Words by Sophie Sparham
Photo by Rebecca Reilly
