You Me At Six: Birmingham 02 Academy: March 7th 2009
Something major went down at the Birmingham 02 Academy last night. Something big. As crowds of scene kids gathered at the venue, many with their floppy fringes and backpacks, a vibrant buzz was in the air. It was one that had not been seen, or indeed felt, at the academy in a while; one of pure excitement. The reason of course, was You Me At Six, the latest band to combine indie, punk and emo into a sound that made their debut studio album hit the UK charts at number 25.
It was clear there was a major sense of anticipation in the air as the speed in which the academy filled gained pace. In what was promised to be an action packed evening, support bands The Spill Canvas and Emarosa supplied a taste of what the main attraction was to be like. Now I’m the first to admit that I’m not into this style of music, never mind having experience of this kind of gig before. Yet I was pleasantly surprised. Not in the way that I thought that the music was good, but by the whole enthusiasm of the audience. In the many gigs I have attended I have scarcely seen a crowd so enthusiastic and supportive of the support bands. Both groups received rapturous applause and sing-a-longs, which struck me by surprise. It seemed that unlike indie and punk (which this is allegedly a combination of), the bands up on stage didn’t HAVE to come out looking cool, different and original. They just had to play good music. It was refreshing to see an audience act in this way, and the lead singer of The Spill Canvas even commented that around the world, whether you are, all that matters is that you love music. Hear Hear.
Midway through the break between The Spill Canvas and You Me At Six’ set, a large white sheet came down in front of the stage. In my naivety, I thought it was to prevent members of the crowd from throwing the large supply of beer and glow sticks at the road crew preparing the bands equipment on stage! How wrong I was. In fact it was actually the setting of an entrance full of initiative, and in my own experiences, originality. As the lights went down and darkness consumed all, the opening chords of 'Jealous Minds Think Alike' rang out. Slowly, as the lights aimed at the canvas turned on one by one, the silhouettes of each band member emerged. Screams rang out from the crowd as the sheet dropped when they crashed into song. A fair analysis is to say that the whole place went mental, with a huge surge from the bar at the back of the room as those determined to drink as much alcohol as possible ran into the crowd to join the frenzy.
You Me At Six had arrived in style. Bouncing around the stage full of energy, the 5-piece looked like they were motivated to put on a show worthy of their entrance. Lead singer Josh Franceschi maintained good interaction with the three thousand-odd fans present, announcing: “Birmingham, the time is now for you to jump, ok?”. The academy was rocking. Fans crowded the balcony above, numerous mosh pits emerged, mass sing-a-longs and waves of Sid Vicious-style pogo jumping ensued.
The band rattled through the likes of ‘The truth is a terrible thing', ’You’ve made your bed (so sleep in it)’ and the fantastic ‘Tigers and sharks’. One of the main crowd pleasers was ‘Save it for the Bedroom’ which got the whole crowd engaged in singing along with the group.
In a gig with relentless pace and little time to breathe, the band ensured that the momentum remained at its optimum by stoking up the pressure. “I want to see this room explode, are you ready for this?” warned Franceschi, before his band members tore into another number.
The band concluded the gig with an epic version of ‘The Rumour’, which drew the academy into frenzy for one last time. Yet it was the tune played before this that stood out for me, and effectively ended the gig in the best way possible. Entitled ‘Always attract’, the song contrasted greatly from the searing intensity that had preceded it. An acoustic dominated track, it was an ample break for the sweat covered, heavily panting audience, whilst also providing a good opportunity to refresh the taste buds with another beer before throwing yourself back into the mix. As arms swayed, voices were heard to resound in a unity of calmness as the crowd sang along with Franceschi word-by-word.
You Me At Six had put on a show, and a good show it was. You soon learn that when reviewing music that is not to your taste, what makes a good gig is whether those who do like it enjoy it; the fans that follow the band. This song truly reflected the mutual respect in that relationship. In the end, people had left the Academy on the back of an amazing night. The quote from the lead singer of support band The Spill Canvas rang out as the crowds dispersed, all that matters is that you love music. They certainly loved You Me At Six.
Rating: 8/10
Words: Alex Read
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