So I can officially declare myself a slave to the world of concerts. On November 5th I went to the Alternative Press Fall Ball with You Me At Six, The Secret Handshake, Set Your Goals and co-headliners Mayday Parade and The Academy Is... and I must say that it was one of the best concert experiences I have ever had. It marked my third Mayday Parade show, and my first The Academy Is... show and both were amazing. I still can't get over how much of a good time I had and I was so pleasantly surprised. Mayday Parade was up to their usual greatness, and The Academy Is... did so much more that I expected. Not only did they play some of my favorites from their first album Almost Here, but they also had amazing stage presence and a great feel. An overall spectacular night that confirmed one of my core beliefs about myself: I most definitely need to be a part of the concert world for the rest of my life.
First of the night to play was You Me At Six, a pop punk band from the UK. Although they didn't have a completely original sound, they were very good for having never really toured here in the US before. They did a cover of Lady Gaga's Poker Face which was the highlight for me since it was the only song I actually recognized. They did a fairly good job, but I wasn't at all familiar with them so it was a little hard to judge.
Next came The Secret Handshake who seemed to enjoy using vocals altered to sound a little more electronic-y, not something I am particularly fond of, but like You Me At Six, they did have a very good stage presence which was commendable. They also did a cover, this time of Miley Cyrus' Party In The USA which was the best part of the opening show. Other than that, I wasn't particularly captivated by them, but for fans, I'm sure they did more than please.
Third and last of the opening bands was Set Your Goals, the one stand out for their seemingly unrelateable music to the rest. They have more of a punk sound that didn't really seem to fit with the rest of the bands playing, and once again, not really my thing. They played a lot longer than they seemed to need to as well, and by the end of their set I found myself checking my cell for the time. They seemed to please the crowd, but I myself wasn't so thrilled.
And then we have one of my favorite bands. Mayday Parade came on and, as usual, killed it. They opened with Jamie All Over, a classic from A Lesson In Romantics that got me going right away. Their set had a great mix of my favorites from Lesson, of course the classic Three Cheers For Five Years, and my three new favorites from their new album Anywhere But Here, including the title track, Kids In Love, and The Silence (incidentally, the albums first three tracks.) The one obviously missing song from the set was Ocean And Atlantic, which is my personal favorite from Lesson, but they did play their biggest hit from the album When I Get Home You're So Dead, and ended, as usual, with my other favorite Jersey, which they close with at most shows. Mayday always has a great stage presence, and you could clearly see their enthusiasm with the new songs especially. They got involved with the crowd really well, and put on an all-around great show. As usual, they did a part acoustic version of Miserable At Best, which although as a song, I'm not a huge fan of, is always beautiful and always has the whole crowd singing. After the whole show was over, I was fortunate enough to get to meet four of the five band members who were the nicest guys. They are very gracious and fan-conscious, thanking me for coming and liking their new album. Overall, they are not only an amazing band, but they perform well and are genuine, nice guys. I will definitely be going to see them again.
Mayday Parade Set List:
1. Jamie All Over - A Lesson In Romantics
2. Three Cheers For Five Years - Tales Told By Dead Friends
3. The Silence - Anywhere But Here
4. Kids In Love - Anywhere But Here
5. Miserable At Best - A Lesson In Romantics
6. Anywhere But Here - Anywhere But Here
7. When I Get Home You're So Dead - A Lesson In Romantics
8. Black Cat - A Lesson In Romantics
9. Jersey - A Lesson In Romantics
Last to play was, of course, The Academy Is... who blew my mind. I have been a fan of them for a very long time, since my friend introduced me to Almost Here back in the summer of 2007. Almost Here was one of my favorite albums for a long time, but oddly enough I never listened to Santi for the first year or so after it came out, even though I knew TAI and was a big fan of Almost Here. It took me until about the latter end of 2008 to realize that I had never listened to Santi, and although I had heard LAX To O'Hare and wasn't too fond of it, I decided to give the album a try. It ended up being another favorite album for a while, which encouraged me to listen to Fast Times At Barrington High, which they had come out with in the summer of 2008. So after getting myself caught up with their catalog, I was back into the TAI swing, and although I really enjoyed them, this was the first time I have had the opportunity to see them live. And let me just say, it was well worth the wait. They opened the set with Almost Here, one of my all-time favorites of their songs, which really got me going right away. The second they went into it, I sort of lost it, getting completely wrapped up in the music and the fact that I was less than four feet from them while they were playing one of my favorite songs. Just being there was an amazing thing, and the fact that they started with that song got me absolutely hooked. After Almost Here, they went into Neighbors from Santi, which also happens to be one of my favorite songs of theirs. The energy even by that point was crazy, and as a single, that song got most of the crowd singing, which is one of my favorite parts of concerts, when everyone is singing together. The set followed with Checkmarks, About A Girl, I'm Yours Tonight from their new EP (to be reviewed in the very near future), Classifieds, After The Last Midtown Show, Summer Hair = Forever Young, and Slow Down. They did an excellent job of integrating new and old to please all fans, and I was particularly happy to have four of the nine songs be from my favorite album. Their new song I'm Yours Tonight was really great, and now that I have had time to get to know it better, I am able to appreciate it even more. The whole set was amazing, and their stage presence was electric. They made it one of the most fun concerts I have ever been to, and I applaud the work that they did. All of the bands were very impressive, but The Academy Is... definitely made the show what it was. So thank you, for showing me that there is no way I can live my life without concerts.
The Academy Is... Set List:
1. Almost Here - Almost Here
2. Neighbors - Santi
3. Checkmarks - Almost Here
4. About a Girl - Fast Times At Barrington High
5. I'm Yours Tonight - The AP EP: Lost In Pacific Time
6. Classifieds - Almost Here
7. After The Last Midtown Show - Fast Times At Barrington High
8. Summer Hair = Forever Young - Fast Times At Barrington High
9. Slow Down - Almost Here
Currently Listening To: "I'm Yours Tonight" by The Academy Is from "The AP EP: Lost In Pacific Time"
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