You Me At Six
Standing on my own at the back of Manchester Academy 2 I’m feeling like a total loser as 16-year old girls scream and run around in excitement to see the guys in You Me At Six they hope to marry one day.
All of a sudden I’m torn away from my ‘people watching’ as eerie music blasts into the room (that kind of music you get when anyone is about to come on… with opera voices and stringed instruments. The crowd are going crazy and squeezing their bodies as far forward as they can, seemingly unaware of the rapidly rising room temperature.
By the time the guys run onto stage it feels like the little kids have already screamed themselves to death and might be ready for their way home but oh no - there’s plenty more where that comes from as the four hotties launch straight into The Truth Is A Terrible Thing.
I’m becoming more and more surprised at how good the sound quality has gotten in small venues recently and this gig is no exception as the beats of the first son ring out and make everyone move as one to the catchy chorus and addictive guitar hooks of the first song.
Singer Josh Franceschi and co can’t take the cheeky boy smiles off their gorgeous faces and it’s obvious that they feel like their in heaven being up there with hundreds of screaming fans hanging off their every note - and to be honest; who wouldn’t.
Even looking at kids who are about three years younger than me; there is no doubt that they’re one of the best looking bands around at the moment… they clearly know what’s ‘on trend’ at the moment (despite probably claiming not to care about fashion) but with the school uniforms not long behind them; who can blame them?
In all fairness to them though, they are undeniably gorgeous and at first I wondered if the reason the room was 70% full of teenage girls was just because they’d seen their posters and wanted to get I on the action, but as they throttle you with their second track Jealous Minds and swan about the stage pulling out their best ‘guitar hero’ poses in front of their massive backdrop emblazoned with their logo.
Gossip sees every person in the room (except myself - the outcast) yelling back ‘whoa woah’ as if whoever sings it loudest will impress the guys and I’m quite convinced they really think they guys will climb down off stage and sweep them up into their arms - although I wouldn’t mind it myself.
But anyway, enough about me… If You Run kicks of and the pace in the room almost reaches fever pitch as girls wail and jump around with excitement. The sound is fantastic and (as I’m spying on the sound technician) it’s fascination to watch just how much goes into making the guys sound as good as they do. But full credit to them - Josh’s fantastic voice coupled with their thrashing guitars and Dan Flint’s pace-keeping on drums just lends itself to what can only be described as an incredible show.
So as we head onwards in the set Josh and the gang get the crowd split in two for a Wall Of Death (don’t worry guys, I made sure I was well out of the way) and with the first touch of Josh’s vocals the bodies smash into each other and an immense mosh begins.. My full respect goes out to these kids giving it everything they have despite it not quite being on the same level as A Day To Remember’s pit action.
To give the kids chance to recover from their exertion to the last song, everyone get’s their lighters out and has a nice little sing along to the wonderful You‘ve Bade Your Bed however that doesn’t last long as everyone starts screaming again despite the slow grinding beats of the song… it almost feels like I need to grab the closest guy (above the age of consent) and start pulling out my best moves and try and convince him to ‘unmake’ my bed… see what I did there - but lets be honest now… no guy is ever going to live up to the hotties on stage tonight.
The we move into Nasty Habits which, to be, fair is just as emo pop as the rest of the songs I’ve heard tonight, but instead of getting mega bored of the similar sort of stuff, I just keep wanting more; lapping up everything these guys throw at me, and I’m beginning to wonder if my best kept secret is going to be my nasty addiction to these cute guys from Surrey.
Before they launch into the title track from their new album Take Off Your Colours Josh takes a moment to address his adoring fans and asks how everyone came to posses their delicious album. After making everyone feel unbelievably guilty for downloading the album rather than paying for it we can all breathe a sigh of relief as he declares; “I don’t give a f**k how you got the album - just thanks for checking it out!â€
Then the mayhem starts again as the song pummels your ears into places you never knew you had… how these kids don’t run out of energy I’ll never know; but maybe it’s got something to do with the born performers writhing around on stage in front of them.
Josh faces the Achilles Heel of his set with Always Attract as he admits to having the occasional mess up and this time is sadly no different. This is their love song and all around the room I see girls put a loving arm around their boyfriends (who have more eyeliner on than her) and kiss them uncontrollably - smearing their faces in glitter and red lipstick… I have the red lipstick.. Why am I left standing alone? So toilet break it is…
I clearly wasn’t long enough as I get back just in time to hear Josh sing the wrong words again but the crowd still cheers… it’s obvious that he can do no wrong in their eyes - even when he messes up ‘their song’ the couples still go mad for it… or maybe they didn’t notice as they were gagging on their other halves tongue? Who knows - surely they’re too young for that?
On all fairness though, this song shows off the vocal ability of Josh to a real extent as there are very few instruments marring the sound of his voice and I could quite easily listen to it all day - but that doesn’t mean I want the rest of the guys to go anywhere because when they come back to life for If I Were In Your Shoes which, after a slight hiccup at the start, is yet another room bursting anthem that whips the girls and boys into a dance-fuelled rage.
After the announcement of “I know Manchester isn’t a f**king pussy so lets get a circle pit going.†I know there’s going to be trouble as the room erupts into a swirling pit of kids with bodies flying everywhere are they whiz around the centre of the room. But don’t worry guys; it looks like everyone made it out of the other side in once piece!
Their final song The Rumour sees a crowd surfer take one of the bouncers out and I know it’s a sign of a good show! The guys are determined to go out with a bang and put absolutely every last bit of energy into this song and it doesn’t go unnoticed.
Everyone has their hands in the air and there’s a real sense of ‘community here’ as everyone is embracing the beats coming out of the speakers and just letting the sound pour over them as they savour the last seconds of the show.
Then it’s all over..,. The house lights come out and some loop repeats “Thank you so much Manchester†as the children head for the exit as fast as they can. As with most good things… it’s over far too soon and there is only one good thing to come from the end - I know I’ll be back here in 2009.
Check out our gallery from last night hereFemaleFirst - Ruth Harrison
Standing on my own at the back of Manchester Academy 2 I’m feeling like a total loser as 16-year old girls scream and run around in excitement to see the guys in You Me At Six they hope to marry one day.
All of a sudden I’m torn away from my ‘people watching’ as eerie music blasts into the room (that kind of music you get when anyone is about to come on… with opera voices and stringed instruments. The crowd are going crazy and squeezing their bodies as far forward as they can, seemingly unaware of the rapidly rising room temperature.
By the time the guys run onto stage it feels like the little kids have already screamed themselves to death and might be ready for their way home but oh no - there’s plenty more where that comes from as the four hotties launch straight into The Truth Is A Terrible Thing.
I’m becoming more and more surprised at how good the sound quality has gotten in small venues recently and this gig is no exception as the beats of the first son ring out and make everyone move as one to the catchy chorus and addictive guitar hooks of the first song.
Singer Josh Franceschi and co can’t take the cheeky boy smiles off their gorgeous faces and it’s obvious that they feel like their in heaven being up there with hundreds of screaming fans hanging off their every note - and to be honest; who wouldn’t.
Even looking at kids who are about three years younger than me; there is no doubt that they’re one of the best looking bands around at the moment… they clearly know what’s ‘on trend’ at the moment (despite probably claiming not to care about fashion) but with the school uniforms not long behind them; who can blame them?
In all fairness to them though, they are undeniably gorgeous and at first I wondered if the reason the room was 70% full of teenage girls was just because they’d seen their posters and wanted to get I on the action, but as they throttle you with their second track Jealous Minds and swan about the stage pulling out their best ‘guitar hero’ poses in front of their massive backdrop emblazoned with their logo.
Gossip sees every person in the room (except myself - the outcast) yelling back ‘whoa woah’ as if whoever sings it loudest will impress the guys and I’m quite convinced they really think they guys will climb down off stage and sweep them up into their arms - although I wouldn’t mind it myself.
But anyway, enough about me… If You Run kicks of and the pace in the room almost reaches fever pitch as girls wail and jump around with excitement. The sound is fantastic and (as I’m spying on the sound technician) it’s fascination to watch just how much goes into making the guys sound as good as they do. But full credit to them - Josh’s fantastic voice coupled with their thrashing guitars and Dan Flint’s pace-keeping on drums just lends itself to what can only be described as an incredible show.
So as we head onwards in the set Josh and the gang get the crowd split in two for a Wall Of Death (don’t worry guys, I made sure I was well out of the way) and with the first touch of Josh’s vocals the bodies smash into each other and an immense mosh begins.. My full respect goes out to these kids giving it everything they have despite it not quite being on the same level as A Day To Remember’s pit action.
To give the kids chance to recover from their exertion to the last song, everyone get’s their lighters out and has a nice little sing along to the wonderful You‘ve Bade Your Bed however that doesn’t last long as everyone starts screaming again despite the slow grinding beats of the song… it almost feels like I need to grab the closest guy (above the age of consent) and start pulling out my best moves and try and convince him to ‘unmake’ my bed… see what I did there - but lets be honest now… no guy is ever going to live up to the hotties on stage tonight.