Walking into the Barclaycard Arena there’s an air of anticipation; for what has to be one of the best tour line up’s the UK has seen for a while.
Moose Blood enter the stage to kick things off, opening with Honey. Delivering a set that comprises of their catchy sing along pop rock. Forever humble and in disbelief that they’re playing on such a tremendous line up. Yet clearly they deserve to be here. Boston gets everyone belting out the lyrics leaving lead singer Eddy Brewerton without much need to sing the rest. Ending with Knuckles a ridiculously catchy song that us in the crowd can’t resist singing and dancing along to.
Next up Neck Deep. The crowd cramming closer to the front in anticipation of the Wrexham pop punk outfit. These guys have come a long way since I first saw them back at Warped Tour 2013 playing on the much smaller Jaegermeister stage. They’re confident, boding the crowd to erupt as they deliver their opener; Golden Steps. Their set is electric as pits open up, and everyone jumps and screams along to a song they’ve only played twice before; Rock Bottom, followed by their most viewed youtube classic; A Part Of Me. Even as there’s a fight starting on the left of the stage lead singer Ben Barlow is quick to diffuse the scuffle, and shrug it off, stating the guy’s should kiss and make up. They end on a ridiculous high, surprising even me as I’m not their biggest fan, but these guys know how to get a crowd going and deliver what I can only describe as an incredible set.
Next up: New Found Glory. 2017 brings round their 20th year as a band, with news of a new album coming out April 28th. There’s no hesitation as these pop punk legends open with All Downhill From Here. Even first time viewers of this perfectly honed set list are off their feet. They deliver a mix of the classic hits any long time fan wants to hear; Understatement into Selfish see’s the younger crowd off their feet. They then deliver a song, which comes as a pleasant surprise; Hold My Hand. Any NFG fan knows songs from Coming Home don’t get played often but was a pleasure to hear. Then as a surprise to us all they drop what will be their new single; Happy Being Miserable, which is everything I’d hoped it’d be as I’m smiling through it, thinking classic, catchy, just yes… Kiss Me has the crowd off their feet and singing along and this continues as it goes off for the end song, the classic; My Friends Over You.
A long pause follows as the floor and seats get full in anticipation of the Ocala headliners; A Day To Remember. From seeing these play a tiny tent at Download 2009 it’s an absolute pleasure to see them in such a large venue. Confetti drops as they open with Mr Highway’s Thinking of the End. The set is nothing less than spectacular. Delivering hits from every album. Including Fast Forward to 2012 from For Those Who Have Heart which turns 10 years old this year. There’s no one not enjoying this show, with tshirt canons, inflatable pool toys and toilet paper all being thrown into the crowd, they’re a spectacle to be seen now. Slowing it down a bit with the heartfelt Have Faith In Me fits in perfectly at this point, followed by Justified and Naivety from the bands new album Bad Vibrations. The energy is electric, as they drop All I Want. Jeremy McKinnon is a force to be reckoned with, he knows how to work his crowd. The encore seems to come all too soon, as it feels like theres still so much more the Florida band have to give. Kicking off their encore with an anecdote about how cool Liam Gallagher is they deliver, If It Means A Lot To You, which has girls on guys shoulders belting out this acoustic favourite. They finish the set with what can only be described as two of their biggest hits to date, All Signs Point To Lauderdale and lastly the anthem that is; The Downfall Of Us All. Having last seen these guys playing a secret acoustic set, this show was a spectacle to be seen, as these guys have cemented themselves in pop punk, as legends in their right. Catch these guy’s if you can, as there seems to be no stopping their momentum…
