LIVE REVIEW: A Day To Remember @ House Of Vans, London
Longevity is a talent for the few in a climate as saturated and competitive as the music industry. Hitting that 10 or 15-year industry milestone can often be met with regret or a lackluster for your music. But A DAY TO REMEMBER are of a selected few to champion through 15 years of success with new achievements to be met with each album.
Surviving the overpopulated era of Warped Tour metalcore without being brandished “sell-outs” or “washed up”, A DAY TO REMEMBER culminated success from their beloved metalcore/pop-punk hybrid sound that even today finds new ways to be reinvented from their previous works and feels as refreshing as their first album. That’s why their latest show at London’s House Of Vans became a reflective homage to the past, present and future of A DAY TO REMEMBER.
Before raining all terror on the stages of Reading and Leeds that weekend, the Ocala band offered a free intimate show to an 800-capacity room that was already promising to be true chaos in its finest form. House Of Vans in Waterloo opened its doors to an outstanding hoard of fans who’d been camped out for five+ hours in anticipation for the show. Inside exhausted fans were rejuvenated with an enticing set from BBC Radio 1 Rock Show’s Daniel P. Carter who mastered the DJ tracks with some rock and metal bangers and other interesting remixes. After that resurgence of life fans packed the venue to its brim as A DAY TO REMEMBER stormed the stage with a meaty serving of 2nd Sucks that amassed the pit warriors eager to launch into turmoil.
The night was a varied mix of their greatest hits from Right Back At It Again to All I Want and some underrated deep cuts that haven’t seen their live performances in a long-time like Sticks & Bricks, showing the band’s versatility and growth over the years that dips its toes into new experimental waters, such as their collaboration with DJ Marshmello on Rescue Me that translates amazingly live with its climaxing beat sending the audience into an uproar of moshpits.
The band has built a phenomenal stage rapport over the years making their efforts to command the stage seem almost too easy. Frontman Jeremy McKinnon created pockets of joy for fans front to back, engaging heavily with the first few rows while he directed others to engage in all kinds of insanity i.e. crowd surfing on top of crowd surfers. The night had its short but sombre moments with a singalong to If It Means A Lot To You but the curtain closed on a song that can truly bring the house down in style The Downfall Of Us All.
With a calamity of excitement, the night turned into a celebration of the years that have made A DAY TO REMEMBER, and it was free!
Rating: 9/10
Check out a collection of photographs from the band in action at House of Vans from Karolina Janikunaite here:
