LIVE REVIEW: Rain City Drive & Honey Revenge @ XOYO, Birmingham
Co-headline tours are fast becoming the rule rather than the exception, and tonight’s pairing proves why. The candy-coated pop-rock rush of HONEY REVENGE sitting alongside the emotional weight and polish of RAIN CITY DRIVE makes for a compelling crossover bill. On a typically miserable Birmingham evening, rain lashes down as the crowd queues outside, hoods up, spirits unbroken. Nobody’s letting a bit of British weather dampen the excitement, even as trainers and jeans slowly soak through. Thankfully, there’s a decent pause before the opener hits, giving everyone time to dry off.
BELMONT waste no time in trying to light the fuse. Bursting onto the stage with a pop-punk-meets-hardcore sound that recalls bands like THE WONDER YEARS and ANGEL DU$T, they bring exactly the kind of upbeat urgency you want from an opening act. There’s plenty of movement – jumping kicks, constant pacing, and a frontman clearly determined to win the room over. To their credit, they play like a band headlining their own show, even if the crowd doesn’t fully meet them halfway. Only a handful of fans really throw themselves into the moment, while others watch on more cautiously. Maybe a viral TikTok hit would’ve helped bridge that gap for the younger crowd, but BELMONT still deliver a tight, energetic set that does its job and then some. A solid opener and a band with plenty of potential.
Rating: 8/10
If BELMONT warm the room up, HONEY REVENGE turn it into a full-blown pop-rock celebration. Self-described as making “happy music for unhappy people”, the band bound onto the stage grinning ear to ear, immediately infecting the room with their positivity. Their upbeat, hook-heavy tracks have the crowd bouncing almost instantly, with dedicated fans screaming every lyric back at them with unfiltered enthusiasm. The set list smartly balances fan-favourite singles with lesser-known tracks from 2023’s Retrovision, keeping both casual listeners and die-hards fully engaged.
A brand-new song makes its live debut and is met with a wave of cheers, suggesting it’ll slot neatly into the band’s growing catalogue. Where BELMONT encouraged flailing arms and pit movement, HONEY REVENGE foster something more communal – less aggression, more togetherness. A choreographed crouch-down-and-jump moment hilariously highlights the generational divide in the room, with twenty-something’s springing up effortlessly while a few thirty-something knees crack in protest. The biggest sing-along of the night comes with closer Airhead, still their most beloved and infectious track.
Rating: 9/10
With the crowd thoroughly primed, RAIN CITY DRIVE take the stage dressed in outfits that look like they’ve stepped straight out of Peaky Blinders. There’s an immediate shift in mood: darker, more emotional, and more immersive. A few songs in, Matt McAndrew jokes, “I’m baking in this outfit, but I’m committed to the bit,” earning a laugh and some well-deserved respect. Musically, the band strike a balance between mellow atmospherics and soaring choruses, with the crowd passionately singing along throughout.
It’s not long before they dip into older material, and the reaction proves just how long many fans have been following their journey. The set feels polished without being clinical, emotionally charged without tipping into melodrama. Ending on Medicate Me, arguably their biggest track to date, RAIN CITY DRIVE deliver a powerful finale that hits hard even without the Rory Rodriguez [DAYSEEKER] feature in a live setting. A strong, confident performance that caps off a night celebrating the broad spectrum of modern alternative rock.
Rating: 9/10
Check out our photo gallery of the night’s action in Birmingham from Serena Hill Photography here:
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