You Me At Six tear it up for admiring fans at The Shelter (Saint Andrews Hall) with support from Dreamers and machineheart.
Opening the show is machineheart, a quartet from Los Angeles comprised of vocalist Stevie Scott, Carman Kubanda (guitar), Jake Randle (bass), and Harrison Allen (drums). Their music has been labeled as synth pop, but from the sound tonight could easily fit into many genres like indie or alternative rock. They recently released an album called People Change and their whole set tonight comes from it. They open with “Overgrown,” a song that starts slow, but transitions into a pulsing drum rhythm about two minutes in and ends with some wailing guitar. “Had a Dream” is up next and has a similar vibe. Stevie stalks the stage up front, using her hands and arms to accentuate the feeling of the music while arching her body backward. Many of the songs have an airy sense to them that draws the crowd in, while also transitioning into faster passages. A solid sound mix makes for a great live experience like on “Do You Love” and the closer “Altar.” The crowd certainly likes them judging from the cheers and applause. Expect to hear more from this band in the future.
Dreamers get the crowd moving with a brief set of alternative and pop rock. With an average running time around three minutes, their songs are upbeat and have the crowd dancing and many singing along to songs. Their current releases Launch and Fly comprise what will be a trilogy of EPs. They open the set with “SCREWS” and dive right into “Cry Out For Me” and “All Washed Out”. “Die Happy” is a new single that has fans bouncing to the rhythm. The next song, “Wolves (You Got Me),” gets the crowd fired up and moving with its rapid pace and catchy lyrics. Keeping the momentum flowing, “Painkiller” finds lead singer/guitarist Nick Wold venturing into the crowd to get even closer to the fans. They close out their set with “Sweet Disaster” from This Album Does Not Exist that was an alternative radio staple back in 2016. The audience joins in with plenty of clapping and singing out loud. It has been over four years since You Me At Six have played a show in Detroit. With a new release under their belts, fans tonight are in for a treat with a lengthy headline set. Many fans were lined up early outside the venue to get a spot at the front of the stage despite the temperature hovering around 15 degrees. When the band finally takes the stage, the crowd lets out loud cheers and screams. They kick off their set with “Fast Forward” from their latest album VI.While the stage is tight, bassist Matt Barnes and rhythm guitarist Max Helyer have no problem making the most of it, jumping around and playing off each other throughout the set. Laying down the beat behind them is shirtless drummer Dan Flint. The set is full of songs from across 5 of their 6 albums including “Reckless” and “Loverboy” from Sinners Never Sleep that gets the fans jumping, waving and singing. Josh keeps the crowd riled up by saying “ladies some make some f***ing noise” before launching into “Back Again.” By now, Josh has shed his white jacket and his shirt underneath is already drenched. The energy is high with these fans tonight and they follow every lead Josh throws at them. During “Fresh Start Fever” he tells everybody to get down on the ground and the yells “let’s go” and they all start jumping.
They slow things down a bit with “Cold Night” from the 2014 album Cavalier Youth and “Predictable” from VI. Picking the pace back up, Josh introduces “3AM” about doing some dancing and proceeds to show some moves as he struts across the stage. Up next is a major highlight of the show. Josh asks for the lights to be shut off and tells the crowd to light it up with their cell phones, lighters, or by rubbing two sticks together. He dedicates the next song to all the beautiful people of all sizes, shapes and colors and tells the crowd they are “sexy motherf***ers.” He has the crowd enthralled as he leads them in a sing-along of “Take on the World.” He sings one line and the crowd responds with the next. Looking on in amazement, he tells them its “lovely stuff.” As the song nears the end, Josh is highly animated reaching for the ceiling with his hands, playing up to the fans, and belting out killer vocals, while the crowd responds with cheers and waving.
Before “Bite My Tongue,” Josh asks, “who is seeing them for the first time”, and surprisingly many hands go up. He then says, “this is when bands say it’s their last song before they come back, play four more songs, and then get shit-faced at the bar.” Following that song, they leave the stage.
Returning to the stage for the encore, they do exactly what Josh described regarding playing 4 more songs. One of their biggest radio hits, “Room to Breathe,” leads it off and has some soaring guitar leads that has the crowd anxious for more. “No One Does it Better” is next, followed by “Straight to My Head.” Before the latter, Josh says it is a “song about my favorite drink” and he and crowd simultaneously say “tequila.” Closing the show is the fast, punky “Underdog” from their 2010 album Hold Me Down. The fans should be wiped out by now, but they keep jumping, waving their fingers, and singing until the end.
It was certainly a great night of music for the fans as all three bands delivered great sets. It’s difficult to remember a show at this venue in the past that even came close to the solid bass, clear vocals, crisp guitars, great mix and just the right volume. Kudos to the sound guy.
YOU ME AT SIXWebsite Facebook Twitter
DREAMERS
Website Facebook Twitter
Be the first to comment