For those of you that read my preview to this gig will know how excited I was preceding the event. The day finally arrived and after an interview with Derek and Alex from the band I went into the venue for the music. Mayday Parade had a whopping 3 support bands so the night started early at 6:15pm. First band on were a UK based band called Natives (they are playing Mo’Club in Southampton in December). They sounded very much like Kids in Glass Houses and had the same vibe. For The Foxes were next. Literally another generic, whiney, American Pop-Punk band. The frontman’s vocals were about 3 octaves higher than the average male. Amongst these childlike vocals there would be the odd screamo moment. An odd experience to say the least.
The Summer Set were the band preceding Mayday Parade and they appeared to have gathered a pretty sound fan base as the young girls sang along. They were also along the same vein of whiney American pop punk but towards the end of their set they played a newer song and it sounded a lot better. So perhaps this is a sign of progression from the older material. Lyrics were cringeworthy, however I did admire the female drummer. After a complete stage change Mayday Parade took to the stage of The Old Firestation. The crowd went absolutely mental!
Mayday Parade opened with ‘Oh Well, Oh Well’ and this set the standard for the rest of the night. A bar that was incredibly high. I sang along to every word and so did everyone in the room, like their life depended on it. Derek Sanders had the crowd in the palm of his hand, even with his cute awkward stage presence, the fans hung onto his every word. They rattled through all their greatest hits. Next was the classic from their first studio album ‘Jersey’ and then ‘Kids in Love’, a song very close to my heart and live it sounded even more special than through my iPod headphones. The set went on and when I would think ‘damn, that’s there best song’ they would pull another one out of the bag that would tug on my heart strings and bring back memories.
The latter half of the set oozed as much energy as the first as they played mainly energetic numbers. However right in the middle was a welcome break in the form of, if I must word it this way, their defining song, ‘Miserable at Best’. I would recommend going and listening to this song (see below) and I challenge you not to be moved by it. Just Derek and his keyboard. 
It was completely and utterly captivating. With the more energetic numbers back Brook and Alex bounded around the stage swinging their guitars in the air making the set so interesting to watch.
They came on for an encore of a song who’s ambiguous title makes it even more intriguing; “I’d Hate to be You When People Find Out What This Song is About”. It’s a classic example of an overly long and unnecessary song title that are very common amongst pop punk bands. Take Fall Out Boy’s From Under The Cork Tree for many an example. The show included hits from all three studio albums and was a perfect mix of old and new. I think I can vouch for everyone there when I say Mayday Parade delivered.
Mayday Parade’s self titled third studio album is out now.
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1 Comment
You forgot the existence of Jake and Jeremy. Disappointing, I must say; they were there too, y’know.