LIVE REVIEW + PHOTOS: A Day to Remember @ Tsongas Center 03.15.18
Over the past 15 years, A Day To Remember has done what very few artists are able to do. They have put out consistent, quality records that show growth with their career. They have stepped outside the box while still holding true to the foundations that they built their fan base around and released music that brought in new fans without alienating those that shot them into the spotlight years ago. ADTR set out on the “15 Years in the Making” to celebrate the past 15 years of music and all of the band’s accomplishments. Joining them on the road were The Devil Wears Prada, Falling in Reverse, and Papa Roach. The tour saw 19 different cities, starting in Grand Rapids, MI and finishing up in St. Augustine, FL, the band’s home state.
Winning the Alternative Press Music Award for Best Live Band in 2015, A Day To Remember have a lot to live up to with their live show. And while usually providing a high-energy and dynamic live performance, the band’s show seemed to fall a little flat in Lowell, MA Friday night. ADTR opened with “I’m Made of Wax Larry, What Are You Made Of?” this tour, saving their usual opener “Downfall Of Us All” for later in the set. This change didn’t bode well, as the usual intense energy of the start of the show was missing. It seemed as if the band were just tired as they started their set. The energy started to pick back up as they continued into “2nd Sucks”, one of the heaviest songs in the band’s discography. The energy slowly rose as the band continued with their set, with the crowd providing most of it. Heeding vocalist’s Jeremy McKinnon’s wishes, fans threw themselves atop the crowd and surfed their way over the barricade and opened a circle pit that spanned from one end of the arena floor to the other.
The highlight of the set came during “Better Off This Way” when McKinnon encouraged fans to “crowd surf on top of a crowd surfer”, essentially using another person as a human surfboard to get over the barricade. This has become a staple at ADTR shows, yet is still always a perfect combination of impressive and amusing watching fans attempt to surf their way to the front. After closing their set with “All I Want”, the band left the stage, but soon returned to thunderous applause and cheers from the crowd for a 4 song encore. Included were “If It Means A Lot To You” and an acoustic rendition of “I Remember” accompanied by a slideshow of images spanning the band’s whole career. The brief moment of emotional nostalgia ended as the band closed out the night with “A Plot to Bomb The Panhandle” and “Downfall of us All”. Despite the slow start, A Day To Remember was able to pick up the pace with help from the crowd and put on a show that fans have come to expect from the band. With a set list that was fairly evenly divided between the band’s six records (including their famous “Since U Been Gone” cover), fans could leave the arena feeling satisfied with the show that they put on.
Photos – A Day to Remember, Papa Roach, Falling in Reverse – 03.15.18 @ Tsongas Center – Lowell, MA
