The venue was thick with 2007 teenage angst, you’d be forgiven to forget who you were going to see. Mainly people in their mid 20’s sporting the usual (insert emo revival band here) t-shirts.
First up are Misery Kids, a fairly new pop-punk quartet from the UK. This was their second show and I’ll be honest, I like what I saw. Verging more on the side of pop their set was filled with catchy beats but still holding it down with lyrics dealing with the usual tropes of past relationships and as with the title of their debut single feeling like you’re ‘never enough’. All in all, they were a great way to start the show and got everyone in the mood for what was to come.
Second to hit the stage are WSTR unlike Misery Kids they have engraved their name on the UK pop punk scene. Not too dissimilar from their fellow UK counterparts in Neck Deep, maybe just a bit more gritty in their songwriting. It feels as if some of the crowd have attended tonight just to see WSTR, they have a solid response and the atmosphere in the venue is finally feeling hyped up.
Finally, it’s time, the lights dim the crowd cheers and suddenly we’re all 14 again, it’s 2007, the only thing that’s missing is our back combed sweeps, multi-coloured hair and lowlife studded belts. It’s what we signed up for, the Cute is What We Aim For 10 year anniversary tour of “The Same Old Blood Rush With A New Touch” although at the time of writing the album is technically 11 years old. But that doesn’t stop the fun. The nostalgia seeping in with every classic hit is piled on top of each other. Even though the band themselves are 10 years older and wiser (although that could be questionable after the recent Twitter controversy) they play like it’s 2007 and they’re the best emo/scene pop band out there. It’s a great feeling to be surrounded by people, shouting the words to songs such as The Curse of Curves, There’s a Class for This, then bringing it down a level with the emo tearjerker Lyrical Lies. The crowd almost drowned the band out and it was an incredible feeling.
Shaant explained several times just how emotional the past few shows have made him, that they are so thankful they get to come out 10 (11) years after this album was released and still travel across the ocean and play it to a packed out room and finally confirming that they are working on a long-awaited third album.
It could be the overwhelming sense of nostalgia or pining over times that are long gone, but this show is definitely one to remember and left the crowd feeling upbeat.
Caleb O’Neill