Kicking off the proceedings were local punk-pop band Remind Me of Home. These guys always impress me and are getting better every time I see them. The newer songs are all heading in the right direction for me and are purely tantalizing when they throw in good harmonies. However, the lack of a sound check for them hurt them for the first two songs as their levels were out and it seems to affect them on stage. A year ago, this might have put them off for the whole set but, tonight they shrugged it off and powered through and grabbed your attention. Their songs skate the line between As It Is and an old-school pop punk and they are becoming a great live band.
7/10
Next up was Lizzy Farrall who with the first few lines brought a deathly silence to the Stereo. Her unique vocals had everyone captivated. And during the first song Hollow Friends, she had a moment when the emotions of the song got too much and she broke down and had a little cry. This made my heart and many others in the crowds hearts break in two. The raw emotion she had put into the songs and the emotion on stage tonight I could really relate to the music and resonated with moments in my past.
8/10
Bringing a more fun punk rock to the stage were Woes. They wasted no time in getting into things. It’s clear that they have learned from their tours in 2017 and are now an energic force on stage. Holding you in suspense between songs and filling you with fire to jump with reckless abandon. With the new song Real World going down a storm. Every tour they throw in an interesting cover and this was no exception. Nu-metal classic Last Resort sending the crowd into a frenzy. I have been following these guys since their inception, and they are going places.
9/10
Before Seaway even took to the stage there was this air of anticipation, and you knew you were going to be in for a good night. And they did not disappoint. Playing songs mainly from Vacation they still fitted in the old favorite songs, and as soon as they started to play Your Best Friend is my Girlfriend the crown when batshit crazy and stage divers were coming left, right and center. This was the case again during London the crowd got out of control with crowd surfers with surfing on top of crowd surfers with more stage divers jumping on top of them. The energy that this fed Seaway made this show one of the craziest I have been to and one of the best. They have set the standard for every other live performance I will see this year. Not quite the life-changing show (live you’re first ever gig) but, as close as you can get to one.
9/10