Don Broco and co brought the third date of the Kerrang! Tour 2015 to the south coast, and absolutely smashed it.
Beartooth opened up the night in style with their heavy rocking, albeit to a half full venue. And for a relatively new band on the scene a surprising number of people were wearing their merchandise and knew the vast majority of the words to the hits from their debut album. Former Attack!Attack! frontman Caleb Shomo really worked the crowd to gear them up for the night ahead, setting the base energy levels high for the night ahead.
Following them up were the hometown favourites Bury Tomorrow who instantly drew the utmost respect from the crowd as soon as they hit the stage. Their metalcore sound instantly filled the venue, the heavy bass drum shaking the floor, and the dirty vocals of lead singer Dani crashing upon the crowd’s eardrums. The rise in energy was monumental from first band to second, as their set was punctuated with hits such as ‘Lionheart’, whilst Dani had the audience of fellow Southampton locals in the palm of his hand, regularly stating that he just wants everyone to “have a good time, and have fun”.
Once Bury Tomorrow had vacated the stage we were treated to the late addition of a short set from fellow UK favourites Young Guns. They hit the stage full of energy to their latest hit ‘I Want Out’ and didn’t disappoint in their all too short 15 minute set which included an impressive leap from the stage to the front barrier to join the crowd for the end of ‘Bones’ by frontman Gustav Wood.
A short light show from the amps and stage lights built up the excitement before Tay Jardine bopped onto the stage for the start of We Are The In Crowd’s set to a cacophony of cheers. However with what was a male dominant crowd I can’t guarantee that these were 100% down to a love of the music! It was clear this was the closest to pop music we were getting all night. Opening with ‘The Best Thing’, the New York state band rattled through three songs before properly interacting with the crowd. Whilst Tay occupied the crowd for a short while, it was clear that the band were keen to fit as much music into their stage time as possible, a fair decision. Whilst this means the fans get more music for their money, it also means the personal aspect of the gig is lost as anyone can listen to all their songs whenever they want.
Don Broco stormed the stage to ‘Money, Power, Fame’ with unparalleled energy levels which didn’t drop until they left the stage. Rob Damiani is clearly a natural performer, who loves the limelight, stopping early on between songs in the set for a selfie with an adoring fan. Reminiscing about the times at The Joiners in Southampton, the band really reached back to the start of their career, playing early songs ‘Thug Workout’ (which makes hilarious viewing on YouTube, see above) and ‘Beautiful Morning’. The first of these encouraged the push-up squad to begin showing of their manliness in the middle of the mosh-pit – quite the sight! Broco fans were also treated to the equally fascinating Don Broco walk, as Damiani, Delaney and Doyle high stepped in sync. Evidently these guys love every second of stage time together and it showed in the flawless performance. Whilst the majority of the setlist was made up of songs from their debut album Priorities, we were also treated to three brand new tracks from the upcoming album, which as of yet is unnamed. Although technically only having the one album to their name, having seen them live, it was clear to see why the Bedford boys were chosen as headliners for another edition of this classic tour.
