We caught Funeral For A Friend’s third show in their ‘Hours’ tour at Leeds Met Student Union after the venue was moved from The Cockpit due to the popularity of the show. We didn’t need an anniversary to celebrate one of the best albums of our youth and we are ridiculously appreciative that Funeral For A Friend even decided to dedicate a tour solely to ‘Hours’ never mind treating us to Boysetsfire too.
Rampaging a rammed Leeds Met saw Boysetsfire ripping through a setlist that drew the crowd into a frenzy, renowned tracks like ‘Closure’ made it clear why after ten years Boysetsfire are stronger than ever, Nathan Gray’s words still stirring air grabs throughout the crowd. ‘Until Nothing Remains‘ split the room with every wild intricate riff and rasps with the crowds chanting ‘until nothing remains!’. ‘White Wedding Dress’ from their acclaimed album‘Tomorrow Come Today‘ released in 2003 whips up the room in persistent, galloping drums that force through the track and continuing into ‘Requiem’. As the chorus builds up into this intense moment that escalates through the crowd, it is clear to fans and new listeners that each Boysetsfire song is an anthem in its own right, each riff and lyric furiously addictive. As the iconic opening to ‘Rookie’ drove the crowd in cheers, Funeral For A Friend’s Matt joins the band on stage for a track that has formed part of the bands split EP. The epic ‘Empire‘ closed Boysetsfire’s unbelievable set, the band leaving the room bewildered proving fads come and go but their set proved that great music lasts.
With a room heaving in nostalgia, we were all there not just to see Funeral For A Friend but to hear one of the albums that formed the sound track to our youth, ‘Hours’ so we don’t need to make you guess the set list. Before the band take to the stage the crowd are all ready to throw themselves into ‘All The Rage‘ as the eminent drums kick start the album the entire sold out venue began shaking, singing and screaming, Matt Davies could have just conducted the crowd to the music, there wasn’t a still mouth in the room. It is unbelievable what an impact ‘Hours’ has had, as Funeral tear into ‘Streetcar’ and ‘Roses For The Dead’ the audience continually give it their all as do FFAF, feeling as if ‘Hours’ is as much our album as theirs.
As the familiar guitars and tinkering drums lead into ‘Hospitality‘ it is a treat to hear songs from ‘Hours‘ that are never or rarely played but you were always desperate to hear. And as the long term fans wet dream continues into ‘Drive’ comes the cry of ‘I lost my virginity to this song‘ truly amazing because it’s the longest song on the album. The reserved track paves the way for ‘Monsters’ before ‘History’ instigates a sea of hands and the continuous singalong runs through into ‘Recovery’ quiet moments filled with Matt’s ‘promise me‘. With each track we easily feel fifteen again, an odd feeling of how relevant ‘Hours’ has remained and continually kept in our playlists shows why Funeral For A Friend, ‘Hours’ and this tour have been such a deserved success, ‘Alvarez’ continuing this outstanding performance into ‘Sonny‘.
As ‘Hours’ is brought to a close ‘Rookie Of The Year’ made us think that we may have been treated to ‘Casually Dressed And Deep In Conversation’ but we were not that lucky. The band hit up ‘Sixteen‘ from ‘Welcome Home Armageddon’ before treating us to taste of what is to come with their new song ‘1%’ which went down as well as every other notable track of the night, a loyal regard for anything Funeral could give. ‘Conduit’ then drove the crowd back up into ‘Juneau’ and the amazing ‘Escape Artists Never Die’ saw Matt launching himself into crowd closing the show with a prestigious end.
Funeral For A Friend have yet again proved why they have become the monumental band they are. It is a rare occasion that you see such a diverse audience come together in venue-wide momentous respect and passion for a show that none of us will ever forget.
