There’s been a lot of hype surrounding the return of the Surrey five-piece to their Slam Dunk roots. The band kicked off their career right here ten years ago and, without Slam Dunk Records, who knows where they’d be today? As a nod to where it all began, You Me At Six have promised us a nostalgia trip to their debut album Take Off Your Colours during these festival shows and this crowd has turned up with eager eyes and high expectations.
You Me At Six aim to please right from the off – opening with blasts from the past ‘The Truth is a Terrible Thing’ and ‘Save It For the Bedroom’, people go crazy as they are reunited with the soundtracks of their teenage years. They fast-forward a little, but with tracks such as the anthemic ‘Loverboy’ and top-of-your-lungs ‘Stay With Me’ no-one is complaining.
However, You Me At Six soon hit a serious bump in the road. The lights go down, the music stops and the band shuffle around the stage looking a little lost. It eventually transpires that a medical incident in the crowd has halted the performance – understandable, but this isn’t the first delay in Hatfield today and people are, frankly, fed up with it.
Determined to recover from the hitch, the band bounce back with fan favourite ‘Reckless’, followed by even more of their early back-catalogue, including 2009 hit ‘Kiss and Tell’ and rare live tune ‘The Rumour’. We experience the calm before the storm with the beautiful ‘Always Attract’; the band then charge into the dark ‘n’ dirty ‘Room to Breathe’ and their heaviest track to date, ‘Bite My Tongue’.
The night is completed (much later than intended!) with pop-rock finale ‘Underdog’, which creates a huge crowd sing-a-long that no doubt echoes out across Hertfordshire. We can all admit that tonight’s headline set hasn’t gone quite to plan and, for a band who usually never miss a beat, some might walk away disappointed. However, as frontman Josh Franceschi later tweeted: “the safety of people who come to watch our band, as well as your enjoyment level, is paramount to us.”
Between resolving medical emergencies and treating us all to a stellar set list, we think You Me At Six managed to find a pretty good balance between the two.
