Live Review: Mayday Parade – O2 Ritz, Manchester 07/06/2022
Celebrating what would have been 10 years of the self-titled album, Mayday Parade once again returned to the iconic Ritz 11 years on, but it put no dampener on the celebrations.
Having been around from the heydays of Pop Punk and Emo, Mayday Parade have been around in the scene for what feels like forever, through varying levels of success. Whilst they have played larger venues such as Manchester academy, they feel at home in a venue like the Ritz, helped by the bouncy floors which were absolutely made the most of in the bands encore.
Of course, being an anniversary tour, the band played through the album from front to back. Starting with ‘Oh Well Oh Well’, which to this day stands as a shining example of how anthemic Pop Punk can sound, whilst a great album opener, it’s an even better show opener. The next two follow in the same manner, ‘No Heroes Allowed’ carrying on the feel good nostalgia and prompted another of many singalongs.
‘When You See My Friends’ sinks seamlessly into the emo sound of the time.
The Florida outfit have never really been one for theatrics, always more than happy to keep the music rolling with very little in between which plays into this sort of tour perfectly. There were no real surprises and nor did their need to be, everybody in the venue knew exactly what was coming and that was their whole reason to be there.
These kind of throwback nights are always some of my favourite shows to attend and very rarely disappoint. For me, my time of following the band ended not long after the release of the following album Monsters In The Closet, but that was unimportant as for one night only, from the merch to the music – it was basically the late 2000’s again.
The singalongs really kicked into gear for the 6th track ‘Stay’. An emotional track that very clearly resonated with many of the crowd in attendance.
‘Everything’s An Illusion’ continued this, one of those tracks that makes you want to sing your heart out which definitely hit the mark, with the Ritz erupting into the crowd screaming the lyrics back to the band.
Mayday Parade rounded off the end of the album. Ending with another slower anthem ‘Happy Endings Are Stories That Haven’t Ended Yet’ which gave everyone a quick break before the pace picked up again for the encore.
The end of the album that will have gotten many into the band all those years ago allowed for a rapturous applause as the band made their way off the stage briefly for the ever trivial but expected short break before the encore. The couple of minute gap can normally be the time to head for the exit for many, but this wasn’t to be tonight as the bands encore has that special feel to it, you do not want to miss anything.
Kicking off the encore with ‘Kids Of Summer’, a track that is a real stand out from the bands later discography and hits in all the right places, at the time of release it was applauded as a real reminder of what the band are capable of.
The gear shifted when half of the band left the stage for a duet between lead singer Derek and drummer and co vocalist Jake played an emotional version of ‘Miserable At Best’, one of the bands most popular tracks and one that really shows off the vocal ability of Jake.
The anticipation of the last two songs to be played had built, with everyone holding out for this. ‘Jersey’ was first up, and this was when the crowd really became alive with the crowd surfing and beer throwing beginning to ramp up. However, this was tame in comparison to the bands highlight track and ever reliable to get an incredible reaction – ‘Jamie All Over’.
A track always worth the wait, the opener from their 2007 debut album but still sounds as massive today as always, it almost feels a shame to be leaving upon the end of the song.
Whilst the bands days of filling out larger venues may be behind them, to me at least, venues like the Ritz feel perfect. They have never really been an arena band, nor would they feel in place in some of the larger, soulless venues.
It was intimate in the right places, whilst loud and brash in others and it really set the scene for the evening.
Who knows what the future will hold, but it would be great to see the band embark on another anniversary tour down the line. Their influence can be seen on many bands in the current resurgence and what that could mean for the band themselves too will be interesting to see unfold.
Words by Thomas Maclachlan
