Live Review: You Me At Six, O2 Victoria Warehouse, Manchester 06/02/2023
Running up to the highly anticipated release of their eighth studio record Truth Decay, Surrey rockers You Me At Six have been hitting the road around the UK to paint their home red. Bringing along their friends in Bears in Trees, The Maine and Waterparks, this is a night that Manchester will never forget.
Taking over the great O2 Victoria Warehouse for one night and one night only, they have brought a full production with them in the form of a three-band warm-up. Starting things off is London’s softest punks Bears in Trees, a band that have made waves online and are splashing out into major live performances. Taking one of the largest stages they have in their career together, the four-piece were left uncompromised in their sweet, gentle, if tongue-in-cheek demeanor. Explaining their music as being in the middle of that of Slipknot and Harry Styles, they managed to get a mixed crowd of fans and non-fans dancing and cheering and clapping along. That is the winner for any opening band, especially the first of three.
With their tunes such as ‘Feel So Empty’ and ‘I’m Doing Push-Ups’, they left that stage with more fans than they arrived with and won everyone over. There are more shows to go, and with Manchester checked off, the only way is up for Bears in Trees.
Following on is Arizona outfit The Maine, a polite gathering who like to introduce themselves at every show with a background tapestry. All dressed up with somewhere to go, the band brought their biggest hits to the stage including ‘Am I Pretty?’, ‘Numb Without You’ and ‘Black Butterflies & Deja Vu’ to an adoring crowd that have waited patiently for the American rockers’ return.
With a short and sweet performance, they still managed to get the audience going with fun and games; including a little teasing cover of ‘All Star’ by Smash Mouth. The Maine have shared the stage with the headliners previously, so there was no doubt the reception was going to be warm and welcoming. A venue-wide hug, if one may imagine.
As the tears were dropping during the ‘Black Butterflies & Deja Vu’ closer, it was time to switch things up a little bit. The lights were turning red and tennis balls were in position. This could possibly be the most random band on the line-up. Introducing “God’s favourite boyband” Waterparks.
Warming up for the release of their own record Intellectual Property in April, the three-piece have taken this chance to bring a bit of bounce to the Warehouse and get the crowd moving and grooving. With new tracks such as ‘Fuck About It’ and ‘Real Super Dark’, and even the unreleased ‘Brainwashed’, the impression was made. At least on the already-established presence of Waterparks fans.
There may have been a few tracks that everyone knew, such as the big hit ‘Blonde’ or the social-media sensation of ‘I Miss Having Sex But At Least I Don’t Wanna Die Anymore’; however, for some, these were not enough to win over everyone in attendance. With a band so similar yet so dissimilar to the headline act, there is a risk that is always taken on how the fans will react. It could pay off, it could fail. With this line-up decision, it was risky but with a bumping mosh-pit to ‘Turbulent’ and a sweet chorus repeating the words to ‘Lucky People’, it’s safe to say the risk fully and beautifully paid off.
As the room fills, everyone assembles, it’s time for the lights and the action. Enter the stage, the sharp-dressed men of the evening, You Me At Six.
The night bravely began with ‘Deep Cuts’, one of the newest singles by the rock group, and there was no louder cheer of the night than this very moment. The music played, the lights blasted bright, and frontman Josh Franceschi took to the mic. This was just the beginning.
You Me At Six are a band who will always bring a piece of every era with them on tour; a pleasing aspect for all fans, no matter what their favourite album is or the first song they ever heard. The most iconic live performance however, one that everyone can agree on no matter what their preference is, is when they break into the Sinners Never Sleep classic ‘Bite My Tongue’. A memorable collaboration recorded between the band and Bring Me The Horizon frontman Oli Sykes, the featuring bridge is covered by Franceschi himself in such a brilliant and respectful manner that would make his heavy-rock colleague proud. With the crowd helping him out, belting every word along with a collective growl of, “Fuck you”, there is no limit to the group’s power. No stopping, no slowing down. That’s exactly how they want it.
Franceschi makes a big deal over the 2021 record SUCKAPUNCH, an album that became a fast fan-favourite after the controversially received VI, and rightly so. Performing hits such as ‘What’s It Like’ and ‘MAKEMEFEELALIVE’, no one stood still as all feet were off the floor, fists in the air, and the lights were beaming wall to wall.
It was a disco like no other. There was dancing unlike anywhere else. The punks will always be the best in live music settings, and it’s You Me At Six that will always bring it out.
As the encore starts with the bittersweet ‘Take on the World’, this is where the fans must give everything they have, their all. Their hearts and souls together. This tone will be switched up as one of their earliest tracks ‘Underdog’ takes over the pain and heartbreak with overwhelming pride and angst. That good old-fashioned pop-punk attitude that many never lost but only stored away until an emergency arises.
This is the best emergency ever.
Closing out with ‘Beautiful Way’, the band say goodbye for now to the adoring faces before them in style. With a hit known for repeating the sentiment of being “fucked up in a beautiful way”, it is a hell of a high to bow out on. Outcasts, unknowns, non-memorables, they were all together for these final moments in the memory of witnessing a great set of musicians who sing and scream the emotions they have never been able to word before the day of this discovery. The memory lives on, and the playback this night was a sight to behold.
As You Me At Six left the stage, and the people filed out, it was hard to believe what had happened. Very few tour line-ups can amaze the way this one does nowadays, and this has to be treasured. From those in their early days such as Bears in Trees, all the way to pop-punk veterans with no stop ahead such as You Me At Six. This was a night for all punks from past, to present, and even to sprout in the future.
There is no decay in the Truth Decay tour.
Words by Jo Cosgrove
