A Day To Remember, Barclaycard Arena, Birmingham - review and pictures

It has been ten years since the release of smash hit album For Those Who Have Heart, and the band have grown in that time from small hometown shows in Florida to packing an arena to the brim with fans buzzing with excitement from the minute doors opened.

In tow, their supports showcased everything from up and coming music to well-established pop punk legends through the likes of Moose Blood, Neck Deep and New Found Glory.

The crowd were doused in a pink hue and Moose Blood, fresh off of their headline North American tour, took to the stage.

Through hit singles Honey and Gum to Bukowski and Knuckles the band created a lucid, transient aura throughout the room.

From where I was sitting the crowd appeared to rise and fall like a blushing wave which raised the hairs on my arms and sent shivers down my spine as the guitars suddenly boomed, the guitars screamed and the vocals went from haunting and harmonious to raw and visceral in the blink of an eye.

Neck Deep have had a pretty dividing effect on the pop punk community - you either love them or hate them.

I had always fell on the rather negative side of opinions when it came to Neck Deep - but I have been converted after seeing their heart-pumping live show.

Entering the stage as the theme tune to Netflix hit Stranger Things and green lights bathed the crowd like a spaceship coming in to land - as soon as the band set foot on the stage the crowd roared and no feet were left of the ground, and the music hadn't even started!

That was a sign of things to come, Gold Steps whipped the crowd into a frenzy that turned into a whirlwind with hardcore-tinged hits Kali Ma and Serpents.

Neck Deep had a great rapport with the crowd, stopping their set to stop a fighting pair to protect those around them and joking about the negative comments they garner online.

"F*** Neck Deep mate, they're s***" laughed the band, a phrase coined in online posts and made into various pieces of merchandise at their expense.

They blew this comment out of the water with a spine-tingling rendition of A Part Of Me with the crowd illuminating the pitch black arena with phones and lighters - providing the perfect twinkling night sky to the heartfelt ode.

Ending on the effortlessly energetic Can't Kick Up the Roots, Neck Deep proved once and for all why they are the rising stars of pop punk - and it's a message I won't forget any time soon.

From rising stars to a band that have influenced the pop punk genre for 20 years, New Found Glory need no introduction and bowled straight into hit All Downhill from Here to roars of nostalgic appreciation.

Their set represented the highlights of their career with a varied mix of songs old and new - from Hit or Miss to Vicious Love their guise changed from raw and angst-ridden to pop-laden and new, and they mastered both ends of the spectrum.

New Found Glory are natural showmen - they knew just where to stop and let the crowd take over their songs, particularly during their immensely popular cover of Sixpence None the Richer's Kiss Me and closing song My Friends Over You.

Strangers grabbed strangers and friends linked arms to shout the coming of age lyrics into the rafters, filled with nostalgia and a love for the iconic band.

Leaving the stage on a high, the crowd buzzed in unmatched anticipation for A Day To Remember to take to the stage - and they were not waiting long.

The Barclaycard Arena plunged into darkness before the lights suddenly came to life in strobes across the room and a confetti cannon marked A Day To Remember's entrance.

"How we doing Birmingham?" front man Jeremy McKinnon bellowed before launching into Mr. Highway's Thinking About the End and brand new single Paranoia.

An electronic backdrop plunges into a game of Tekken for 2nd Sucks, at one point they were the only source of light onstage as McKinnon's low grumbles reached a crescendo of high roars and the room burst into light once more - A Day To Remember really know how to create an atmosphere.

This atmosphere changed from dark and brooding to a raging party in seconds with the addition of T-shirt cannons, inflatable beach toys and a crowd surfing competition with fans riding their friends like surfboards.

Their set was a mixed variety of old and new with Homesick favourites I'm Made of Wax Larry..., Have Faith In Me and My Life for Hire to brand new Bad Vibrations and Naivety - yet the band performed all songs with same energy and passion their fans have grown to love.

Their encore enticed the now worn out crowd to raise the roof for one last time.

Acoustic hit If It Means a Lot to You lit up the room with phones once more - with the band taking a step back in admiration as the crowd harmoniously belted out the chorus without prompting.

As their popular hit The Downfall of Us All ended the show - every audience member had a smile plastered across their sweat covered faces and a bounce in their step.

It's amazing to see a band I have loved for ten years sell out an arena, and even more amazing to watch them grasp the audience in the palms of their hands and put on a show that no one will forget in a hurry.

By Becci Stanley