Nothing could have prepared me for As It Is and This Wild Life's co-headline tour.
Monday, the 18th of May, As It Is and This Wild Life co-headline King Tuts in Glasgow. From the outside it was clear there was a gig on. People avoided walking past, crossing the street just to pass by, avoiding the sea of dark jeans and band merch singing songs from Fall Out Boy from 2005 and telling the city to join the 'Black Parade'. None of this is unusual for this venue. Being the very place where Oasis were discovered and signed, where Paramore and Kasabian have graced the stage, none of this was out of the ordinary.
Every other time I've been at King Tuts, its been quiet enough, then ten minuets before the innerdoors open the place becomes packed. An hour before the doors even open the place is crowed, to the extent the line is out the outerdoors. Quiet quickly I realised this concert would be different.
As It Is seem to be one of the fastest rising bands following on from last years Warped Tour along with This Wild Life who combine heart break and acoustic music, creating gorgeous music and an incredible debut album.
Boston Manor were the first support band. They are a pop-punk five piece hailing from Blackpool, UK. Their latest EP Tigers Jaw, which was only released on the 9th of this month, sounded incredible live mixed through with their older releases. This band are incredible, their so easy to love and their music is just amazing sounding which uplifting choruses to accompany maybe not the most uplifting lyrics. This band are genuinely just great and have so much more to come for sure.
The second support band were Seaway. Before this concert I had heard them a few times before however they blew all my expectations away. Their a Canadian pop-punk quintet from Oakville, Ontario, who are unbelievable. They've toured with bands like Neck Deep and Knucle Puck and are playing Vans Warped Tour all summer. If you get the chance please seem them live, their incredible and their singles like 'Keep Your Stick On The Ice' will see the crowd just bounce with pure excitement and happiness.
Throughout the support acts more and more people crammed into the room so the time This Wild Life came on, the room was just a sea of people, phone torches and cameras.
I adore This Wild Life, for their music and their story.
I love the idea that both Kevin Jordan and Anthony Del Grosso grew up as typical punk rock kids, who lived the completely typical punk rock life in California and then their music is acoustic and heartwarmily honest. The duo at first glance, with tatoos and peircings, have a completely different image from what people expect from listening to their music.
This Wild Life's debut full-length album 'Clouded' was released through the legendary Epitaph Records last year, the records company who've worked with bands such as Green Day, Every Time I Die, Sleeping With Sirens, Bring Me The Horizion, New Found Glory and You Me At Six.
'Clouded' is incredible. Its acoustic, pure, heartfelt and joyful. For every heartbreak there's a happy sounding melody. Every song, every set of lyrics have meanings and tell stories. This album is special. It details life whether it be missing someone, loosing someone, giving up or telling someone how much you love them.
The albums all acoustic which makes it special. Not many bands can pull off being acoustic all the time, so Jordan and Del Grosso achieving such success playing festivals like the huge Vans Warped Tour year after year, supporting Sleeping With Sirens and Pierce The Veil on a leg of their huge world tour and having successful headline tours outside the USA, shows off their incredible song writing ability and talent.
The album is incredible, as I said before. Its beautiful on an unimaginable scale. If you've haven’t already please go out and buy this album, you wont regret it. It's pretty special to me for sure.
At King Tuts, This Wild Life brought their album to life. With extended choruses and some lyric explanations the album felt more personal to listen to and watching them perform live was just something else. They don't need hundreds of special effects per song to make their set good. They don't need five people on stage to create their sound. Their a band made up of only two people, two best friends, a duo who are incredibly talented.
Every song they played sounded exactly like the album in the best way possible. Every note and beat were perfect. There were moments when the crowd would sing out the chorus and it made the album become alive.
After This Wild Life came As It Is. Throughout the crowd, a commonality was the bands 'Dial Tones' shirt.
It created an atmosphere and brought to life the album experience. That night, each song wasn't just a set of lyrics and some music, it was an experience. It caused a cumulation of voices, it saw a crowd jump together, singing their hearts out together.
The slight bad timing of the concert, the night before my maths exam, still didn't put me off going, and I'm glad I didn't miss it. I love small venue gigs and I'm lucky to live in a city adorned in small music venues which host some of the best live bands in the world.
Hopefully both bands will come back to the UK soon on another tour such as this because they are bands I've watched grow over the last few years and so to see their sucess of such a scale, not just in the US but here in the UK too, is amazing to witness.
All the bands on the tour are listed below which I suggest you check out because their great live.
As It Is Bancamp
This Wild Life Bandcamp
Seaway Bandcamp
Boston Manor Bandcamp
Every song they played sounded exactly like the album in the best way possible. Every note and beat were perfect. There were moments when the crowd would sing out the chorus and it made the album become alive.
After This Wild Life came As It Is. Throughout the crowd, a commonality was the bands 'Dial Tones' shirt.
It created an atmosphere and brought to life the album experience. That night, each song wasn't just a set of lyrics and some music, it was an experience. It caused a cumulation of voices, it saw a crowd jump together, singing their hearts out together.
The slight bad timing of the concert, the night before my maths exam, still didn't put me off going, and I'm glad I didn't miss it. I love small venue gigs and I'm lucky to live in a city adorned in small music venues which host some of the best live bands in the world.
Hopefully both bands will come back to the UK soon on another tour such as this because they are bands I've watched grow over the last few years and so to see their sucess of such a scale, not just in the US but here in the UK too, is amazing to witness.
All the bands on the tour are listed below which I suggest you check out because their great live.
As It Is Bancamp
This Wild Life Bandcamp
Seaway Bandcamp
Boston Manor Bandcamp