YOU ME AT SIX BRING THEIR FAREWELL ‘FINAL NIGHTS OF SIX TOUR’
TO SOUTHAMPTON’S O2 GUILDHALL

★★★★★ (5/5)

**YOU ME AT SIX PERFORMING AT SOUTHAMPTON’S O2 GUILDHALL**
**PHOTOCREDIT: CHARIS LYDIA BAGIOKI**

Unless you have been living under a rock for the past year, you probably know that You Me At Six are currently on their last ever tour, concluding a 20-year run as a band. Whilst they turned up with a massive hearse to mark their last ever festival appearance at Slam Dunk last year, there were no such soppy tricks for their last ever Southampton show (I can confirm, only a tour bus was there).

The band have had an incredibly successful and well-received tour so far, with lots of venues being sold out while there are still a lot of shows to go until they perform their last ever show in London next month. To show their appreciation for the people who have supported them, they are also bringing special line-ups for each individual gig, showcasing as much of the scene as they can on their run – and some stops have even had special guests (Sheffield I am looking at you) join them on stage, such as Oli Sykes.

The first band on stage was Not Advised, a wildcard for the tour. Native to Southampton, the band rose into fame more than 10 years ago due to their pop-rock sound, Oasis-style production and intricate lyrical themes. The band – as they reminded us – made a special reunion to perform live after 14 years, and it is probably their only performance for this year (or ever). The crowd was pretty active since they came on stage, supporting them despite the frontman admitting they were ‘a bit rusty’. Despite that, they sounded quite tight and seemed very happy to perform, bringing back the high-school rock band energy into the gig.

Second up on the bill was Kid Kapichi, once again for a special performance. It was only a few months back that I saw the band perform outside the very same venue and I have to admit an indoors venue suits their music and style much more. Bathed in red and blue lights, the punk rock quartet was restless on stage, with frontman Jack’s raspy rock vocals filling the walls of the venue. Their set was short but punchy, consisting of their most critically acclaimed songs such as ‘LGTW’, ‘999’, ‘Get Down’ and personal favourite ‘Smash the Gaff’. The audience sang along and engaged highly with the band who seemed very pleased to perform and support You Me At Six for this tour stop. They definitely charged up the venue before the headliners joined the stage.

The anticipation for You Me At Six was high through the whole gig. The band joined the stage illuminated by a giant ‘VI’ and an impressive light setup, which made for amazing ambience and atmosphere. Promising a two-hour restless set, You Me At Six came on with a bang to the sounds of ‘Room to Breathe’ and ‘Loverboy’. The crowd echoed since the first note rang, singing along and dancing like there is no tomorrow – which quite literally there is not. With incredible energy and a slightly emotional tang, the band said straight away that this was ‘Maybe their best gig in Southampton to date’ but ‘they did not come to Southampton for maybes’.

The setlist was a journey through all of the band’s eras, including old and newer songs, intricately woven together as if to create an emotional experience for the audience rather than a well curated setlist for yet another show. ‘Save the Bedroom for it’ was followed by ‘Jelly Minds’, ‘Live LOL Shut Up’ was followed by ‘Noone Does It Better’ and when ‘Suckerpunch’ came on, the band asked the crowd to ‘not play by the rules’. The result was an incredible amount of people crowd-surfing as the frontman screamed the lyrics back at them, creating an almost historical moment for the audience that was watching this spectacle. It was quite emotional again, when the set dipped into the more acoustic songs. With just an acoustic guitar on stage, frontman Josh spoke to his audience to convey a part of YMAS history, the stuff that is not part of a rehearsed interview.

Explaining how the band met in 2005, starting off as a group as almost by accident, he wove humorous remarks such as ‘the perfect mop’, ‘your sister’s tight jeans from Primark’, ‘not a drummer but sex appeal’ and the response to ‘Do you want to start a band with me?’ and ‘HELL YEAH’, the heartfelt speech struck a cord. This is how a great band started, and moved on to produce multiple records, play shows and festivals all around the world and create a 20-year career that accompanied similarly aged emo teens from MySpace to probably their kids listening to YMAS till today. Ending off his speech, Josh asked his audience to ‘not be sad that it’s ending, but happy that it happened in the first place’. And with those words, they went on to perform ‘Crash’ and ‘Liquid Confodonce’, joined by a fan on stage to sing the final lyrics.

To finish off their set, they kept their most iconic anthems for the encore. ‘Bite My Tongue’, the song that started it all was the loudest song sang out loud by the crowd, followed by ‘Reckyasssss’ and finally, ‘Underdog’. Creating and leaving a piece of history behind, the show’s ending was beyond emotional for most of the attendees. There is not much to say for a gig like this, other than repeat Josh’s words about it being a pleasure being ‘in our headphones and in our hearts’ for the best past of 20 years. How about a reunion in 20 years’ time then?