Review and photos by David Mondine and Mike Mendlowitz

photos copyright 2013 Pittsburgh Music Magazine and DMondine/MMendlowitz

On Thursday March 28, 2013 one of the biggest out breaking bands straight out of Florida played at Pittsburgh’s own Stage AE.  The one and only A Day to Remember played at Stage AE during their Right Back At It Again tour.  This tour would be not so much a tour to support their new album (which is soon to be coming out called “Common Courtesy”) but more of a tour of just trying to get back on the road and play shows after a six month hiatus.

Getting back on track, the first leg of the tour consisted of two other bands.  The opening act was Chunk! No Captain Chunk! who is out of France.  They mix a form of auto-tune pop with the modern day metalcore scene riffs.  They were an interesting band to watch, even when we had no clue what to expect from them.  Just from the crowd’s reaction to when they came out on stage it wasn’t just a cheer for the show to start; it was more of a cheer to actually see them play.  Just from the view it seems like their name has spread pretty far.  As the opening act though, they did exactly what you want them to do.  They entertained the crowd by giving it there all and they got everyone pumped up and ready to go for the next band, Of Mice and Men.

In recent talks it has been brought up that the juggernaut band called Of Mice and Men could possibly take over the metal scene with their powerful heavy riffs and breakdowns.  Yes, this could be true after the performance they just had.  When it comes to playing all out or nothing, Of Mice and Men can deliver.  With the whole crowd pumping their fists in the air, singing along, and moshing like there is no tomorrow you can defiantly tell this band now has a huge following even though their career as a band has not been that long.  Their fan base has without a doubt contributed to their huge success in the metal scene or the music scene in general.  The only thing that really went wrong during their set was just a few easy fix timing factors and that the bass was too loud to a point where it started to mash up with the rest of the instruments playing.  All and all it was a solid performance with not a whole lot of complaints.  This being the second time seeing them for me it still has not changed my opinion about them.

With the crowd over excited and pumped beyond belief to see one of the biggest fan base bands in the entire world… the anticipation was just overwhelming.  Every time A Day to Remember has played in Pittsburgh it has been a sold out show.  It is because of so many reasons that it has always been that way, but to sum it all up in a few short words would be utterly impossible.  Not too many words can describe just how much of a performance A Day to Remember puts on for their crowd.  But when you see the entire floor section moshing, jumping, singing, and just simply moving around the entire time you just know that they are doing something right to obtain such an amazing reaction from the crowd.  When their huge album “Homesick” came out, it was just only the start of their fast growth to stardom.  That album is pretty much the reason that their name has been heard from all corners of the world now.  That being said they have played in multiple festivals and have been headlining a lot of shows to.  Every show they bring their usual party gear which usually includes rolls of toilet paper, beach balls, rolled up tees, and Jeremy’s human hamster ball.  This year there was no hamster ball but they had an inflatable raft instead.  Entertaining the crowd is just what they do and they succeed in all aspects of it.  The lights were spot on during their set and the sound was pretty good to.  Timing was no issue for them since they have been getting ready for this tour for over a month now.  Since their newest album “Common Courtesy” has yet to have a release date (or even start the final mixing process) they have been putting forth the effort to keep everyone’s hopes up that the new album is happening slowly but surely.  In the mean time playing shows resolves the issue.  Especially since their set list covered just about their entire discography from “For Those Who Have Heart” all up to the highly anticipated newest album “Common Courtesy”.  After seeing A Day to Remember time and time again, it is more than safe to say this is one band you have to see.  Especially in Pittsburgh, just because of their fan base that is located here.  Going to one of their shows is defiantly worth every penny.  But if you missed this show then it is safe to say you missed another phenomenal performance from A Day to Remember.