Monday Blues? A Day To Remember Rocking The Armory Is The Cure

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Some days, you feel absolutely drained. And last night was one of those days for me. I was feeling the Monday blues particularly hard, as it was a busy week (and weekend) of work, and I hadn’t had a break in days. All I felt like doing was curling up on the couch with a good book and some hot tea. But when a last minute show opportunity came knocking, I had to answer the call.

Point North, Asking Alexandria, and A Day to Remember were on the bill at the Armory for what was primed to be a top-tier evening of metalcore heavyweights. And in addition to the promise of seeing a great show, I was really looking forward to indulging myself in nostalgia and refamiliarizing myself with one of my most beloved, favorite high school bands.

When I arrived at the Armory, I was greeted by the energy of Point North, a band I was entirely unfamiliar with before this show. Point North were incredibly fun to watch, and a great segway into the rest of the evening. They’re a band that has been on the scene for awhile, but still puts a lot of heart and hunger into their live performance. It was a great set, and the audience really seemed to enjoy them, as there was a bountiful amount of cheering and dancing from the crowd.

Next up was Asking Alexandria — a band that has been one of the most prominent bands in the scene for over 10 years now. Asking Alexandria has gone through a lot of internal transformations and rock n’ roll antics during their career, but their set at the Armory seemed surprisingly mature and honed in compared to other times I have seen them live. Now clean and sober, the band seemed to be in better form than ever. It was really nice to see them focused and humbled on stage. 

One of the most noteworthy things during Asking Alexandria’s set was just how damn loud they were. They cranked it up to 11, and made sure all attention was on them. Even the ear plug wearers in the crowd (like myself) were not safe from the audio pounding Asking Alexandria delivered. 

The audience loved their set, and the band seemed to mirror the love as well. Before exiting the stage, lead singer Danny Worsnop addressed the crowd, “I wish we could live here in this moment forever…but sadly we cannot. And this will be our last song.”

The changeover between Asking Alexandria and A Day to Remember was particularly long, taking almost 45 minutes. Myself and the other attendees in the Armory were restless with anticipation, but A Day to Remember made the wait worth it. The band came out with their self-indulgent anthem, “Right Back At It Again”, whose opening line boasts “we’re coming out swinging!” and the band certainly did. 

During the song’s first drop, smoke cannons and confetti exploded into the crowd and people exploded into action, jumping hard enough to make me feel the ground shaking from the back of the room.

After a couple of familiar favorites, A Day to Remember went into a handful of new songs. Admittedly, as someone who followed the band between For Those Who Have Heart and Common Courtesy, I felt out of place being suddenly unfamiliar with the band’s set.

But the new material did not disappoint this “old school” fan. The new stuff went off, and was just as heavy as you’d want A Day to Remember to be. 

Overall, their performance was incredibly fun like always. A Day to Remember brings a lot of energy and positivity to their live shows, requiring lots of participation from the audience. They were the perfect cure for a melancholy Monday.

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