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You Me At Six, Not Advised and Me vs. Hero, live at The Bongo Club.

From what you can quickly gather, all of the shows on this tour so far have been far too hot. And that’s a sentiment no doubt shared by Me vs. Hero, as they open proceedings for the evening. With their muscular pop punk providing the soundtrack to an erupting riot within the crowd, it’s not hard to tell that tonight is going to get, at least, a little messy. The Manchurians themselves however, take it in their stride, working the crowd like old pros, before their time is up only too soon. However, they leave a band that you definitely want to see more of.

The last time that Organised-Sound had the pleasure of seeing tonight’s main support, it was just under two years ago, in what could only be described as the back room of a bar in Sunderland. Oh, how times have changed. Now, Not Advised hold an incredible air of experience, and have the songs to back it up. Frontman Jim Thomas is great at riling the crowd, and truly solidifies himself as a new and exciting vocalist within the realm of UK pop punk. And, whilst songs from their new EP ‘Fight For This’ sound insatiably fun yet immaculately slick, it’s within their gem of a cover that this reviewer’s night is made. Holding up the torch for Michael Jackson fans everywhere, their rendition of ‘Man in the Mirror’ adds a little kick and a lot of smiles to the already content crowd, who simply dance a little harder. Throw in old favourite ‘You’re the Designers, We’re the Deciders’ and the ridiculously catchy closer ‘Jane Says Left’, and the Bongo Club seem ready for what is inevitable to come.

Tonight’s show in Edinburgh may require a little more explanation. This is the fourth show of five, that the headliners merely announced a little over two weeks ago. The idea behind this tour was to return to the intimate venues in which You Me At Six fought tooth and nail to win fans over, not even two years ago, as a way of thanking those audience members that have been around since the start. It’s also no secret that these kinds of shows are no doubt, about to become a rarity, with the band soon planning to play alongside the gigantic Paramore, in a completely sold out arena tour. There’s something in the air tonight that says this could very well be the shutting of one door for this band, whilst the opening of another is just months away. That could probably be why these shows sold out as quickly as they did.

Then, as You Me At Six walk onstage in a relatively casual fashion, bursting into new single ‘Kiss and Tell’, the whole room alights and it becomes apparent that maybe there’s a different reason… For the last two years, this band have widely split opinions for everyone and anyone in the UK music scene. For some, they’ve been too young or immature, for others, too boyishly good-looking. Others think their music is fine, while there is definitely the odd person who would prefer them to disappear. Regardless of this though, is the fact that this band have spent the last two years belonging to this scene; it feels like everyone has some sort of stake in them; that we all maybe helped them grow a little in some way. Now, whether that’s because they became infamously known as ‘dial-a-support’ or because they spent the last years of their teenage lives sat in the dankest of venues around our country, just to win over some fans, they’ve come a long way in those two years. So, maybe tonight is sold out because they won us over after all, and now they’re off to take on the world.

The crowd tonight are boisterous and bouncy, loving every moment of ‘Finders Keepers’ and ‘Jealous Minds Think Alike’. Frontman Josh Franceschi comes into his own and confidently swaggers, keeping the crowd engaged and having the time of their lives. The music is tight, the band seem happy and smiles and jokes are shared between members and all 300-and-something people that are present in this tiny Edinburgh sweatbox. Tonight feels like a celebration of something, with the band playing all of their hits, one after the other. In fact, there is no song that goes down badly; perfectly illustrating how well the endless months of touring have paid off for this band. Their cover of Lady Gaga’s ‘Poker Face’ is great, but reminds us a little too much of how close of an eye Radio 1 have been keeping on this band. ‘Always Attract’ is stunning, as... always and ‘Save It For The Bedroom‘ may as well have incited a mini-riot in the middle of the small room.

However, it’s still during ’The Rumour’ that the hairs on the back of your neck stand up a little, as all inhabitants of this too-hot room hold their hands up and sing until their voices are hoarse.

So, now the question must be posed: if this band can do this for a few hundred people, what will it be like when they take on the world? I get the feeling that this is the point where you follow them through that newly-opened door, just to, you know, see what‘s gonna happen next.

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