You Me At Six - Take Off Your Colours 10 Year Anniversary Tour
Has it really been a decade since this Surrey quintet first exposed the world to the likes of Take Off Your Colours? This writer can recall first seeing them at a VERY small Kings Cross venue, with a stage so small they could hardly move two inches in each direction. It was when the bouncer told the crowd that the band would not return to the stage unless the they controlled themselves a little more that you knew You Me At Six were destined for great things.
Ten years down the line the band has moved from one stage to another building, in capacity and selling out night after night. This evening's performance, one of two London shows at Brixton's O2, was in aid of the ten year anniversary of their first release, and the album that kick started this sweeping sensation, Take Off Your Colours.
Playing the album from start to finish, this gave the screaming audience members the opportunity to see songs performed they may have never seen before, or at least seen in quite some time. Crowd pleasers were of course You've Made Your Bed (So Sleep in It) and Save It For The Bedroom but each song got the crowd more and more worked up, screams got louder and the crowd sweatier.
The song that stole the show however was Always Attract. If you had ever seen You Me At Six perform in their early days there was a very high likelihood you would have seen this song performed by Josh (lead singer) and his sister; and she returned for this evenings special performance. This song had the crowd quiet at one moment then singing along and lighting the venue with phones and lighters the next.
This performance was all about the music and only the music – oh and love for each other! There was a moment at one point that lead singer Josh looked a little peeved while performing, stamping more aggressively and indicating something towards the crowd. At the end of the song, he spoke to two individuals who were fighting in the crowd and gave a lovely speech about You Me At Six being only about love for each other and not hate. It appeared this statement was able to resonate with a lot of the individuals in the venue and he received a big applause at the end.
Each time You Me At Six take to the stage they connect with their audience and this, along with the incredible energy, enthusiasm and pride they bring to their music, made for one heck of an experience.