YOU ME AT SIX

Brighton Music Hall
Allston, Massachusetts
February 21, 2019

The British quintet You Me At Six kicked off their American tour Thursday night in Boston’s Brighton Music Hall. The first thing you’ll notice is the energized crowd. Throngs of young admirers have come out eagerly awaiting the opening set. The crowd lined around the block for a sold out show with an hour and a half set, 2 song encore and crowd surfing galore. Opening for the headliners were up-start L.A. female led band Machineheart and the high energy New York based Dreamers.

Inside, the joint was jam packed with young admirers ready to sing, dance, and pour their hearts out while the band plays their biggest hits. When You Me At Six comes on stage the chatter ends, the screams start, and they all pile towards the stage enraptured in a dance with the beat.

The British loverboys kicked their part of the show off with high energy anthems “Fast Forward” and “Lived a Lie”. The patrons of the music hall are putty in the hands of singer Josh Franceschi, who showed he was born with a mic in hand as he guided the night of revelry.

The band really found their rhythm with the hard rocker “Reckless” with high energy riffing from the dual guitarists. A playful island themed song “Back Again” showed versatile range, going from intense guitar driven rock to scenes of sipping a Piña Colada on the beach.

Night people, with it’s dark rolling energy, turned the set on its ear and left the audience spellbound by the band deep lyrics and pop sensibility. There was something for everybody here. I even got the whiff of Aquanet as the band engaged in the Bon Jovi-esque “Fresh Start” which had guys and girls chanting along in their leather pants and denim jackets just like it was 1984.

The appropriate “Cold Night” for the Boston show and “Predictable” had everybody waving arms in unison like it was a large stadium. If there was ever a time for a band to start a religious cult or political movement this would have been the time. The show continues with heavy guitar driven “3am” with a sound that was something like a crooning Tom Jones with a Tom Morello vibe on the guitar, an interesting and entertaining combo for sure.

As the show draws towards its conclusion, Josh demands the lighting crew shut off the lights, the crowd responds by flicking lighters and Smartphone lights with the poignant “Take on the world” channeling of John Lennon. “Bite my tongue” was supposedly the final song of the night but fans wanted more. Chanting for an encore the crowd coaxed the band back on stage. You Me At Six are clearly a band that proves good times rock music is still something to be cherished.