SHOW REVIEW: 15 Years In The Making | The Armory SF | 3.2.18
On it’s face, pairing A Day To Remember with Papa Roach seems like a curious tour choice, but if you look a little closer the bands are a little bit closer than you might expect. Both bands are road warriors, both have defied genre to adapt their sound to remain fresh, both have rabid dedicated fanbases, and both bring a high energy set live. All of this was on display Friday night in San Francisco as A Day to Remember’s “15 Years in the Making” Tour came to town alongside Papa Roach, Falling In Reverse, and The Devil Wears Prada. The package was the swan song as a concert venue for the short-lived San Francisco Armory, which was sold to a London hospitality company early in the year. The venue didn’t naturally feel like a music venue, but worked oddly well with it’s wide and spacious floor and it’s high arching ceiling.
ADTR looked to mix-up the formula with this tour, playing a different setlist everynight with a rotation of songs deep from the bands calatogs. The band opened it’s set with two of it’s most ferocious songs “I’m Made of Wax Larry, What Are You Made Of?” and “2nd Sucks” before transitioning to the anthemic “Right Back At It Again” then throwing a curve ball with a metalcore cover of Kelly Clarkson’s hit “Since U Been Gone”. Over the past 15 years, the band has developed surpsingly diverse sound ranging from the heaviest and most caluclated thrash to multiple part harmonies and sing-along anthems, all the way down to stripped down acoustic songs. Vocalist Jeremy McKinnon said the band believed in a “shut up and play” philosophy, and that they did, cramming 20 songs into the hour and 45 minute set. As the set hit the midway point, the band brought out some of it’s deepest cuts including “I Heard It’s the Softest Thing Ever” and “My Life For Hire”. True to form, the stage was all arena show – video screens, smoke cannons, confetti, even rolls of toilet paper that went streaming across the mosh pit. The band closed out their main set with the upbeat “Sometimes You’re the Hammer, Sometimes You’re the Nail” and “All I Want”. The band returned to the stage for partially stripped down set including the crowd favorite “If It Means A Lot To You”, and an acoustic version of “I Remember” – a perfect choice to sum up the past 15 years of the bands career. The set closed with a bang with the one-two punch of “The Plot to Bomb the Panhandle” and “The Downfall of Us All”.
Vacaville’s Papa Roach also turned in a strong set mixing songs across the bands catalog. Lead Singer Jacoby Shaddix is a front man in the classic sense, strutting and headbanging his way back and forth across the stage working the crowd. Mixing old hits like “Getting Away With Murder” and “Between Angels and Insects” with newer material like the alt-pop sheen of “Periscope” and the bouncy “Born For Greatness”. The band closed with staples “…To Be Loved” and their original smash “Last Resort”, a song that has held up surprisingly well since it’s original release. The band even got a boost from Shaddix son Brixton, who leant a scream to “Traumatic”. The show opened with punchy sets from The Devil Wears Prada and Falling In Reverse.
The tour may have been 15 years in the making, but the band’s versatility on Friday night showed that they are more than ready for another 15.
