Who knew selling out sounded so good for A Day To Remember and their guests Papa Roach,  Falling In Reverse, and The Devil Wears Prada

A Day To Remember’s (ADTR) “15 Years In The Making” Tour is an eighteen date, center ring celebration tour came to Deep Ellum, the entertainment district in Dallas, Texas to a sold-out crowd of over 4300 fans. With a bill consisting of A Day To Remember and three genre-jumping bands: Papa Roach, Falling In Reverse, and The Devil Wears Prada, there is no question as to why this tour is doing so well, selling out over half of the dates.

A Day To Remember has reason to celebrate. Since ADTR’s inception in 2003, the Florida alternative rock band has literally been swallowing fans like a giant whale skimming for plankton in the ocean. The music industry, especially in 2018, is cutthroat and difficult for a band to make it to the radio, let alone substantiate a 15-year career. Look at Papa Roach; they began in 1993 and seven years later, Incest came out as the band’s first major label release which yielded 3 platinum records.  For any band on this bill, success didn’t come overnight and for A Day To Remember, giving back to the fans with a show of all shows, only seems appropriate.

The Devil Wears Prada openly categorizes their genre as “Christian Metal”. Yet they aren’t singing about saving people’s souls, loving Jesus and the cross, and telling those that don’t believe they’re going straight to the fiery pits of hell. This is a band that has been on tour with Slayer, Anthrax and other secular metal bands. This band handles their business and makes no apologies for who they are. This is a band that sings about anxiety, depression, fear, traffic, things that worry and concern them in the style of huge metal guitar riffs, fast percussive patterns, and the unclean and screaming vocals wrapped in lyrics that take these life challenges they face and play music about them in hopes that others can identify with their struggles. Their Dallas set was beautifully loud and absolutely insane when it came to the power they brought to the stage. After their 30 minute set, the air had a hint of ozone and felt like a day in the summer where a surprise thunderstorm pops up, rains like hell, and disappear 40 minutes later as the sun comes out, making the world all glittery and fresh. That’s exactly what The Devil Wears Prada did to the audience after their set. 

The diversity of Falling In Reverse and frontman Ronnie Radke isn’t solely in the music but attitude and spirit alike. Dubbed post-hardcore, glam rock, pop punk, and heavy rock, Falling In Reverse broke the rules of rock and wrote a champion of a record released in 2017;  Coming Home. Still supporting this record as well as having just released an official music video for “Losing My Mind”, a separate single not found on any album yet.  His daughter  introduced them on stage as “Daddy’s band, Falling In Reverse!!!” Ronnie pulled out rap, screaming, sweet vocals and amped up energy that captivated the crowd for his entire 30-minute set. 

Falling In Reverse played one song from their latest record (Coming Home), along with crowd favorites and the band’s brand new stand-alone single “Losing My Mind” and brought out the hits from the past giving them a little facelift that the fans loved. Energetic, passionate, clear-headed, and notably happy, Ronnie led Falling In Reverse through a beautiful set. 

The reach that Papa Roach has on the influence of today’s rock bands goes deep. Elements of their early stage performances can still be seen in their performances. Tonight, they played for 60 minutes and didn’t stop from beginning to end. Most every song had the faint sound of the audience singing along through the whole set. The emo kids and the rock/rap fans were all bouncing up and down while singing along with every song. A veteran of all that is rock, Jacoby Shaddix showed the audience how a true showman commands the stage. He was alert and engaged with everyone in the audience as the band whirled around the stage, sharing the spotlight with him. The band plays music that is identifiable to fans, and Jacoby writes songs about letting go of the ideals that the songs on their latest album Crooked Teeth speaks to young and old alike. Papa Roach also played the songs that helped bring them up to where they are today and the fans loved hearing these songs and reciprocated the enthusiasm to the band that dished it out. 

Jacoby has the gift of insinuation and alliteration that make the band’s songs those that stick to fans like cat hair does to corduroy. Performing for 60 minutes, Papa Roach gave the audience a show fused with that familiar excessive force that resonated in what was happening on stage and not what drama was waiting after coming off stage. It was cathartic to see Papa Roach put on a solid rock show and entertain this mass of people simultaneously.

A Day To Remember fans start the show before the band even hits the stage which is like starting a push lawn mower with the cord. The music played between sets is selected by the band or has just become the band’s songs because of the crowd participation, but what happens in the crowd before the house lights go down is unique to A Day To Remember’s show. The entire crowd sings along with their heads tossed back like happy Peanut Characters doing a little dance as that dude plays on the tiny piano. If you’re attending this show or another A Day To Remember’s show in the future, don’t be alarmed when there’s a mini-concert by the audience before the actual concert. Just sing along like you were at summer camp around a campfire. Such a great way for the band and fans to ready themselves for the show that is minutes away from starting.

A concert should have the thrill of the band, the music, and the vitality of the performance from the members. If a show has some shock and awe to it, well, that makes it even better. From the jump, A Day To Remember started the onslaught of theatrics during either “You Already Know What You Are“ or “2nd Sucks” when both sides of the stage exploded in a rock sneeze that blew confetti all over the audience. Simultaneously, streamers shot out of the ceiling faster than a snake sticking its tongue out and just when you can’t possibly get even more amped up, the cryo-cannons blast off on stage like it is about to lift off into space. It’s amazing what some paper, CO2, and some strips of plastic do to over 4300 people all at once. It’s a miracle the roof didn’t blow off the walls in the melee that happened right at that moment. 

If that isn’t enough, out come the giant beach balls. They just appear out of nowhere and are bounced around by the audience. Minutes later rolls of toilet paper soar through the audience like dolphins jumping in the ocean or spider monkeys jumping from tree to tree. Visually A Day To Remember’s show straight up shoots pure adrenaline into the audience and if all of this was measured with some whack-a-do scientific instrument of some sort, it could power a small town for a year.

If you can picture all of this; streamers waving, balls bouncing, intermittent masts of steam billow up from the floor – it’s really quite a stunning display that pairs well with the songs being performed. Jeremy McKinnon does wonders with leading an audience to drink from their fountain. There’s not a bunch of babble or rants or explanations that fall on deaf ears – they play their music like they’re playing for a room full of best friends and that’s a feeling that you can’t get anywhere else. Hands down, ADTR show is one that as you’re walking out of the venue you:
a) can’t believe you were just a part of that,
b) stoked that they played 20 songs (and your favorites, at that), and
c) feel apart of something bigger than yourself, from a simple (yet complex) rock show.

Leave it to A Day To Remember to create a show that evoked a higher purpose with an underlying plea for love and understanding that is evident from all of the bands on the bill; and not in that politically charged way. This show was seemed to say despite various religious, political, personal, sexual, educational, socioeconomic, legal status, criminal rap sheet, the amount of Royal Blood you have, your blood type you have – it doesn’t matter at a rock show. Humans are unique – as individuals, but on nights like this, there is unity in the air as music from four bands delivered the same messages that are absent in today’s culture and the fans reciprocate it with returning the buzz of power that surrounded the room. The end result; both band and those there loved every minute of it.

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A Day To Remember
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Papa Roach
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Falling In Reverse
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The Devil Wears Prada
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Event Date: 03-MAR-2018