Playing their penultimate show of their ‘Great Heights And Nosedives’ Tour, pop-punk band ROAM took to Birmingham’s O2 Academy 3 in Birmingham on Wednesday 13th December.
Stand Atlantic opened the show to a sold-out crowd of approx. 250 people. Despite the tour almost coming to a close and the fact the band had traveled all the way from Australia, they showed no lack of energy and no sign of tiredness, which could have been expected at the near-end of the tour. Even performing with ‘guest’ performer Matt Roskilly (ROAM) for a track, lead vocalist Bonnie even got her own time to further perform individually without restraints to the crowd. However, Stand Atlantic did face a little moment of awkwardness through fixing guitar technical issues near the end of the set, leaving a slightly unscripted moment towards the end. Yet, this was soon forgotten as Stand Atlantic jumped into their final track ‘Coffee At Midnight’, literally jumping across the stage and embracing their final track of the night.
Next up to storm the stage were punk rockers WSTR, who truly got the crowd moving With intense energy, even their slower tracks were still bursting through the walls of t.he venue and bouncing off each individual in the audience. Whether it be ‘Footprints’ or the (slightly) more mellow track ‘Eastbound & Down’, WSTR brought the house down (and almost the barrier with the sheer amount of excitement from fans)
Headliners ROAM instantly caused an eruption of energy both onstage and in the audience. Playing a balance of their new album ‘Great Heights And Nosedives’ and their debut ‘Backbone’, fans both old and new had something they could sing along to and enjoy. Opening with their second single ‘Alive’, the liveliness rose to a peak and ceased to dip throughout their set. Through fan favourites such as ‘The Rich Life Of A Poor Man’ and ‘Deadweight’, the room was alive with crowdsurfers, circle pits and overall energy and excitement. Yet, even in the slower, more emotive tack ‘Tracks’, there was still the peak of an exceptional performance even if not as energetic as their previous tracks.
It’s safe to say that ROAM certainly had some communication and connections with the audience. From highfiving crowdsurfers to helping get a kicked out fan back in the venue, ROAM had a clear connection and effort to connect with their fans, even joining them in the crowd at certain points of the show. However,this doesn’t stop their small on stage antics and little accidents either! ROAM both intentionally and unintentionally added a little humour to their set, from getting their photographer to drink out of a shoe to Alex Costello(vocals) tripping over on the word trip(and many, many more times during the overall set!). Even ending the set with supports Stand Atlantic and WSTR, this show was an all round great evening!
Gig rating: 5/5
EUPHORIA OF BREAKDOWN 