Concert Experience: You Me at Six (Or 9:30)

Josh Franceschi and I.

The beat was electric, as the crowd moved in time to Josh Franceschi's voice, the lead singer of You Me at Six. My flatmate and I had gotten there slightly late, so we stood at the edge of the balcony, overlooking the crowd and the band. It was packed; the gig had around one hundred people overcapacity. Before the concert, a bunch of scalpers had gotten ahold of tickets, so in retaliation, the band released more tickets, and Josh went out to meet fans and sell the tickets personally. 

I was one of those lucky fans, which was actually how I heard about the concert itself. I saw that Josh was going to Dr. Martens store near me, and when I went, there were maybe about thirty fans snaked around the store. They only let a couple fans in the store at a time, which meant that you got to have some personal time to talk to him. When it was my turn, my best friend and I walked up to the desk, where we purchased a ticket. I told Josh that I had seen him before during the Spring Fever tour, and he remembered my city and some fun facts about it. We bonded over that and talked about why I was in London. He was completely dedicated to having a personal conversation with every fan, which was not only cool in and of itself, but is also a tribute to how the band has lasted for over a decade.

But, at the concert, it was hard to tell who was more enthusiastic - the crowd or the band. All throughout the night, the audience would sing lyrics from their debut album, Take Off Your Colours. Between songs, Josh told the crowd that they were singing songs off their current album, Cavalier Youth, and if they wanted to hear Take Off Your Colours, they could go to a show next year (where those songs would be performed), in slightly more explicit terms, however loving. 

The band sounded even better live than their recordings, coupled with the crowd's unwavering energy. Around halfway through the concert, Josh stopped to talk about how he was going to protest the laws pertaining to purchasing tickets, and then promptly started speaking about the dangers of the world, like how the United States (then) had a presidential nominee who did not believe in climate change. My flatmate and I were amazed he would bring up something like this during a show, and we loved it. 

The show continued, and during 'Too Young to Feel This Old,' Josh forgot some of the words and said, "Guess what, after ten years, we're still human, we forget words," while the crowd screamed, clapped, and cheered the band on. 

I'd never been a casual concert-goer, so this was a new experience for me. I loved just dancing with my friend, listening to the music, and watching the crowd have the time of their lives. It was experience I'll never forget, and it feels like in this venue, I found a secret community of my own.