The O2 Apollo was preparing for YOU ME AT SIX’s last ever night in Manchester, on their farewell ‘Final Nights of Six’ tour. This is just one show of 37 in the UK; the band going out with a bang after storming around the world since October last year.
The thousands were awaiting their arrival but first, we had KID KAPICHI, four piece punk band from Hastings to warm up the crowd. Their electrified set included ‘Let’s Get To Work’, ‘Get Down’, and ‘Rob The Supermarket’.
Lead singer, Jack Wilson, recited how Josh Franceschi, lead singer of You Me At Six, went to a few of the band’s shows in London at the beginning of their career and it’s how they met. Jack thanked Josh for his support, and how grateful they are that they get to support the band on their final tour.
Kid Kapichi are visually and sonically very distinctive. Their sets are always enjoyable, each member has a magnetic stage presence and with the punchy lyrics and heavy instruments, it’s hard not to be fully engaged and wanting more.
One by one, the headliners arrived on stage with the backing of ‘Room to Breathe’, flashing lights and a roar from the crowd. Lead singer, Josh Franceschi, was last to arrive, “Welcome to the Final Nights of Six!”
It was soon followed by huge fan favourite ‘Loverboy’ where bassist Matt Barnes came down from the back to join Josh for the opening verse.
Old hit ‘Stay With Me’ was next, the thousands singing a long word for word along with Josh, who encouraged the crowd by picking up his mic stand and pointing it towards them, the volume dramatically increasing.
The set was full of new and old songs, including ‘Save It For The Bedroom’, ‘Jealous Minds Think Alike’, ‘Mixed Emotions’ and ‘Straight To My Head’. With 8 studio albums, it’s safe to say they had a lot to consider for their final tour!
The five have had an impressive and successful 20 years service to music, it was hard not to feel melancholic; especially when the stage was left to Josh who told the story of the band’s origins, along with Max Helyer perching on the stage with an acoustic guitar. The pair did a stripped back performance of ‘Liquid Confidence’ which echoed around the room and sounded amazing with the several thousand voices singing along to the classic.
“This is the part where we grade the audience, give them a kick up the arse,” Josh says, “but the way you’re operating now is a 10/10 show!” much to the crowd’s delight, a true compliment when previous ratings have been much lower. He wasn’t wrong, with the thousands causing the best kind of gig chaos with large circle pits and a conveyor belt of crowd surfers.
The night was drawing to a close, but not before fan favourite ‘Bite My Tongue’, and feel-good hit ‘Reckless’. Both went down well with the audience, an elongated applause and cheers followed, forcing the band to fully take in the moment just for a few minutes; the smiles on their faces and their gratitude could be seen for miles.
“Ladies and gentlemen, on the behalf of all of You Me At Six, thank you for making the last show in Manchester arguably one of the best we have ever had in this city so thank you so much. I hope when you walk out these doors tonight, we remain in your headphones, your homes, and your hearts because it’s been a pleasure being your band. For one final time, I need you all to stand for your national anthem…” the opening drums of 2010’s ‘Underdog’ was heard, ready to leave the crowd on an emotional high.
You Me At Six are such a raw talent. Of course they have iconic, throwback hits, but they continued to release music that was uniquely them; with Josh’s raw and versatile voice, to Chris Miller’s insane guitar riffs, and the collective lyrical genius (the list is endless), the band has proved time and time again that they belonged on the big stages and all the success they have ever had.
The detail about Josh supporting KID KAPICHI before they blew up was such a cool touch—love seeing that kind of mutual respect in the scene. Sounds like the energy in Manchester was unreal for YMAS’s farewell. Definitely a night to remember for fans and bands alike.