Having booked tickets to Emofest a little while back, I was pretty much unsure of what I was expecting. What seemed like a well backed social media campaign for the event, I went ahead and duly bought tickets anyway and kept an interest in the media posts, which clearly looked like it was looking to be some night…. and ultimately went on to sell out.
The event was taking place at Welly in Hull, a place of local folklore and one that was a perfect setting for Emofest to rock up into town.
The night was set up in to two main parts and orbited around the two mammoth sets of the headline band for the evening…. the aptly named…… All Out Emo.
Prior to their first set, the evening began with a DJ and master of ceremonies as such, revving the crowd into an emo frenzy, blasting out emo classics from from the second you entered the cauldron of heat that was the main room.
For those who know Welly, what is a fairly unassuming looking building from the outside, a small door/tunnel allows entry into the dark and history laden corridors, of which a bar, toilets and merch stand all splay off from…. with the main room then located at the back of the venue.
It was already so incredibly hot in the venue and what was already a pretty warm day in early May, clearly transcended into the room…… of which was already heaving upon us getting there...... barely 20 mins after the doors opened.
It did take some major adjusting when walking in… having not long before been sat in the sun with a beer to entering a rammed nightclub, pounding music and what appeared like I had just literally entered and lost about 5 hours of time and fast forwarded to 11pm… not 6pm!!! It was pretty surreal but it appeared everyone in there was definitely up for it and it was going to be one of those epic nights……. and it certainly turned out to be that way.
The term Emo is one that is perhaps not so much talked about today. The music scene now is very much a different one compared to the early 2000’s of the Emo era as I knew it….. but for most of those who were present on this night, lived through that time and very much clung onto the memories of when music was “emotional” and by the organisers own words, “it was never just a phase”.
Back to the night and following a healthy dose of nostalgia from the DJ in the form of Jimmy Eat World et al, the live band (All Out Emo) were due to make their first appearance of two for the evening. A hugely talented and very expressional band, they smashed their way through a monumental set including, My Chemical Romance, You me at Six, Thirty Seconds to Mars and Fall out Boy amongst many others. It was a huge sound, technical and emotional throughout and one that they band clearly expressed so much energy into….. with the crowd lapping up throughout. There was a huge amount of interaction and stage persona was in abundance. Audience participation was always going to be a given on this night and a memorable casual floor walk by the lead singer Danny. It was just perfect.
In all honesty, upon the end of their first set, there needed to be a breather due to the sheer relentlessness of the bands superb performance, although that didn’t really fully come along, with the nights DJ coming back on, keeping the energy high and the sight of gig memorabilia t-shirts being flung into the crowd did even more to do just that.
It must be said, the night was a very professional event and well-rehearsed and the team seemed to love every minute of it. The crowd stuck around throughout and a sense of a “community” feeling came together for the night.
It wasn’t a huge break from the first set of the band to the second and the latter was definitely not one that was any less in its intensity, with perhaps the power increasing somewhat – if that was possible.
The appear at each of the Emofest events on the tour and they are individually technically and performance wide, excellent at what they do. They manage to capture the essence and meaning of the era, performing songs from so many different artists, yet managing to not only just cover a song, but making most of them their own.
They are all showmen and this is very much personified by the lead singer Danny, who adorned in “emo attire” gives a huge performance, with his relentless vocals and huge presence which epitomises the whole night.
It was a fantastic night of entertainment. The work gone into organising, promoting and performing on the night must take so much effort and dedication, yet is one that I am certain all of the people at the gig appreciated so much.
It was a superb night and one to demonstrate that the music of that era was huge and one that we do not want to let go and continue to make it live now and push it forwards to generations to come.
I strongly urge anyone who has not yet booked to see this to do so and enjoy a night of excellent music and showmanship from all involved.
LGR x
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