A Day To Remember Re-Enter DC with Asking Alexandria
Let’s be real; the last two years have been different and, quite frankly, pretty shitty. There were no waves of fans to crowd surf and no groups of people to rock a circle pit with. Who are we kidding though, we know some of you were running in circles in your house last year. Us too. Well, at long last, we have returned and found ourselves back in music venues headbanging to our favorite artists, and that, my friends, is what can only be referred to as a Re-Entry Tour. The last time A Day to Remember was in Washington, DC, was in the fall of 2019, and we can all agree that it’s been too long. As for Asking Alexandria, it’s been some time since they’ve traveled from Yorkshire to the states to rip up the pit with their growing fan base.
Once Asking Alexandria took to the stage, The Anthem was filled with fans, all ready to go wild. Ironically with the first song in their set being “Alone Again,” it felt great not to be alone and instead surrounded by people who instantly switched into rock mode as fists pumped into the air. That song is also one from their brand new album released just a few hours later, titled See What’s on the Inside. The album itself was a direct result of not being able to tour and celebrate last year’s release of Like a House On Fire. They took the time they were given and went back into the studio, and just like that, a new album was born. So to celebrate two albums releasing, they left it all on the stage in DC.
Lead singer Danny Worsnop got us all jumping down as the lights bounced along with us to the beat of “The Violence.” Although guitarist Benjamin Bruce wasn’t there this evening, he had an excellent reason. He was alongside his wife as they welcomed their daughter into the world. In fact, their new album and daughter Rosie came into the world almost at the exact same time as she arrived just one hour after the album became available. Following the audience participation and clapping that accompanied “When the Lights Come On,” they kept with the theme that they opened with, as their set ended with “Alone in a Room.”
As the stage got cleared off, leaving behind ramps leading up to what looked like a doorway in the center of the stage, backdrops appeared from above to create a background on all sides of the stage. A sound reminiscent of that THX sound you would hear before movies back in the day then filled the room. This was followed by a narrator voice that shared a short introduction before saying it would be “a day to remember.” The lights then burst to red as the band walked out from a portal-like door in the center of the stage before kicking into high gear with “Right Back At It Again.” Streamers immediately burst into the air covering fans and the band. Lead singer Jeremy McKinnon moved back and forth across the stage acknowledging fans.
After playing “Degenerates” off their latest album, You’re Welcome, it was time to open the circle pits as “Paranoia” sped up the tempo in the room, and guitars and drum hits moved us further into the hard rock party we came for. Following that, we dove into the Rock/EDM collab with Marshmello from 2019 with “Rescue Me.” But you don’t come to an ADTR concert just to headbang, you also come for the crowd surfing! It was time for a little thing called “surfing the crowd surfers.” As “Mindreader” lifted us into another dimension, fans themselves got lifted as they began to surf across the crowd, while some tried to stand on top of those surfing. Therefore “surfing the crowd surfers.” A sight to be seen and a massive shout-out to the security staff in the pit, which Jeremy recognized, as not a single person hit the ground as they came into the pit.
The great thing about this tour is that after being away for so long, they had the chance to break out songs that they’ve never played live. Songs like “Brick Wall” had the lights strobing as more circle pits formed throughout the floor. Along with the new tunes, we also got the classics “I’m Made Of Wax, Larry, What Are You Made Of?” and “The Plot To Bomb The Panhandle.”
Before the night was over and all the cryo was gone, it was time for an encore which began with an acoustic version of “If It Means A Lot To You” as the crowd illuminated with cell phone lights. The full band returned to the stage during the last verse before bringing it home with the only song that should close an ADTR concert forever. That song, of course, being “The Downfall Of Us All.” As the song ended, the band and fans were still going with the energy they began with as confetti filled the air.
From your favorite Photographic Ginger, this was undoubtedly a night of music that I won’t soon forget, and it’s a show you don’t want to miss. Make sure to get your tickets to The Re-Entry Tour now by clicking here.
If you happened to capture any shots of the night, feel free to tag us on social media at Shutter 16 Magazine and throw in #Shutter16 and #TwitFromThePit for the world to see.
