This gig was all about fast paced loud music over short energetic sets. First band of the night, Coventry’s Death Is Not Welcome Here, came on stage around seven and, despite this reviewer still buzzing having just interviewed Dallas Taylor, they did enough to bring my attention back to the show with what they delivered.  Overall their screamo style of metal,  which included “We Are The Fire” that's featured on their MySpace site provided a good start to the evening’s proceedings. 

Next up were Outcry Collective. Showing more viciousness and attitude than the openers they brought a sound that took on board hints of Gallows, Cancer Bats and The Bronx; heavy but ultimately catchy with it.  From their set “Lennons At Night” and “New Franchise Mess” were most noticeable and they proved the perfect support band, energetic and with enough tunes to get people involved and interested in the show. Well worth keeping an eye on. 

The venue had been filling up as the evening went by and, with this being A Day To Remember’s first visit to the UK, much of the audience appeared to have arrived in time to see what they had to offer.  Having not heard of them until this tour their merchandise claimed that they are "the world’s heaviest pop punk band" and whether this is true or not is up for debate but they certainly threw themselves into the music. Actually it all came across more hardcore than pop punk, with singer Jeremy McKinnon being either on the barrier or in the crowd for a large portion of their set, to the delight of their fans.  Including the likes of “A Shot In The Dark”, “Monument” and “1958” in the set before finishing with “The Plot To Bomb The Panhandle” they were definitely entertaining although perhaps they could have played a few more tracks, a sentiment most of the crowd would probably have agreed with. 

Headliners Maylene And The Sons Of Disaster hit the stage around nine and kicked things off with “Memories Of The Grove”. With most of their set drawn from the new album, II, the likes of “Raised By The Tide”, “Death Is An Alcoholic”, “Don’t Ever Cross A Trowel” and “Darkest Of Kin” all made appearances and throughout the band were nothing if not energetic, singer Dallas Taylor actually climbing over the front of the crowd and letting punters sing parts of songs while he mimed convincingly into a water bottle.  On the down side though only two members of the actual band were present, Taylor and bassist Roman Haviland, with the rest of the line up being made up of friends who were filling in for some reason, although what that reason was not explained.  What Maylene did do however was to provide great entertainment although, after a scant half an hour, “Dry The River" sadly brought their main set to a close.  Even though they did return for a brief encore, consisting of “Gusty Like The Wind” culled from thee first album but, by nine forty, the show was over.  Without doubt the songs Maylene played were superb, but where was “Tale Of The Runaways” or “Tough As John Jacobs”, which many in the crowd were calling for.  In just under two and three quarter hours all four bands had given it their all, but ultimately it could, and should have all been that little bit longer.

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