Concert Review - A Day to Remember - Auckland - 25th February 2025

Presented by Goodvibes Promotions

ADAY TO REMEMBER LIVE POWERSTATION PHOTO CREDIT GINNY COCKS

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Review By: Collaborated Review by (ADTR - Steve Shyu), (Hatebreed - Riccardo Ball)

Artist/Band: A Day to Remember Supported by Hatebreed

Venue/City: Powerstation, Auckland, New Zealand

Date of Event: Tuesday 25th February 2025

Believe me when I say the excitement was palpable.
The queue of mostly black tee shirts streaming down Mount Eden Road were chattering in anticipation. And so they should!

Hatebreed, if my access to records serves me correctly, last performed on our shores in 2007, and my fellow muso mates advised me A Day to Remember; last graced Aotearoa with their showmanship in 2015. Needless to say, there were plenty of Kiwi fans lining up outside Powerstation who’ve been hoping for this night for many years. Whichever band they were here for, the eagerness could be heard and seen instantaneously.
Need further proof? Just take a look at the queue for Hatebreed and A Day to Remember merch which coiled a full 180 degrees around the Powerstation’s bar island, which barely cleared even as Hatebreed emerged on stage.
And wow! Hatebreed are a fucking wrecking ball!
Thirty years on they are still delivering and tonight they destroyed the Powerstation like they destroyed the Kings Arms all those years ago.
There was no warning, no grandiose entry, no sounding of trumpets - Just a massive king hit to the cranium - Bam! Proven, Perseverance and You’re Never Alone were a jab, straight right and left hook Mike Tyson would’ve been proud of from the off, and set the scene for what was to come.

Jamey Jasta sets a high bar for frontmen everywhere, he had the crowd eating from the palm of his hand from the off and instigated a circle pit just three songs in.
The pummelling delivery was relentless, the band working like a well-oiled V8 with the crowd as one, chanting, screaming and singing every defiant chorus.
The gathered mass of 1200 hardcore fans was something to behold, cajoled along by Jasta, encouraging the old hands to come out of ‘pit retirement’ and join the fray.
Jasta did take a break from the onslaught to dedicate Last Breath of his friend and former Black Dahlia Murder frontman Trevor Strnad before launching into a final brutal assault. All this culminated in Looking Down the Barrel of Today, with its signature motley chorus of

“Once had a shotgun to my head, they said I wasn't worth the bullets
Now the world is my trigger, and I'm here to fucking pull it”.
Just wow. How A Day To Remember are going to follow this I have no idea.

Now, this would be the first time A Day to Remember had hit Aotearoa's shores since 2015, and as it turns out, Tamaki Makaurau Auckland is the band's very first performance of the year.

Nowadays, the band consists of Alex Shelnutt behind the drums, Kevin Skaff and Neil Westfall on guitars, vocalist-frontman Jeremy McKinnon, with Bobby Lynge filling in on bass. I personally developed great admiration for the band after being introduced to their music by a friend, and eventually even played in a one-night-only A Day to Remember tribute band.

The moment ADTR fans had waited years for finally arrived. A quirky mish-mash of radio static and glimpses of 70’s rock tunes gave way to a short sample of the theme from Rocky. Then it was every man and woman for him/herself as Sticks & Bricks blew a proverbial hole in the ceiling of the Powerstation. All tension and anticipation were unleashed. Bodies jostled, and circle pits… Well, circled. This falls nothing short of what one would expect of ADTR fans who have built up energy over nearly a decade.

This crowd was different from the Hatebreed audience we’d witnessed just half an hour ago; these fans weren’t just here to mosh, they were also here to belt out choruses.
Now, if there’s a crash course to be given as to what A Day to Remember sounds like, it’s that they’re equal parts pop-rock and metalcore. Shy of blasting Spotify’s This is A Day to Remember playlist, that is arguably as succinct as anyone could put it.
Seeing and hearing A Day to Remember perform live exemplifies this far better than words could ever allow.

Songs like 2nd Sucks, Violence and You Be Tails, I’ll Be Sonic showcased the band’s ability to get deeply aggressive in their sound, featuring growled vocals, heavy, muted guitars, and double-kick drum beats. Things take a switch on numbers like All I Want, I’m Made of Wax, and All Signs Point to Lauderdale, where gears shift into a more punk-rock style, but suitably still bears moments of their aforementioned aggression.

Not only was A Day to Remember’s ability to jump from genre to genre was on grand display, the band were able to hold the audience’s attention with ease, regardless of what mix of genres they were playing.
Among the band’s inventory of sounds and styles is pop-rock. And with no holds barred, A Day to Remember leant unashamedly into it tonight. Veering deftly between the heavy and the soft, they included in their set Mindreader, a polarising single known for its pop productions and sounds. As a further middle finger salute to any undue expectations of heaviness, the Marshmello-produced Rescue Me was performed proudly, with stagehands biffing meter-wide beach balls into the crowd for an extra dose of fun.

Guitarists Kevin and Neil complemented each other perfectly, as both provided backing vocals on almost every song. Bassist Bobby and drummer Alex were synced together beautifully, while frontman Jeremy sauntered back and forth on stage, commanding fans. The latter appeared very at ease on stage yet commanded a presence where certain passages of songs called for it. Jeremy played this particularly well on Miracle and Paranoia.

As expected, the most recently-released tracks Make It Make Sense and Lebron were brought forth on full display, both of which wowed crowds and drew deafening cheers.
Where one single celebrated, the other appeared to decry social discontent.
For the encore, the Powerstation crowd were treated to the primarily-acoustic ballad If It Means a Lot To You. No other song prior had so many voices singing in unison, except until the final act, the fan favourite Downfall of Us All, as the crowd chanted and moshed right up to the last second.

By the end, I dare wager every single body in the venue was damp from the jostling and the mugginess, and no matter which band fans came to see, they left completely satisfied.

The band's next stop will be across the Ditch as they take on Knotfest and tour Australia throughout February and March. Needless to say, our Aussie rock and metal compadres have plenty to look forward to!

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