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Last night, Enmore Theatre was swarmed by teens and adults alike, all dressed in black and buzzing to see Tallahassee five-piece Mayday Parade. To celebrate a decade of success since the release of their debut album A Lesson In Romantics, Mayday Parade have decided to tour the world playing these well-loved 12 songs back to front, and now it was Australia’s turn. A Lesson In Romantics is an album that quickly became a cult favourite from their 5 album catalogue, and left old and new fans alike excited to see Mayday Parade bring these songs to life. And with Sydney being the the first show on their Australian tour, there was no doubt that this would be a special night for everyone, myself included.

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Kevin Jordan of This Wild Life – by Gwendolyn Lee

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To kick off the tour, This Wild Life got everyone singing to the classic Disney tune ‘Under The Sea’ before starting their show with ‘Concrete’, one of their most well-known songs. The Californian acoustic duo played a set of catchy tunes and singles from their discography including ‘History’ from 2014’s Clouded, ‘Break Down’ from 2016’s Low Tides as well as songs from their old EPs that would tie older fans down. Despite the mellow sounds in their songs, the duo’s live show captivated the crowd with vocalist and rhythm guitarist Kevin Jordan jumping around the stage, and lead guitarist Anthony Del Grosso surprising the crowd as he substituted his six-string for drums in multiple songs. Being a fan of their work since early 2013, I had seen the band previously at Soundwave 2015 and yet, they blew me away once again with their electrifying performance, keeping everyone on their toes and gaining a few new fans in the process.

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Derek Sanders of Mayday Parade – by Gwendolyn Lee

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Not before long, the lights in the venue dimmed as Mayday Parade swarmed the stage. Kicking off with the classic ‘Jamie All Over’, the band wasted no time on stage. Vocalist Derek Sanders left no part of stage unturned as punters screamed every lyric. Whether it was the key change in ‘Jersey’ or the crowd singalong in ‘If You Wanted A Song Written About You, All You Had To Do Was Ask’ (my personal favourite off the album), the crowd was a wave of elation and lost inhibitions. They were finger pointing with every word as strobe lights flooded the room, and all members of Mayday Parade mirrored the crowd, having the time of their lives on stage.

Despite the absence of core songwriter and co-vocalist on the album Jason Lancaster, the songs were still translated brilliantly in a live setting with the vocal assistance of bassist Jeremy Lenzo and drummer Jake Bundrick, especially on ‘Miserable At Best’. Easily their biggest song to date, the crowd sung so loud, Sanders and Bundrick’s voice were nowhere to be heard.

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Jeremy Lenzo of Mayday Parade – by Gwendolyn Lee

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The second half of the album included songs that Australia hasn’t heard in years, if not at all. Songs like ‘Take This To Heart’ and ‘Champagne’s For Celebrating (I’ll Have A Martini)’ haven’t been played anywhere since 2011 and 2010 respectively, and for Australian fans, these songs were played for the first time. It was safe to say the entire venue, as diehard fans, went crazy for these songs.

After playing the album closer ‘You Be the Anchor That Keeps My Feet on the Ground, I’ll Be the Wings That Keep Your Heart in the Clouds’, the rest of the set consisted of some of Mayday Parade’s biggest songs to date from other albums as well as a cover of Something Corporate’s ‘Punk Rock Princess’. As a crowd, we all cried to ‘Terrible Things’, jumped to ‘Kids In Love’ and sung our hearts out to ‘Oh Well, Oh Well’, the final song of the night.

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Brooks Betts of Mayday Parade – by Gwendolyn Lee

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Through an hour and a half long set, Mayday Parade proved to us that A Lesson In Romantics still holds up as a beautiful album 10 years on. And as the crowd exited the doors of Enmore Theatre, there was something in our hearts that filled us as a whole. Something resembling reminiscence, love and fulfilment, in which we had all lived to see A Lesson In Romantics live. Three cheers for ten years, Mayday Parade. You definitely deserve it.

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AMNPLIFY – DB