On their album release day, You Me At Six were preparing to take to the stage at Cardiff International Arena. They had Bears In Trees as their first support, an indie band from South London. They had a ukulele, which I find rare to see at gigs these days, very pop/indie sounding, nice to see them have the opening slot for the tour.

Next on stage was my personal favourite of the evening, Arizona’s finest The Maine. I’ve loved this band since 2008! I remember seeing them last in a small venue in Cardiff Clwb Ifor Bach back in 2010. So, to see them 12 years later in one of the bigger venues in Cardiff is lovely to see. There seemed to be quite a few people to see them, they played ‘Sticky’ and ‘Numb Without You’, although I was disappointed as I was hoping they’d play at least one song off an older album, but that’s a personal matter. There was also another support which the crowd seemed really excited for, which was Waterparks, who are an American rock band from Houston, Texas. I’ve heard of them but not seen them before, they really rallied up the crowd and I saw at least one small mosh pit. The crowd were jumping from all the way at the front, to all the way to the back of the venue on the highest seats. They got everyone revved up for the main event, You Me At Six.

Once again, I’ve been a long-term fan of You Me At Six. I remember first seeing them in 2009 when they supported Paramore in this very venue. So, it’s heart-warming to see them headline the same venue many years later. Today was their album release day for ‘Truth Decay’. With that in mind, they released a limited run of 500 copies of the album written in Welsh, was I thought was a lovely touch. They stormed the stage opening with ‘Deep Cuts’, which may I add is a great song, I’m really into that. They played oldies such as ‘Liquid Confidence’, ‘Stay With Me’ and ‘Underdog’, which I really appreciated as an old fan. I never get bored of seeing them, especially with their new album ‘Truth Decay’! Everyone have a listen, it’s definitely worth your time.

Photos & Review by Kern Hollie