Holy hell, it was definitely a night to remember at the Michigan Lottery Ampitheatre Wednesday night. ADTR brought their You’re Welcome tour to Freedom Hill. My first time covering ADTR and I was floored, the energy level was through the roof. ADTR didn’t come alone joining them on tour a mix of great bands like The Story So Far, Four Year Strong, and Militarie Gun. The pop-punk/rock band from California wasted no time setting the place ablaze. Opening up with Sticks & Bricks a track of the bands fourth album, What Separates Me From You, a total banger of a song indeed put the crowd and the mosh pit into frenzy. The circling mosh pit just kept growing in size and the crowd surfing was like being at Metro Airport, just a crazy scene from the sold-out crowd, literally no place to move and no green grass to been seen. The 23-song set kicked off around 9:25 with a Rocky Balboa theme “Gonna Fly Now” bringing the guys to the stage greeting their fans with some confetti being launched in the air kicking off a wild night.
ADTR setlist had everything you could imagine including covers from Marshmello “Rescue Me” and a Kelly Clarkson cover Since You Been Gone a much better version in my opinion. Lead singer Jeremy McKinnon let the crowd know that songs in this setlist will be much longer, with some being much shorter, and also mentioning we’re going to play more than usual. The amped up crowd acknowledged with a thunderous roar that honestly could be heard from the next city over. ADTR played all the classic like “Have Faith In Me” along with “If It Means a lot to You” to name a couple both tracks brought some heat. The band decided to bring some deep cuts that been on the low like “Violence (Enough Is Enough)” and “My Life for Hire.” The night was filed with some much energy the band could have literally played with acoustic guitars yes, that much energy was happening. McKinnon was going coast to coast all night on the stack of speakers that were down in the pit greeting fans even throwing out some fist bumps. Neil Westfall was electric shredding the strings of his guitar like a true showman does.
If you were looking for some neck and head damage the next morning the band, had you covered with a face melter “Mr. Highway’s Thinking About the End” the mosh pit was like a cyclone spinning dangerously fast, but enjoyed the folks who made it happen. ADTR delivered their new singles “Miracle” and “Feedback” out now for your weekend top-down, hair blowing in the wind, listening pleasure. Touring bassist Bobby Lane was a pleasant fit sounding like he’s been part of the band for 21 years. Adding to an already fun night the crowd could be seen playing with the beach balls flying from section to section, to the massive amount of crowd surfers, and even having some toilet paper air mailed out to them grabbing what they could. Maybe they were low on some TP or better yet taking home a souvenir to remember a fantastic night on the hill.
The 90-minute set ended with a bang with hits “It’s Complicated” and “The Downfall of Us All.” The west side of state better get ready for hellish night as the band will be making a stop in Grand Rapids, Michigan on Saturday June 15th at the Van Andel Arena. First time impression are lasting impressions, and I will definitely be checking out the band on their next Michigan stop. Do yourself a favor and check them out in a city near you for more on that visit ADTR.
My photo gallery can be viewed below. Thanks for stopping by. Stay young and keep rocking America!
A Day to Remember 2024
