Photo Credit: Cuffe and Taylor
Words: Isabelle Cocozza
To close the second weekend of Bedford’s Summer Sessions, pop rock headliners McFly took to the stage for a sold out show. Supported by Devon and Twin Atlantic, Bedford was in for a night of high energy guitar jamming.
The band were strong, with technical brilliance in their guitar playing and drumming, often boasting intricate double guitar solos while against one another’s shoulders and sharing microphones for impressive vocal moments. The three vocalist members all carried distinctly different voices that worked together harmoniously, where the switching vocals did not seem jarring, and all on par in their vocal ability. The members all kept an impressively high and sustained energy level, frequently running around the stage to the other side or jumping in the air, all while playing their instruments.
Vocalist and guitarist Danny Jones would pause to encourage the crowd and made a mutual “promise to have the best night ever” with the crowd, which he referred back to numerous times in order to coax the audience into roaring or jumping.
During their hit tracks the band would cut the music and let the audience sing before they would take over, creating a warm feeling of collaboration and interaction. Their hit ‘All About You’ was paused to insist that everyone put their arms around their neighbours, even calling out those who wouldn’t. The band played a Medley of famous song choruses during the end of one of their own songs, consisting of ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’, ‘Twist and Shout’, ‘Living on a Prayer’, the audience were receptive despite the perhaps jarring change.
Jones split the audience in half and got them to sing different lines during the bridge of ‘Transylvania’. Though many casual audience members did not know the song and appeared somewhat awkward at that moment, in the front of the crowd the fans seemed to love it. Some members of the audience appeared to cringe occasionally when members addressed the crowd with roaring enthusiasm when coaxing the audience to yell ‘hell yeah’s and ‘hallelujah’s.
Audience participation became a key part of McFly’s set, however to such an extent that the audience encouragement became relentless. Paired with the show’s constant high energy, the effect began to wear off for some members of the audience as it became monotonous.
The band paused for a heartfelt address of their 22 year long career in the band, before introducing the first song two of them wrote together, ‘Room On The Third Floor’. This calmer track was met with a warm reception, and offered a pleasant and needed change of pace from the show’s constant energy.
Their more aggressive rock anthem ‘Red’ got the audience dancing as Jones commanded everybody to get low and to jump, to which the audience obliged. Jones stood by the barrier in the audience which was captured on the screens and met with a positive and excited response from the fans. During ‘Honey I’m Home’, the band told the audience to put their phone torches up.
McFly brought a high energy and feel-good family friendly show with their energetic guitar music and pop lyrics to Bedford Park.
Taped Magazine 