On a nice, sunny Saturday evening (May 19th) we gathered at Dynamo in Eindhoven (NL) for a promising night filled with good music. It was the very last night for Every Time I Die to play alongside Cancer Bats, Set Your Goals and Make Do And Mend, before flying to Russia for another run of shows. Set Your Goals and Make Do And Mend just started their tour in the UK yesterday, and Cancer Bats will also continue touring Europe, playing different festivals throughout. So here’s what we thought about Saturday’s show.

Hartford, Connecticut foursome Make Do And Mend played a solid, but raw punk rock show, and got the first heads banging still early in the evening. Dynamo in Eindhoven was already fairly filled up, and the crowd seemed to enjoy themselves, a handful of people fiercely singing along to all songs. Singer and guitarist James Carroll left the crowd pleased with a wise lesson learned from Every Time I Die guitarist Andy Williams: “To all young, touring bands: don’t ever lose your teeth, and don’t lose your claws, because that will be the end of you.”

Cali sextet Set Your Goals was in a party mood, and played a very energetic set. Their infectious pop punk made the crowd jump up and down, and the first stage dives were a fact. Both vocalists Jordan Brown and Matt Wilson sounded a lot better, and sang more in tune than at Groezrock Festival three weeks ago, and the show was a good warming up for the next two performances.

Canadians in Cancer Bats brought their share of trashy rock/metal to the table, and played a strong set. For all Europeans it was the first time to see the guys perform material off of their latest record Dead Set On Living, which came out on April 16th. The audience was finally fully awake, and were moshing and stagediving throughout the band’s set. The guys rounded up their show with an explosive Black Sabbath cover, having friends on stage supporting with extra percussion.

As Every Time I Die vocalist Keith Buckley said: “The last show of the tour, is always the best show of the tour.” The band played a show them and the crowd won’t easily forget. The guys blasted through their set in 45 minutes, giving the crowd the time of their lives. A young girl experienced her first stagedive, people were jumping of the sound engineering table, and even all bar personnel were head banging throughout the show. It was a great party, and a show that won’t easily be forgotten.

Word by Tim van Reyswoud
Pictures by Dasha Veselovskaya