Probably one of the most joyful, diverse and interesting tours of 2012 is traveling throughout Europe right now. Into It. Over It., Make Do And Mend, Title Fight and La Dispute all played their first show in Amsterdam last Saturday, and made sure everyone down at The Sugar Factory had a nice evening. Check out some pictures and thoughts below.

Into it. Over it. is Evan Thomas Weiss; nothing more and nothing less. Although this punky singer-songwriter played alone with his acoustic guitar on stage, the majority of the visitors were expecting a full band. Not that it mattered, because Weiss played a great set full of emotionally loaden folk songs. Interaction with the crowd was great too, being funny yet thankfull at the same time. A nice opener for this evening.

Make Do And Mend released their second album Everything You Ever Loved earlier this year, and this tour is the first in Europe in support of this record. Although the soundmix was a bit off sometimes, I still witnessed a very enjoyed crowd. Old and new work blended together perfectly, and La Dispute’s Jordan Dreyer even did his guest verse on the End Measured Mile cut ‘Ghostal’.

By the time Title Fight came on stage it was clear most of the crowd came to see them (and La Dispute later that night) play. The reaction given was overwhelming, with a lot of kids stagediving, crowdsurfing and singing along with their catchy songs. Although Title Fight’s second album Floral Green was only released a couple of days ago, the somewhat more mellow and ‘mature’ sound was welcomed with open arms. The growth this band has had since I saw them for the first time 2,5 years ago is incredible.

La Dispute is always something different. It is incredible how they can capture pure emotion on their records, and bring that feeling back on stage too. Although the crowd was less active compared to Title Fight’s show, this was the most
intense experience of the whole night. Focus lay on La Dispute’s latest record Wildlife, although older songs like ‘Bury Your Flame’ weren’t forgotten either. The crowd showed a lot of support, screaming along most of La Dispute’s songs, the
intense ‘King Park’ being the one that brought old and new fans together.

Written by Niels Koster
Pictures by Niels Davise – Flickr