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See the Photos! A Day to Remember at WWWY Fest!

by Steve Brazill

I have wanted to go to the When We Were Young Fest since it moved to Vegas back in 2022, but it’s never worked out schedule-wise. Specifically, I wanted to photograph the festival, and this year not only did my schedule worked out to be free that weekend, but coincidently it was my birthday weekend. Unfortunately, I was declined for media credentials, which I have to admit surprised me, but it happens. My wife and I decided to drive up to Vegas anyway, since I had been approved for one of the pre-fest shows, and I was hoping something would change so I could get into the full fest.

The Thursday pre-fest show was at Fontainebleau’s BleauLive Theater, and that was a chance to catch A Day to Remember, with openers August Burns Red and Stand Atlantic. ADTR is one of those bands I try to photograph whenever possible, and I will talk more about those two Thursday openers at the end of this post.

First of all, let me say that the BleauLive Theater is amazing. It is one of the nicest venues I have been in, and their upcoming show lineup looks fantastic. As soon as I walked in I knew this was gonna be a great venue for ADTR, who I have photographed many times over the years. Simply put, ADTR is one of the best live bands you’ll see. Jeremy McKinnon is a fantastic front man, I’d even argue he’s one of the best out there. Add to that the amazing musicianship of Neil Westfall on rhythm guitar, Kevin Skaff on lead guitar, and Alex Shelnutt on drums, and this is a band that is as tight as they come. Absolutely one of my favorite bands to photograph. I also want to give a shoutout to their current touring bassist, Bobby Lynge. Having seen this band many times I love that watching this lineup just feels so natural, like he’s been playing with them for years.

So back to the show…. The Fontainebleau show was a perfect start to the WWWY weekend, and my wife and I decided to stay in Vegas for the weekend. On the day of the show, last Saturday, we were out shopping when I got a text confirming I would have credentials waiting for me, so I ran back to my place to get my gear and had my wife drop me off. My credentials did limit me to photographing the ADTR set on the Purple stage, but that was fine with me. I had been given a chance to photograph this great band again, see a lot of other great bands, and I got to see some old friends, while making some new ones.

Because of the limits on my photographing, I won’t be covering the whole fest here. I’ll just say that it lived up to all of my expectations, and there are some great reviews out there of the sets from bands like My Chemical Romance, Fall Out Boy, Jimmy Eat World, Taking Back Sunday, Pierce the Veil, The Used, Underoath, Coheed & Cambria, and the rest of the 60 or so bands that performed. What was interesting this year was that nearly all of the bands sets were going to be of one of their albums played in its entirety. Great concept, although there were a few that dropped out, like The All-American Rejects, saying they had not agreed to that format, and that they wanted to play a greatest hits set.

Both ADTR sets, Thursday’s pre-fest show and the WWWY set, were everything I could have wanted. Opening with a blast of confetti, on Thursday they did a 23 song set that included a guest appearance from Mike Hranica of The Devil Wears Prada on “I’m Made of Wax, Larry, What Are You Made Of?”, and they even covered Kelly Clarkson’s “Since U Been Gone”! Their encore was pretty special, doing “Homesick” for the first time live since 2017.

Once the Saturday show came around I had an idea what to expect. Staying with the complete album format, they were going with the 2009 release Homesick, an album that back in 2012 was listed by Rock Sound at number 82 on their list of the greatest 101 albums of the past 15 years. The 12 song set saw the return of Mike Hranica of The Devil Wears Prada on “I’m Made of Wax, Larry, What Are You Made Of?”, and the first live performances of “NJ Legion Iced Tea” and “You Already Know What You Are” since 2018.

Before I talk more about the Thursday openers, let me leave you with this though about ADTR… They are great musicians, performers, and entertainers. If you ever want to see a great show, go see them. Also, I have a ton more photos in the gallery below.

ADTR Setlist – BleauLive Theater, Fontainbleau, Las Vegas

Sticks & Bricks
All I Want
2nd Sucks
Paranoia
I’m Made of Wax, Larry, What Are You Made Of? (with Mike Hranica)
Right Back at It Again
Miracle
Violence (Enough Is Enough)
Mindreader (Had to stop due to an injury)
Rescue Me (Marshmello cover)
Have Faith in Me
Welcome to the Family (First time live since November 4, 2010)
Feedback
Since U Been Gone (Kelly Clarkson cover)
You Be Tails, I’ll Be Sonic (First verse, chorus and breakdown only)
Mr. Highway’s Thinking About the End (First verse, chorus and breakdown only)
Resentment (Had to stop due to an injury then restarted after)
All Signs Point to Lauderdale
The Danger in Starting a Fire
This Is the House That Doubt Built
If It Means a Lot to You

Encore:

Homesick (First time live since March 26, 2017)
The Downfall of Us All

ADTR Setlist – WWWY Fest, Las Vegas, 2024

The Downfall of Us All
My Life for Hire
I’m Made of Wax, Larry, What Are You Made Of? (with Mike Hranica)
NJ Legion Iced Tea (First time live since March 6, 2018)
Mr. Highway’s Thinking About the End
Have Faith in Me
Welcome to the Family
Homesick
Holdin’ It Down for the Underground
You Already Know What You Are (First time live since March 20, 2018)
Another Song About the Weekend
If It Means a Lot to You

August Burn Red

Where do I begin with August Burns Red…. I know… This band should be headlining festivals too. I have photographed ABR so many times, and I try to as often as possible. In fact, I just did a few weeks ago! You can see the photos from that performance at Mayhem Fest here. The bottom line is that they are a perfect band to be on the bill with ADTR.

Jake Luhrs delivers his vocals in such a commanding way, taking the audience on an absolute ride. Add John Benjamin “JB” Brubaker on lead guitar, Brent Rambler on rhythm guitar, Dustin Davidson on bass, and Matt Greiner on drums, and you have the perfect metalcore band.

The highlight of their 10 song set, at least for me, was ADTR’s Jeremy McKinnon joining the band for “Ghosts”. Great pairing.

They do come to So Cal often, and I highly suggest you need to see them on stage. So damn good.

August Burns Red Setlist

Chop Suey! (System of a Down cover)
Paramount
Ghosts (with Jeremy McKinnon)
Defender
Bloodletter
Revival
Composure
Exhumed (Live debut)
Marianas Trench
White Washed

Stand Atlantic

I always tell people to get to shows early enough to see the openers. Why? Because these are bands that are hungry to be a headliner someday, and because you often find a gem you hadn’t heard of before. That is Stand Atlantic. I had not heard of this Australian pop punk band before last week, and they left an impression. The band consists of Bonnie Fraser on vocals and rhythm guitar, David Potter handling lead guitar and keyboards, Jonno Panichi on drums, and Miki Rich on bass guitar.

With influences like Blink-182, The Story So Far, Justin Bieber, Silverchair, and The 1975, they delivered a fun set last week. I always wonder how openers like this are chosen for a show or tour, and to whoever is responsible for this lineup of bands… thank you.