Michael Jagmin, Brian White, Cory La Quay, Kyle Simmons, Joey Wilson and Nick Miller better known as A Skylit Drive, played a phenomenal show for audiences at Mr. Smalls Theater in Pittsburgh last Thursday, Feb. 18.
With the help of other acts such as We Came As Romans, The Word Alive, Of Mice and Men and the headlining band, Alesana, the guys sold out the venue before the doors were even opened. The Romans started off the night’s energy when front man David Stephens yelled to the crowd that Pittsburgh is one of the top places that all of the bands had looked forward to on tour.
Jagmin had tweeted a similar statement that day saying, “Alright Mr. Smalls. You know you’re high up on my list of expectations. Don’t let me down.” Jagmin also made an appearance early in the show to sing one song during Alive’s set list.
With many of the concertgoers there for ASD and Alesana, M&M’s set made the audience particularly aggressive, all wanting front and center perspective for the last two bands.
Even after M&M departed the stage the intensity didn’t simmer and when drummer, La Quay, walked onstage for a sound check, the crowd responded with overwhelming volume as if the band were already halfway through their set.
ASD kept the anticipation up, tuning guitars and doing the rest of the sound check from back stage. When the other five band members appeared, they jumped, literally, directly into “Eva the Carrier,” which is the most powerful song on their latest album, “Adelphia.”
Without even a moment’s pause they immediately launched into their hit “I’m Not a Thief, I’m a Treasure Hunter” from the “Wires…and the Concept of Breathing” album. With two of the bands biggest songs played within the first 10 minutes, fans were excited to see what they would do next.
Wilson and Miller played right up against the crowd during their most recent music video, “Those Cannons Could Sink a Ship,” and Jagmin introduced the next song, “Pittsburgh, you guys are awesome and I’d like to invite you all to become the children of Adelphia.”
The crowd roared again and massive bouncers poised themselves to catch the audience members who launched themselves into the hands of others. However, it wasn’t just listeners that surfed, Jagmin did as well during a song that was full of White’s screams from their first album, “She Watched the Sky.”
The disappointing acknowledgment of only two songs left didn’t discourage the audience who turned up the intensity even more through “Knights of the Round” and “All It Takes For Your Dreams To Come True,” which were played faultlessly.
At the end of their set the fans, not surprisingly, didn’t get enough. “One more song” was chanted until Jagmin arrived on stage for the last time saying that an encore was impossible but with promises for next time and an invite to chat at the merchandise table, which many audience members did instead of sticking around for Alesana.
Many fans went to the back of the venue to talk with ASD while watching Alesena’s set and continued to stay even after the show had ended. As different band members walked around with “Tip Me” boxes on their heads, hugs and autographs were exchanged, the crowds dwindled.
Venue officials yelled for everyone to wrap it up and the children of Adelphia left the building.
