It's a Monday night and The Academy is as packed as it would usually be on a Saturday for California’s Pierce The Veil. The few seats in the venue are occupied by chaperoning parents accompanying groups of underage kids, and surrounded by mounds of coats and bags. It's heartening to see so many alternative kids in town. There are few enough opportunities for them to let their immaculately coiffured hair down.

Screams and squeals greet letlive as they tune up. It’s the fourth visit to Dublin for the Los Angeles based post-hardcore group. Tupac Shakur’s ‘Can't C Me’ plays them on and they waste no time before breaking into ‘Renegade ’86’. Front man Jason Butler gets down into the crowd to collect some tinsel and wish everyone a Merry Christmas. He tosses the mic from mouth to hand, screaming with all his might. The crowd are quickly won over and the first pit of the night opens up during the second song, ‘That Fear Fever’.

The Angelinos namecheck Nirvana and Rage Against The Machine before ‘A Weak Ago’ and the audience respond by relentlessly jumping in time with this cracker of a tune that nods to both their forebears. Butler reckons it feels like a house party. ‘Foreign Cab Rides’ is a mellower, more emotional tune and we take a breather before Butler climbs right into the crowd during ‘The Dope Beat’; the mic lead stretched taut over everyone’s heads as he mounts the sound desk, without missing a note.

He takes a minute to curse Donald Trump and strap on a guitar before launching into ‘Reluctantly Dead’. It's always good to see a band make an effort, and the sweat pumping from him is a testament to the work he puts in. By the end of the set the screaming adulation of the audience is nearly a match for the sound of the band. They've made quite the impression.

A mass singalong breaks out as All Time Low’s ‘Dear Maria, Count Me In’ plays between acts. When PTV arrive, they are greeted like a boyband. Vic Muentes is inaudible during ‘Dive In’ against the fans singing along. The confetti cannons go off at the first chorus. ‘Floral & Fading’ kicks off without a pause and the energy in the room ramps up. The confetti cannons get another workout. Muentes needn’t bother singing as the crowd are now louder than the whole band. He plucks the tinsel from an outstretched hand and wears it round his neck. Every movement is greeted by a scream from the adoring fans.

‘The Divine Zero’ doesn’t inspire the singalong that some of the other songs have but it's a cracking tune nonetheless and the action in front of the stage reflects it. Muentes pulls a young woman out of the audience to theatrically serenade her with the opening verse of ‘Bulletproof Love’. It’s a corny stunt but in the context it works and the bubbling pit salutes the band.

It’s the first of a two night sold-out run and you would well believe that they could sell out a third. It’s only the second time Pierce The Veil have been to Ireland but the reception they are getting suggests they’ll be back. The band briefly depart the stage while a warped version of ‘Pure Imagination’ plays. Streamers greet their return with the excellent ‘Hell Above’. PTV take emo and post hardcore and make something uplifting and viscerally stirring. Jason Butler from letlive returns and joins Muentes for ‘Tangled In The Great Escape’, a song he sings on 2012’s Collide With The Sky album. Muentes’ vocal disappears again during ‘Hold On Til May’.

I wasn’t overly familiar with emo/post-hardcore before tonight. There’s no live scene for it here and the over-production on the records makes a lot of the bands sound homogenous, but seeing Pierce The Veil live is a different thing altogether. These guys really rock. When they leave the stage, the demand for an encore shakes the balcony. You can forgive them this indulgence when they get a reaction like that. ‘Circles’ and ‘King For A Day’ round out a kickass set from a band that deserve more credibility than they are afforded.

Apologies in advance as this year's experience of BYAF was truncated due to football rescheduling, meaning none of Friday night's acts were seen - sorry about that.

When it comes to writing about the rest of the event, the tenth of its ilk, one's kind of scuppered to begin with as, having read MTAT leading light Derrick Johnston's history of & thoughts on the festival in the accompanying pamphlet (along with contributions from associated folk from across the Ecossemo & punk scene) it's hard to better what those so intimately & emotionally involved with it over the years have to say. As you've not got access to their heartfelt words though I'll do my best.

This year’s weekender saw the downstairs shows in The Firefly including full bands in the proceedings, rather than just solo acts so the air there was rent by some of the heaviest acts of Saturday’s bill – Carson Wells, The Burnt Tapes, Mug and Aberdoom’s mighty BOAK. Earplugs a must for every set but all to the good as you can’t play that sort of stuff quietly. At other times during the day Canada’s Chris Snelgrove was a good draw down here, as were Glasgow’s Brian Curran whilst Joyce Delaney were as enjoyable as when last seen at Pop South! In January.

Upstairs in Buskers, whilst the insanity of Get It Together’s performance was missed (but easily imagined from the debris), Sink Alaska pulled it out of the bag despite the need for a short notice drummer, Bratakus were an enjoyably cheerful new discovery (along with sporting the finest headgear of the weekend) and Elk Gang, PMX, Bed Of Wasps, Lachance, The Kimberley Steaks and The Cut Ups all turned in absorbing sets. Revenge Of The Psychotronic Man were probably one of the most engaging acts of the event (& certainly the most rubberfaced) with one of the widest ranges in subject matter – Dadaism to Corbyn via Space & good old booze, whilst Billy Liar was an undisputed highlight, especially for the all-star line-up of Paper Rifles, Chrissy Barnacle & Freddy Fudd Pucker which joined him for his final track.  

Closing things out on Saturday came the reunion of ska punkers Joey Terrifying and the ever entertaining old guard of Oi Polloi.

Sunday, as was the case last year, for some reason saw a smaller crowd throughout the bulk of the day but the bands were undaunted. Emo’s usually a description that sets me heading for the door but the Dundeemo of The Barents Sea (reformed just for today & sporting two stand-ins) proved to be one of today’s highlights, the others being Chrissy Barnacle’s full set in The Firefly and yet more emo-tinged stuff from Terrafraid. Bulking things out for me before the last two late nights and another day on my feet took their toll were Salem Street & their Clash/’50s influenced punk, intense sets from Clearer The Sky and XharoldshitmanX, The Sparrowhawk Orkestrel & the brazen cheek of Torturo Nervosa (making it a family show with the drummer’s 15 year old daughter joining on guitar for a number).

Another cracking weekend of punk and more from the MTAT team, amply upholding all they hold dear and benefiting Tayside Mountain Rescue, Insight Counselling and The Royal Life Saving Society in the process.

Meath’s Cult Called Man launch the vinyl edition of their debut album, Cult Fiction, in the Button Factory tonight. It’s the first we’ve heard of opening band, Papa Rua, but their opening tune 'Not In My Name' suggests a deep reservoir of talent and ingenuity. It’s a light funk tune with an irresistible melody. The fellow Meath band play a brand of pop that was common in the ‘70s and ‘80s but is rare nowadays. It’s easy to see why CCM selected them for the bill. The two fit hand in glove.

Their cover of Bob Marley’s ‘Exodus’ is a re-interpretation with a funk overtone that is, by turns, mellow and swinging. A bit like Finlay Quaye without the behavioural issues. ‘You Got Me’ is an intimately performed love song. The last song, ‘Lorna’, starts out with finger picked guitar and tight vocal harmonies before the rest of the band join in and the kick drum beats out a steady pulse. I expect to hear more from this crowd.

Anticipation is building for their latest headline show. CCM are fresh from opening for All Tvvins at the Olympia and having their debut album nominated for the Choice Music Prize, We’ve seen them before in Musos' Guide. They’re not yet at the level of selling out the Button Factory but there’s a respectable crowd here, and the ambitious move is proving popular with the fans. It's a better class of venue than they are used to with bands of this magnitude. The lights go down and the tannoy music mutes as CCM take the stage. The countdown on the big screen lets us know that something is about to go down. CCMtv starts to broadcast and the music begins.

After an instrumental introduction, they break into ‘Shut Up And Glow’ and ‘Bad Seeds’ from the album. There’s little in the way of audience interaction, they let the music do the talking, often segueing one song into the next. CCM think nothing of playing four songs in a medley with seamless interludes joining them together. It’s like something they picked up from The Family Stone and it makes them a formidable live force.

They’ve set up the stage for the big occasion but the lights are pointing right in the faces of the crowd. It’s distracting having white spots in your vision while watching the band. Frontman Razmo leaves the stage and re-emerges in sparkly knee high moonboots for ‘The Martian’. He is a flamboyant and engaging performer as well as a versatile singer. The songs are unconventional and unique to the band. They could only be performed by this unit.

When I first saw this band they were covering David Bowie b-sides to pad out a half hour set now, with an album and a couple of EPs behind them, they can pick and choose their setlist. The pleading harmonies of the penultimate tune, ‘Sad Bunch’, lead into ‘For The Cadillac Kids’. It’s a stormer of a finishing tune and, as ever, Cult Called Man defy the demands for an encore. They always leave you wanting more.

David Gedge's bittersweet songs of love won and lost resonate across a number of generations, as evidenced by the mix of ages in La Belle Angele tonight to witness The Wedding Present. Your writer expected a set heavily based on the excellent new album, Going, Going … but what unfolded was a greatest hits set - all killer and no filler ladies and gentlemen!