Brixton Academy
4th & 5th December 2008
“It’s been a long day, a long week, a long month, and a long year” – Ben Verse addressed the crowd at the beginning of Thursday Night’s gig. This is true of the whole Pendulum phenomenon – it’s taken it’s time, but finally, the boys from Perth have got the recognition they deserve – and believe me, it is well deserved. South Central DJ’s supported Pendulum on both nights, playing an interesting series of remixes to try and get the crowd pumped up – there were moments of genius, however a lot of the time, the frequently changing tempo of the beats caused a general feeling of disarray to the music, which sort of prevented a nice hype-up before Pendulum’s slick, consistent rhythms. South Central also opened on Friday night, and perhaps due to the later opening hours, (and more time for boozing beforehand) got a much better reception from the crowd.
Zane Lowe was the second DJ support act of Friday night and what an act it was. He ambled onto stage with a beer, bomber jacket, and a handful of records and set the place on fire! Mix after mix of fresh sounds with rhythmic beats and popular samples managed to turn the once stationary crowd into a pulsing wave of arms, heads and fists. The highlight of he set had to be his take on Killing In The Name Of by RATM done once before by a Pendulum support act, Eddy Temple-Morris. Lowe took it, and made it his to roars of approval from the 5,000 people dancing in front of him.
23:00 Hours, and the big moment had come. The stage was dark, and the curtains were pulled back to reveal Kodish’s trademark “In Silico” logo drumkit, Rob’s futuristic “D-tar” and more computer equipment than your local PC World. The audio began, with the ethereal sound of Rob’s altered singing, digitized and remastered, into in introduction track with bass hits that sent shivers down the spine. As the drums faded in with periodic “THUM-THUM” bass drum hits, that broke long enough for Verse to introduce the evening as the band walked on stage to the raw, guttural roar of the Pendulum die-hard fan. They broke into next single Showdown with absolute pin-point precision and tone, with the energy of a stampeding elephant, coked up on Red Bull and speed. The showmanship of the band has developed so much since their first major breakthrough into popular culture in late 2006, and this really showed on the nights.
Since the first In Silico tour, the band seemed to have matured into a band with a lot of experience under their belt, boosted with the confidence of numerous tours and TV appearances. They ran a tight ship throughout the gig, while playing a perfectly blended mix of new and old tunes, from fasten your seatbelt to newer tunes like 9,000 Miles, all with new, fresh, twists and kinks that made each night unique.
Rob held the vocal and synth side of the music together really well, however it was noticeable how much strain the songs put on his voice at some parts – but it’s the raw, gritty stuff people love about live performances. They finished with Hold Your Colour, a mix of the original and the bi-polar remix version (excellent drumming by Kodish here – absolutely nuts).
The next thing you know, the band leave the stage, with a giant timer counting down from 2:00 minutes – you guessed it, after the timer hit zero – the band were back with one of the best performances of Tarantula i’ve ever seen. Later, the Band finished up and left the stage again – people began to leave, shuffling their way towards the door – but the die-harders knew something was up – there was something more to see here tonight – then, the moment dreamed of by every Pendulum fan who’s heard the last song on In Silico, and thought of it as the most awe-inspiring, uplifting, epic piece of music ever written! The Tempest was undoubtedly the highlight of the nights, with the last 2:30 mins of the song doing untold things to each member of the audience – that song has a raw power behind it that’ll blow your bloody socks off.
All in all, with the chips down, the music played, the beer drunk, the people drunk, the kebabs eaten and the hangovers slept off – Pendulum live at Brixton Academy was a special night, like the night you lost your virginity to your sister’s mate in the bathroom at that houseparty – moments that were gritty as fuck, but you’ll never forget it as long as you live, and you left with a big smile on your face. Good work boys, keep the tunes coming, the drums banging, and the heart of drum and bass beating.
Words and photos: Sam May
The Hell is For Heroes show at Bush Hall is a bitter sweet affair. The West London 5 piece are playing their final London date, and after this all the curtain comes down, possibly forever.
‘Kamachi‘ is stunning, with the ethereal vocals on the bridge in harsh juxtaposition to the crunching guitars, whilst crowd favourite ‘I Can Climb Mountains’ is every bit the underdog’s anthem with the crowd roaring back the lines “I can run, I can hide, I can take a wall of pain in a stride – I don’t need fairy tales to pretend and I don’t need heroes to depend on..” But they clearly do need these Heroes- and as the band leave the stage the “We want more!” chants are deafening.
“Here’s another song about how well adjusted I am….and how happy I am….and how I’m so good at relationships…”
‘Natural Ghost‘ spins across the Academy as the band slide into another Casal led jam, seamlessly rolling with thundering guitars and a pulsating rhythm forged from a band that’s one of the tightest on tour right now.
The introduction of this book opens by saying that it is “based on a fundamental conviction that graffiti is not an anthropological phenomenon to be dissected, not a social malady to be cured, but a legitimate aesthetic and cultural movement born of a revolutionary spirit and a will to resistence.”
Haunts have announced a UK tour to support Black Eyed Girl, their single out on February 23rd.
Talk about ‘overnight‘! Earlier this year Australian pub-rockers, Airbourne played and intimate gig at the Borderline Club to only a handful to lucky bastards. After touring with Motorhead and slots at the Wacken Open Air and Hellfest festivals, Airbounre have sky rocketed into the world of main stream rock. Tonight they take London and claim it as their own.