Author: Crossfire

London Electric Ballroom
06.11.07

Whilst it’s heartening to see such a large queue outside the Electric Ballroom for a hardcore bill of tonight’s calibre, it’s less heartening that, nearly an hour after the doors have opened, said queue is still moving at the speed of an arthritic snail. The door staff appear to be taking the very concept of incompetence to new heights, and the result is a hell of a lot of (justifiably) pissed off punters that have paid around £15 each for the privilege of being made to freeze their arses off in the cold November night, whilst missing the first band into the bargain.

It makes for an initially subdued atmosphere that This Is Hell can’t quite overcome, although they certainly give it their all, leaping around the stage like demons on hot coals as the pit starts to resemble a rather inept display of synchronised aerobics. It’s still early days for the Long Island quintet, but as they blast through the likes of ‘Here Come The Rains‘ and ‘The Absentee Ballot‘, they show plenty of promise.

Cancer Bats are an altogether meatier proposition, and tonight they sound utterly massive; unleashing what is arguably the most thrilling display of stoner-core power since Corrosion Of Conformity last hit UK shores. Frontman Liam Cormier is his usual aimiable self; a grinning, headbanging, mic-swinging loon of a vocalist, whose enthusiam is infectious. “I want this whole fuckin’ room to be partying!” he declares; and it’s an invitation you’d be a fool to refuse.

They prove a tough act for Parkway Drive to follow. Granted, you can’t fault the Aussie metalcore crew for effort, and they do have more than enough chunky riffs and monolithic breakdowns to keep the hardy souls in the pit beating seven shades of shit out of each other. But bands of Parkway Drive’s ilk are ten a penny these days; and although they get by on sheer brutality tonight, they offer little that leaves a lasting impression.

Comeback Kid‘s ‘Broadcasting…‘ album is arguably one of the finest hardcore releases of 2007, and hence they certainly deserve the baying throng that greets them tonight. You get the feeling that they – like most hardcore bands – would be more at home in a smaller, barrier-less venue, but they rip through the likes of ‘Talk Is Cheap‘ and ‘Lorelei’ with enough passion, power and precision to compensate for the relative lack of intimacy.

It is, of course, the closing ‘Wake The Dead‘ that unites the crowd like never before; with the security struggling to cope as flailing bodies fly at them from every angle, and vocalist Andrew Neufeld wisely surrendering his duties to the masses. It’s a celebratory end to an event that has ultimately proved a success after a very shaky start. Never Say Die indeed.

Alex Gosman

Electric Ballroom
Future of the Left
Steriogram
01.11.07

Well, Against Me are back again, always a good thing, support bands, not so much of a good thing. Apparently these guys had the whole tour, how? Up first was Steriogram from New Zealand and wow what a way to start what was to be an amazing gig. I felt like I was at a battle of the bands contest with a teenage crew churning out Terrorvision hits, honestly take a listen to some of their riffs, not good. I think the singer wanted to be in a hip hop band with his half talk rhyming confused with random Smash Mouth choruses.

Next for the chopping board was Future of the Left hailing from Cardiff. Whoever booked the support bands has a thing for high-pitched white men trying to rap to rock. I think I must be missing something because their tour schedule looks pretty impressive, obviously someone talented working for them. I think I’ve said enough about them, although I must note that the London crowd appeared to appreciate them slightly more than the Brighton crowd.

Finally to the crowd’s delight, not least because it meant not having to listen to anymore painful support acts, Against Me! took to the stage. Commencing a whirlwind tour of the new album, and I mean the entire album, the band interspersed the new songs with a few golden oldies which sent the fans into a frothy moshpit frenzy. They must really like the new album, I think it’s rare for a band to play every single song, especially with such an impressive back catalogue and not that long to play it in. The new songs were played with a palpable energy.

‘Ocean‘ was especially enjoyable due to Tom’s brilliant father dancing that he seems to have adapted as his new stage movements for this song. The best songs have to have been ‘American Abroad‘ and ‘White People for Peace‘ which were delivered with the energy and force which one has come to expect from Against Me! They triumphed in bringing out some old favourites, although a few fans were left disappointed that it wasn’t more, but with so many anthemic songs under their belts, it is almost inevitable that some would be missed off the setlist.

One of the things that makes Against Me! such a brilliant live act is the chemistry that you can almost touch, you know these guys love each other and really love doing what they do. On top of this Tom, Andrew and James on guitars and bass all have brilliant voices and manage to deliver the same harmonic quality live as featured on their recordings. So all in all, this was a great gig if you were happy to see Against Me! alone, if, on the other hand, you were hoping to make a bit of an evening of it, then you may have been left slightly disappointed by the support.

Katya Ozols

Brixton Academy
04.11.07

‘NOFX: Recycling the same music for 25 years’ proclaims one of the t-shirts for sale at the merch stand tonight. A somewhat harsh assessment, perhaps, but NOFX‘s self-deprecating humour has always been their trademark. In any case, the sound of the capacity crowd shouting the band’s name a good fifteen minutes before they take the stage is proof enough that, although time has aged the band, their fans’ love endures.

Said fans don’t seem particularly enthusiastic about Tat, but the London trio give it their all anyway, with singer/guitarist Tatiana clearly enjoying the chance to play to so many people. Tunes-wise, ‘Peace, Sex And Tea‘ is great, but ‘Champagne, Cocaine And Strawberries‘ is just annoying and repetitive.

The Loved Ones fare better; with a clutch of rough edged but melodic tunes that just about survive the Academy’s notoriously hit and miss acoustics. Vocalist/guitarist Dave Hause deals with a heckler in suitably good humoured style (“Chill, dude, we’ll be fucking your mom whilst you’re watching NOFX!”), and they’ve evidently won a few new fans by the end of their set.

To see NOFX live, you’ll need a fair amount of patience, as Fat Mike and co are renowned for giving short shrift to any clichéd ideas of showmanship. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, of course, but tonight the band’s between-song banter ranges from highly amusing to painfully crass – and they certainly like to talk. You can’t help but feel that the tunes-to-chatter ratio is a tad on the small side, especially considering the size of the NOFX back catalogue.

That said, when NOFX truly hit their stride, it’s hard to imagine a more entertaining way to spend a Sunday evening. Only they could rip through endearingly sloppy renditions of ‘Liza And Louise‘ and ‘Eat The Meek‘, before perfectly nailing their magnum opus ‘The Decline‘ in its full eighteen-minute glory. Only they could torture the crowd with about eight ‘last songs’, most of them barely a minute in length, before finally unleashing ‘The Brews‘ onto a grateful crowd that goes utterly nuts and hollers along throughout.

And only NOFX could end their set by dancing stupidly onstage to Damien Marley’s ‘Welcome To Jamrock‘, before returning to play an ‘encore’ of ‘Stickin’ In My Eye‘ to a now half-empty venue. If there’s one thing that tonight has proved, it’s that NOFX remain an unpredictable bunch – and after 25 years together, that’s quite an achievement.

Alex Gosman
Photos by Jen Saul