Author: Crossfire

Electric Ballroom
11.07.07

“C’mon people, get down the front – it’s bad enough that there’s this barrier here!” growls Animosity vocalist Leo Miller to the largely static throng – and he has a point. A great hardcore show demands the kind of intimacy and audience participation that, tonight, is hindered both physically and atmospherically by the unnecessary presence of a crowd barrier at the front. And as if that wasn’t bad enough, the Electric Ballroom’s hit-and-miss acoustics aren’t doing Animosity’s furiously technical death metal assault any favours, either.

Thankfully, the sound improves for Rise And Fall, who deservedly make several new friends tonight with their more stripped-down, punk rock approach. You can’t help but admire vocalist Bjorn’s enthusiasm as he rasps his way through some truly punishing breakdowns. 108 don’t have as much to say for themselves, preferring instead to channel an onslaught of Deftones-esque riffage through a hardcore blender – albeit with varied levels of success.

Converge, as always, give it their all, although Jake Bannon clearly shares the crowd’s annoyance regarding the barrier. Less his usual tattooed whirlwind self, he mainly just stalks the stage like a caged tiger, unable to engage with his prey in the way that he’s accustomed to doing so.

Granted, there’s no shortage of ferocity in the music itself – the likes of ‘Black Cloud’, ‘Hellbound’ and ‘Concubine’ are pretty much the last word in brutally twisted, polyrhythmic hardcore – but when several punters choose to head for the exit rather than witness the jaw-dropping finale of ‘Jane Doe’, it’s hard not to contemplate just how amazing this show could have been in a more suitable venue.

Alex Gosman
Photo by Ryan Russell, taken from www.myspace.com/converge

Scroobius Pip v Dan Le Sac
Scala
18.07.07

Scroobius is following me around. I don’t think he likes me slating him in reviews and so turns up as the support act for every hip hop show I go to just to spite me. Even when I took refuge in the bar, the man’s voice was attacking me over the speakers. Bastard. So after half an hour of putting my fingers in my ears and going “lalala I CAN’T HEAR YOU”, he was done and RJ was soon on stage with his band.

RJ’s latest album, The Third Hand, was a big step away from his hip hop roots and it was interesting to see how it would adapt to a live setting, and, though it wasn’t bad, the new songs with the band felt a little pedestrian compared to the older stuff he played. That said, hearing Exotic Talk, from Since We Last Spoke with live guitars and drums gave it that extra lift and pumped heads all over the show.

However, unsurprisingly it was the tracks from Deadringer that made the night as special as it was. Leaving the front of the stage to man the decks at the back, RJ burst out of the blocks with Ghostwriter and later did a great little turntable session where Smoke & Mirrors was laid down and The Horror, which followed a Scooby Doo intro, blared out across the packed out Scala.

“Who knows what tomorrow may bring” sings the sample, and the answer, we all wish, is another RJD2 show.

Abjekt
Photo by Paul Williams.