London Scala
15.12.10
“We want to make London a regular stop!” declares Helmet vocalist/guitarist/sole founding member Page Hamilton, to obvious delight from the crowd. Indeed, it would be nice; this is Helmet’s first UK show in well over five years, and given that nearly two decades have passed since the release of their definitive ‘Meantime’ album, it’s just as well that their absence has seemingly made their fans’ hearts grow fonder.
Two of Northern Ireland’s finest alt-rock bands are on supporting duties tonight. LaFaro’s raw, visceral post-hardcore thrills deserve a far larger audience than a handful of early birds, but the band themselves don’t seem bothered, punctuating the Jesus Lizard-esque sonic mayhem with typical Irish bonhomie. Fighting With Wire plough a similar (but slightly more melodic) furrow, and win themselves a few more fans with the kind of rough-edged tunes that Dave Grohl used to write so well in the mid 90s.
Helmet have never been the most musically colourful of bands; with album number six dubbed ‘Monochrome’, and melody always in short supply. Heavy, dense, pulsating riffs layered over tight grooves is the order of the day, and as Hamilton and co rip into ‘Unsung’, it’s clear that said riffs and grooves still sound as imposing and gloriously bleak as ever. Appropriately enough, Hamilton still resembles a short-cropped drill sergeant, and the now-packed Scala starts to get increasingly sweaty as he coaxes shards of squalling noise from his instrument.
The band have arguably never quite recaptured their early 90s form, but recent record ‘Seeing Eye Dog’ is a worthy addition to the Helmet family, with highlight ‘Welcome To Algiers’ receiving a surprisingly warm reception. But ultimately, neither band nor crowd have youth on their side; so it is no surprise that the closing ‘In The Meantime’ incites a sea of pumping fists amongst the devoted masses.
Alex Gosman
Saint Vitus, to people in “the know”, are the quintessential doom metal band second only to say, Black Sabbath?! Due to record company issues, band issues and line up changes, not to mention the booze and the drugs (OOOOH THE DRUGS!), this band really shouldn’t be around today. The fact that they are here, relatively coherent and have been touring the states and Europe since 2009 is as close to a miracle as some people will ever see. As a die hard, there is always a nervous anticipation that comes with a Saint Vitus gig. There is always an air of potential disaster when Saint Vitus play. The woes are always eased when Vitus finally show up in one piece if not a little late and a little buzzed.
Only The National could have a sell out tour, and fill the Brixton Academy three nights in a row and still remain relatively unknown. This band is like America’s secret export which people are only just discovering, but they already have three incredible albums behind them. I jumped at the chance to see them while they’re here, particularly after hearing the write-ups they got over the summer. It’s fair to say I was a little bit excited about this one.
Well, better late than never. Les Savy Fav have been visiting our shores for at least a decade, but it is only tonight – after previously missing out for various reasons – that I will finally clap eyes on the gloriously unhinged NYC art-rockers. Their shows – and in particular, the actions of vocalist Tim Harrington – are fast becoming the stuff of legend, but as far as LSF are concerned, it’s best to expect the unexpected.
Rival Schools have a bit of a theme going on this evening. Frontman Walter Schreifels is fixated on the introduction of The Beatles’ back catalogue to iTunes. He has a little talk about it, starts a few impromptu singalongs to ‘Yellow Submarine’ and ‘Hey Jude’ along the way, usually when also tuning guitars or sorting something technical between the band’s *actual* songs. This banter works well in the confined environment of tonight. Barely anyone moves throughout the set as we’re all crammed in like sardines and transfixed by the band’s pure brilliance as a mixture of ‘United By Fate’ classics and new album classics-in-the-making are unraveled by the recently re-united band. Having played a few shows and festivals together over the past couple of years, the band have finally taken the next step towards a whole album of new material which is set to be released early next year. It only took ten years.
A word from the promoter before the show lets us know that this event is a couple of tickets away from selling out. It seems they completely underestimated something along the way as we get into the upstairs room to find it at possibly the fullest I’ve ever seen. Even for support act Cerebral Ballzy, it’s a bit of a strain to get any sort of view at all. And forgive us, but we don’t fancy being too near the front given both bands’ reputations for hurling objects (and themselves) into the crowd as well as a tendency to puke / spit / generally emit bodily fluids when on stage. Despite being confined to a small square near the back of the venue, it’s still possible to enjoy Cerebral’s exuberant take on old-skool punk rock and hardcore as they barrel through upbeat songs about “drinking til you puke”, “not having enough money to pay for the tube” and “girls”. It’s certainly obvious these guys are basically kids but that’s what makes their reinvention of the genre so potent and fun.
“The last time we played here was when we released this single!” declares a grinning Andy Cairns, shortly before the spidery riff of ‘Turn’ incites roars of joy from the sold-out crowd. Indeed, it’s been a good few years since Therapy? have played venues of this size, but tonight many casual fans have been enticed out of hiding by a very tasty carrot; the prospect of the band playing their 1994 breakthrough ‘Troublegum’ album in its entirety. Unsurprisingly, faded t-shirts and beer guts abound, but this crowd certainly compensates in enthusiasm for what it lacks in youth.
Ah, the Luminaire. This small north-west London venue deserves recognition – not just for its excellent acoustics, good layout and friendly staff, but also for its low tolerance of idiots rabbiting away on their mobiles whilst bands are playing. The day it becomes the O2 Academy Kilburn will be the day I flood the entire city with my tears of anti-corporate rage.
Let’s do the time warp again. Say, to a time when the US ska/punk boom was in full swing, the inaugural Deconstruction festival drew 10,000-odd skanking, spiky-haired punters to east London, and Less Than Jake’s UK profile was rapidly rising. That was TEN YEARS AGO, people; an eternity in music, and one which has seen many of LTJ’s peers split up, run out of steam, or simply fall out of favour. Tonight, the Forum is not sold out, but it is respectably full; and that’s not bad going for a band arguably long past their apex of popularity.