Category: Live Reviews

TERMINAL 5,
NYC – February 23rd 2009

On February 23rd 1999 Arizona four piece Jimmy Eat World released ‘Clarity‘ on Capitol Records, and marked the occasion with a release party in their hometown, supported by Reuben’s Accomplice. Fast forward ten years and several million albums later and they’re celebrating Clarity’s ten’s anniversary with a sold out ten date US tour, starting in NYC and ending in their hometown on March 7th.

Clarity is seen by many as a pivotal album for the band; it was the first record that Jim Adkins took over lead vocals from Tom Linton, with the first suggestions of pop filtering through into their emotive, heart on your sleeve style, a sound that really came into its own with Bleed American (2000). For many Clarity is a milestone album, and the fact that each of the ten dates on this anniversary tour sold out in a matter of hours is a testament to its timeless popularity, and the band’s dedicated fan base.

Tonight they bring back Reuben’s Accomplice to open for them – a nod to “teary eyed nostalgia” as Adkins explains. Jimmy Eat World take to the stage soon after 9pm and it’s down to business. They play the album from start to finish, in an almost perfunctory fashion that’s saved from becoming too business like by the sheer energy rolling off the stage. But there’s little banter and it’s not until a few tracks in that Jim Adkins finally breaks a smile and looks like he’s relaxed and beginning to really enjoy it.

A Sunday and Lucky Denver Mint are supplied flawlessly, with Adkins growling out the emo-tinged choruses. Linton’s moment of glory comes with lead vocals on Blister, but is almost drowned our by the crowd’s singing – this is one show where the audience seem to know the words even better than the band. For Me This is Heaven is the tearjerker of the set “Can you still feel the butterflies? Can you still hear the last goodnight?” is a goose bump moment, as Adkins sings it out, lit by a sallow blue light. Rick Burch (bass) keeps the momentum moving – but there’s a distinct lack of bass in the mix, it feels like the sound engineer really needs to crank everything up – although maybe us Brits are just used to having our ears ringing and ribcages pulsating along with the bands?

Goodbye Sky Harbour steals the show, as it meanders to a close, Adkins using loops to create a stunning layering of sound which doesn’t quite last the 16 minutes on the album, but isn’t far off. The demand for an encore is deafening and the band slip back on stage, grins plastered on their faces, to knock out Pain, Kill, a sublime rendition of No Sensitivity (taken from their split EP with Jebediah) with ” The world world won’t turn without you – I’m amazed you’re standing still. I’m taking my kisses back – I want my kisses back from you!” shouted back by the crowds.

This is swiftly followed by MTV favourite ‘Middle‘ which Adkins explains was ‘a silly song I wrote as a joke…I guess the joke’s on me now?” They end on an incendiary note with Sweetness – which has the crowd dancing and grinning, fists punching the air and people throwing themselves up to crowd surf. The band look visibly moved by the applause, as they exit beaming with smiles.

As the crowds drift out into the freezing cold New York night there’s two things overheard again and again – firstly ‘That was amazing!” and secondly ” Do you think they’ll do a 10th Anniversary tour for Bleed American too?!” We can but hope….

Dee Massey

Fucked Up
Rolo Tomassi

04.03.09

After a duo of killer sets from Rolo Tomassi and Fucked Up where Rolo were not shy of turning the volume up to maximum and Fucked Up’s Damien traversed the crowd and scaled the heights of the monitors, The Bronx had some work to do. This is a band who clearly don’t worry about other acts ‘stealing their thunder’ or putting on performances that are worthy of headline slots in themselves.

The members of The Bronx are just not worriers. And they certainly don’t seem to feel like what they do is ‘work’. In fact, singer Matt Caughthran has a perpetual grin glued to his face for their entire set. The Bronx kick out the jams when they play and good music oozes from their pores along with a sense of fun and a feeling of ‘fuck it, let’s do this’ exuding from the stage with no sense of elitism or pretence of being better than anyone else.

With more joyous three-minute slices of pure rock and roll perfection than most bands with three albums under their belts, they prove themselves worthy of the headline slot. From the abrasive ‘Shitty Future‘ to their-most-famous-song ‘History’s Stranglers‘ through ‘Heart Attack American‘, the drummer’s perfect pounding, bassist’s punchy attack, killer riffs and feel-good shouty vocals are unrelenting. Caughthran’s gleeful drawl provides much-needed interludes between the riotous music-making and he berates shitty mainstream music at every opportunity.

As he fights the corner for truly good music and those who follow it, ‘Knifeman‘ kicks in and the lyrics “I want to be original; I want to be surrounded by art” have never seemed so pertinent. As a pre-cursor to the band’s slowest (yet still live favourite) track ‘White Guilt‘, Miley Cyrus bears the brunt of bad feeling with Caugthran rounding off this particular rant – “one day she will kill herself, ladies and gentlemen” – to cheers from the crowd and excitement arising due to the impending musical and lyrical genius. The Bronx are fun. And they’re good. A winning combination by anyone’s standards.

Winey G.

Machine Head
The Sword

Newcastle Arena
03.03.09

In the queue that snakes around the Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle people of all shapes and sizes are waiting in the freezing cold rain to see the biggest metal band in the world. That band is none other than Metallica. Once you get in the foyer excitement is already in the air. In a scene akin to Detroit Rock City, thousands of metal heads have gathered to see this band.

By the time Austin Texas’ The Sword take to the stage the huge arena is already full to the brim. This band is extremely lucky to be able to support 2 of the biggest metal bands in the world and by the end of their set you can understand why they were chosen. Their composite of doom metal and blues is a hit with the crowd. The songs are heavy and dark but keep a good groove throughout them that you can’t help but nod your head too, and the thousands of people nodding along proves that theory right! They were extremely captivating throughout their relatively short half hour set and had the crowd cheering them on. They were a genuinely fresh, tight band that I can’t wait to hear more of.

Next up are the mighty metal titans Machine Head. The crowd are bumbling with excitement as they wait for them to enter. The lights go down and entrance music plays that sounds like the four horsemen are riding into the arena. The place roars as Machine Head run onto the stage. They rip through their set giving no mercy to the crowd, and they have no problems with spurring them on either. The amount of times the lines “Come on Newcastle!” is shouted is countless. Machine Head have a lot more depth than just a fast metal band, often using acoustic bridges in songs creating a stark contrast.

However when they do play fast they really play fast. Blistering hits like Davidian and Halo keep the circle pits flowing furiously. Machine Head are extremely tight as a band never messing up a song once, keeping the solos and divebombs in perfect time with the drums and bass. They feed off the energy of the crowd and the crowd feed off their energy, the double bass can be felt pounding through the floor of the arena keeping things heavy as fuck. When they leave the stage the fans want more but they also need to prepare themselves for what might be the most intense 2 hours of their lives.

The floor is getting even fuller by the time 9 o clock rolls around and you understand this place really is sold out. No seats are empty; everyone is waiting anxiously for the trademark The Ecstasy of Gold to play. The arena is dark, everyone is cheering, the entrance music is playing, and lasers beam to every corner of the arena when Metallica take command. They burst straight into That Was Just Your Life a high-octane metal feast from their new album Death Magnetic sounding as thrashy as Kill ‘Em All with the violence of Master of Puppets.

The leviathan that is Metallica whips the crowd into frenzy, singing along with every word that comes out of Hetfield’s mouth, savouring every moment. After the impressive light show they keep the arena alive for 2 hours with a mix of old and new songs. Pumping through classics like Whiplash, Harvester of Sorrow and the alma mater Master of Puppets. All played with more energy and speed than a studio recording could ever achieve. Tracks from Death Magnetic such as Cyanide and The Day That Never Comes are huge pleasers, referring back to an older sound for Metallica but with more depth and innovation. And of course the more commercial songs One and Enter Sandman are a must for a Metallica set list, bringing both die hard and fresh faced Metallica fans together. In the encore they even throw in a cover of Sweet Savage’s Killing Time.

The houselights are on and it’s almost the end of the show. The opening riff of Seek and Destroy echoes through the building, beach balls branded with the Metallica logo fall from the ceiling. Everyone is singing along, beach balls are flying through the air and the atmosphere is electric! Afterwards the band humbly says their thanks and when all is said and done they leave the stage.

After making your way out of the arena you can’t help but feel different and affected by the 2 hours you’ve just experienced. Metallica are still as good as, if not better than when they were younger. And there’s nothing more invigorating than seeing 4 middle aged men rocking out as if they were 18. After tonight it really is clear that Metallica are still the heavy metal champions of the world!

Jonathan Teggert

Future Of The Left
Islington Academy

23.02.09

Gaining noteriety as the punk world’s pin-up girl, you may have been forgiven for expecting some dirty spat-out songs delivered by Brody Dalle and her new group Spinnerette, however the crowd at the Islington Academy got something very different to that.

After Future Of The Left had bantered their way through the support slot, Dalle and her new charges entered the fray in what can only be described as an underwhelming affair.

The venue didn’t help – the bass was set far too high, bludgeoning the melodies and rendering any intricate details of songs useless and the atmosphere, as ever at the Islington Academy, was pretty non-existant. That said, the band didn’t really do much to overcome this, they were static and simply stood and played whilst hoping that Dalle would get the crowd excited.

There were a couple of good tracks, taken from their debut EP, but without knowing the majority of the set, there was no chance for the gig goers to sing along or get involved. At the very end of the show, when Dalle had gone into the crowd, the lights came on and someone had been trampled underfoot, the realisation dawned that this was a punk as it was going to get. This band may have legs, but perhaps this gig came too soon for them to prove themselves.

Abjekt.

With The Haunted & Anterior
Brighton Concorde 2
23/1/08

It’s Friday night in Brighton, and as the serpentine queue braves the coastal breeze, it is evident that most in attendance are here to see one band and one band only, Sweden’s thrash titans, The Haunted. Fortunately, the enticing prospect of an evening spent in the presence of copious amounts of alcohol, as well as ear shredding metal, is more than enough to maintain some inner warmth for the almost exclusively teenage audience.

Setting the tone for the evening are Welsh Five-piece
Anterior,(8/10) who belt out a rousing set of modern metal fury, replete with plentiful maiden-esque twin guitar harmonies, fret melting solos and cast-iron riffs. If you couldn’t tell already, Anterior are a guitar junkie’s dream, securing an impressive amount of applause for some choice cuts from their debut album, ‘This Age Of Silence.’

Fifteen minutes later and the floor of this former tea room is transferred into a seething morass of ecstatic bodies, as The Haunted (9/10) blast onto the stage, with a blistering rendition of new track, ‘Little Cage.’ During a set every bit as ferocious as their ominous backdrop would suggest, Peter Dolving and Co showcase just why they are one of the most revered outfits anywhere, utterly feral renditions of classics such as ‘99,’ ‘D.O.A,’ and ‘All Against All‘ demanding the desperate banging of heads. Dolving is a compellingly deranged focal point, spitting his Misanthropic paeans to suffering and aggression with terrifying conviction. It is amazing to consider the impact which the Bjorler Brothers and their projects have had on metal, indeed, without At the Gates or The Haunted, the current swarm of so called ‘Melodic Death metal’ bands would not exist at all (but don’t hold that against them!) Concluding with ‘Hate Song‘ from their eponymous debut album, The Haunted have given a performance which will be referred to reverentially by Brighton’s metal contingent for a long time.

That is perhaps more than could be said about All That Remains (Pictured – 7/10), though that is not to say that they were anything less than an exemplary live unit. But when at least one third of the audience beats a hurried retreat to the bar before their set, one can tell that the best has already come and passed. Nevertheless, the US Metalcore corps deliver a cohesive set largely culled from Breakthrough album ‘The Fall Of Ideals.’ While it would be difficult to deny that their music is highly derivative, it must be said that when really getting into their groove, such as during sing-a-long favourites ‘This Calling‘ and new single ‘Two Weeks,’ no one currently ploughing this same trough can surpass them. Jason Costa’s drumming is simply phenomenal at times, and vocalist Phil Labonte strikes up a good rapport with those who chose to watch, but as the night comes to an end with a rare older song, ‘This darkened heart,’ it is clear that this has been a victory for The Haunted, and likewise, a victory for all in attendance. Excellent stuff.

Rob Sayce

w/ Iron Lung
The Underworld,
London 11/12/08

Internet piracy is a great thing. With the increase of illegal downloads harming record sales, a lot of bands can only make a substantial wage from touring. With Christmas looming, everybody wants to take home a crust this festive season. The immediate effect of this is that loads of really decent bands from across the pond have packed up their gear and are going on full UK tours to snatch up your pennies before Santa arrives.

Leading the charge of this mass exodus of bands is the forever partying, Municipal Waste. A band more concerned with robbing your bottle of crimbo sherry than nicking your pennies. Having blown London apart so many times before, this city has almost become home turf to the Waste. The crowd is packed in tight at the Underworld and the fans, young and old, are chugging on their beers with nervous anticipation as they wait for the Virginia thrashers.

Seattle’s Iron Lung filled the support slot and Jesus-titty-fuckin-Christ they were good. A true assault on the senses from a duo that perform with such speed and venom. A perfect and surprisingly good band to get the rabid crowd going before Municipal Waste ignite the stage.

It only takes a couple of chords, played by axe man Ryan Waste, to send the lunatic crowd into a whirlwind frenzy. Opening as per usual with ‘Deathripper‘ the trademark beach inflatables loom over head as skinny punk after fat bastard metal-head begin to dive off the stage and rain down on the heads of the peeps in the pit. The Waste slam straight into ‘Sadistic Magician‘ and after that its nonstop chaos for the night. Municipal Waste churn out some of their best grooves from all 3 of their albums to a back drop of stage divers and beer fueled mayhem. ‘Unleash The Bastards‘, ‘Terror Shark‘ and ‘Blood Drive‘ all get an outing tonight with Tony Foresta (Vocals) barking orders at the crowd between tracks. Commanding everybody to “circle fuckin pit!” or “destroy the fucking place!” the crowd at the Underworld kindly oblige.

The night comes to a close with ‘Born To Party‘ and the inevitable “Municipal Waste are gona FUCK-YOU-UP!” chant from all the thrash elite in the pit. When you go and see a band like Municipal Waste it’s like being reunited with your family at Christmas. There are guys who you will always see there. Like the dude who always dresses up like the terror shark or that one guy who always throws up in the corner after way too much cider. Unfortunately, like most family reunions, after a couple of hours you get bored and want to leave. This ain’t my first Municipal Waste rodeo and I have a lot of time for the band and their music but I’ve seen it all before.

Municipal Waste dominate tonight with a show that has all the hallmarks of a great thrash gig but we get nothing new from their performance. Maybe a “detox” is in order before the Waste come at us again with something fresh, something new and something that will make us go utterly ape shit for these guys all over again.

Tom Lindsey

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

Bush Hall
27.11.08

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.

Having blasted onto the scene with ‘The Neon Handshake‘, Hell is For Heroes have always been growing and evolving with every twist and turn, and despite label changes, they’ve kept their heads above water and always produced inspiring live shows and two further kick ass albums.

Then in October they announced an indefinite hiatus and this 7 date UK tour is a farewell- and they’re not going to go down without a fight…

“Welcome to the rock show” Justin Schlosberg has a look of concentration on his face, tonight is all about going out with a bang, and they certainly do that. Bush Hall is rocked to its core with a set of such intensity that as wall upon wall of hard guitar sound punches its way around the venue you’re left wondering if the chandeliers will survive the night ( they don’t…but more of that later).

Picking and choosing from their 3 albums they throw usual set closer ‘You Drove Me To It‘ in early, and the pit at the front goes into overdrive, the chest thumbing anthem bringing the crowd together in one voice, it’s the first of many goose bump moments. ‘You’ve Got Hopes’, ‘Night Vision‘ and ‘Five Kids Go‘ are breathtaking- the ferocity of the music never dropping, the sheer passion in the crowd almost tangible – and as the pit cranks it up another notch the band’s guitar tech switches between lobbing ice cubes into the throng to cool them down to rescuing Schlosberg from the throng as he repeatedly throws himself into the front rows.

As ever Fin is the one whipping the crowd into a frenzy, leading the chants and air punches, whilst guitarist Will smiles throughout the set as Justin throws himself around the stage, does handstands off the drum riser – twisting, turning, flinching as through every drum beat is physically punching him. Crowd surfers are in full force and kudos to the people who continually catch a giant of a man who belly flops onto them time and time again as the band kick out ‘Retreat’ with such intensity that you can almost feel the walls of Bush Hall buckle with the pressure.

‘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.

“We’ve never played such a long set!” Justin smiles wryly as the band return to the stage, and gather around Joe Birch’s drum kit to decide on further songs. “We’ve not played this in a long time so sorry if I forget the words..” he shrugs as they throw themselves into ‘Five Kids Go’, the opener from the Neon Handshake, and then a cover of ‘Boys Don’t Cry’, a staple of their live show.

The last track tonight is the sublime ‘Slow Song’. As Justin climbs on top of the speaker stack the crowd are behind him all the way, even when he reaches for a chandelier and breaks a rope of crystals off by accident, leaving it swaying. As the track hits its climax, with a wall of sound, he leaps downwards to his band mates. The final guitars wail over the crowd and in turn are replaced by the sound of thunderous applause. And so Hell is For Heroes leave the stage for the last time in London, it’s a fond farewell to a great London band – Justin, Will, Fin, Joe and Tom – we’ll miss you – roll on the reunion tour!

Dee Massey

Brixton Academy
20.11.08

“Here’s another song about how well adjusted I am….and how happy I am….and how I’m so good at relationships…”

The Cardinals have been playing for over an hour and a half and the floodgates are well and truly open. Having started the show tight lipped and serious, Ryan Adams is sliding into sarcastic quips and retorts about his own state of mind. Just like his emotional, self pitying yet endearing blogs that he writes at night, only to delete the next morning- you can’t help but think that maybe all is not right with our favourite alt-country indie upstart.

In the last few years The Cardinals have gone from being Ryan Adam’s backing band to being so much more, and the sound bouncing off the walls of Brixton Academy on this cold winter night is so tight and honed that you could sit and listen to them jam all night (and given half the chance The Cardinals probably would jam all night). The tracks are written with enough space to let the guitars and bass ebb and flow around each other, building up into awesome crescendos of sound, as Chris ‘Space-Wolf’ Fenstein (bass) and Neal Casal and Ryan Adams on guitar feed off each other’s energy. Nowadays it’s as much as about the band members as it is about their front man.

They kick off proceedings with Cobwebs (off their new album ‘Cardinology), and from there they weave their way through a lengthy set list, with ‘Everybody Knows’ ‘Stars Go Blue’ and the stunning ‘Goodnight Rose’ all highlights of the first hour. Adams barely addresses the audience, his hair over his eyes, deep in concentration as he spits out the lyrics to ‘Fix It’ ” I know it’s not a game, but it feels like losing when someone you loves throws you away…”

The Cardinals’ sound meanders between country, rock, blues and indie – which is reflected in the crowd, which has everything from country music fans and dark eyed emo kids through to a plaid shirt clad indie crowd – Adams has mass appeal and lives up to his anti-hero status with nonchalance. There’s no denying it as he leans ocer his mic stand and twists the crowd round his finger- he has that certain something that makes him oh so watchable.

Neal Casal takes vocal lead on ‘Freeway to the Canyon’ but it’s the sublime rendition of ‘Come Pick Me Up‘ followed by the eerily beautiful cover of Wonderwall which gives you goose bumps. “Now, let’s enjoy yet more songs about fucking happy I am “Adams mutters, and laughs slightly manically, before sliding into the delicate, almost ethereal ‘Please Do Not Let Me Go“, taken from the aptly named’ Love Is Hell“. The lines “I’m all alone now, I can do as I please , I don’t feel like doing much of anything ..True love ain’t that hard to find not that you will ever know” and sung so sensitively that you can almost feel the waves of empathy rolling off the crowd.

‘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.

With a set lasting almost 2 and a half hours The Cardinals seem to have enjoyed the show as much as the audience, who are baying for an encore. As the last chords of a haunting ‘I See Monsters‘ brings the night to an end, it’s clear we’re seeing at his best musically wise – although the bantering story teller of old is missed.

Tonight Ryan Adams & The Cardinals perform a stunning show, tracks rolling seamlessly into one another, the new tracks just as memorable as the old favourites. The Cardinals have hit their stride in 2008, and with new tracks already being demo-ed for another album the future looks very promising indeed.

Dee Massey

w/ Stone Gods
London Astoria
27/11/08

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.

But before Airbourne rocked the Astoria it was time for Blighty’s own, Stone Gods. Personally, I thought they were large bag of toss. Boasting previous members of the Darkness I didn’t expect much. However, the packed Astoria crowd loved these guys. The Stone Gods did show some promise but not enough to put a smile on my face. But what do I know?

Playing their biggest London gig to date, Airbourne finally land at the Astoria for the first show of their two night stint. Kicking off with ‘Stand Up For Rock & Roll‘ the hair begins to whirlwind, bodies begin to fly and beer begins to spill. The band are on fine form tonight delving into their endless supplies of adrenaline to bound around on stage like mad men yet still having enough composure to pull off tracks ‘Hellfire‘ and ‘Diamond In The Rough‘ without a hitch.

The smut stained ‘Girls In Black‘ is fantastic to see live. It had every single red blooded male in the venue singing along and every girl, wearing black, crowd surfing. There is no time to take a breather at an Airbourne show unless it’s to swig a gob full of warm flat lager or grab the nearest chick and get off with her. Known for his onstage set climbing, soloing and copious drinking, front man Joel O’Keeffe doesn’t disappoint tonight. Mid song, he leaps off the stage and runs through the crowd getting pats on the back and doused in beer all the way the back bar at the Astoria. Whilst STILL soloing, Mr.O’Keefe then proceeds to jump over the bar and start throwing beers out at the audience before leaping over the bar again and finally making his way through the heaving crowd in attendance back to the stage before kicking back into the astonishing ‘Runnin’ Wild‘.

Airbourne have an effect on you. They remind you of that time you listened to your first AC/DC record or that feeling you got the first time you heard Judas Priest. They embody that true rock n roll spirit. Finishing tonight with ‘Black Jack’, the band leaves a huge grin on the face of every sweat drenched rocker in attendance.

In the past year or so Airbourne have gone from being just four blokes from Australia who sound a little like AC/DC to a band that is now a well oiled machine, churning out furious rock ‘n’ roll tracks about booze, girls and good times. I will guarantee you; you won’t see a band as energized, charismatic or who rock as hard as Airbourne. You will not get more ‘bang for your buck’ anywhere else. This, ladies and gentleman, is a fact.

Tom Lindsey