Category: Live Reviews

Categories
Live Reviews

Dropkick Murphys live at The Forum, London

Dropkick Murphys
(Teenage Bottle Rocket and Crowns)
London Forum,
18/1/13

Crowns’ jaunty folk suits the vibe of the evening perfectly, but although they deserve the applause from those present, the echo of a third-full Forum does their sound no favours. They’d probably sound great in a packed pub, so check them out at the Old Blue Last on Feb 20th. Go on, it’s free.

Entertaining antics abound during Teenage Bottlerocket’s set, mostly courtesy of the band themselves, the roadie in an Iron Maiden ‘Eddie’ mask urging the crowd to greater efforts, and the topless forty-something guy flailing his arms (and moobs) around in the impressively-sized pit. And the music? The cynical among us might dismiss the likes of ‘Radio’ and ‘Skate Or Die’ as mere Ramones rip-offs, but few bands channel da bruddas’ love of breakneck-speed, power chord driven melodies as well as the Wyoming quartet do tonight.

The Dropkick Murphys may be approaching their 20th anniversary as a band, but you can still rely on them to give it 100%, rock like bastards, and generally be the ultimate Friday/Saturday night band. Tonight they are nothing short of outstanding, barrelling through old (‘The Gauntlet’, ‘Worker’s Song’) and new (‘Burn’, ‘Going Out In Style’) with such tenacity and ferocity that not even two brief power outages can stop them.

It’s a beautiful sight to behold as both band and sold-out crowd fling themselves around the place with wild abandon, but an unexpected highlight comes courtesy of the mandolin-led ‘Rose Tattoo’. Released barely a month ago, it’s already a fan favourite, with bassist/vocalist Ken Casey almost drowned out by a 2,000-strong sweaty choir. It’s a genuinely poignant moment, and a fine riposte to those who would dismiss the Dropkicks as mere musical rabble rousers.

They’ve never been a ‘cool’ band, but the Dropkicks’ combination of Irish folk music, punk rock and raw honesty has got them further than they ever expected. Certainly, as a rip-roaring finale of ‘Skinhead on the MBTA’ heralds the usual mass stage invasion, it’s clear that no-one here cares about such a triviality – and nor should they.

Alex Gosman

Categories
Live Reviews

Don Broco live at Esquires, Bedford

Don Broco
Esquires, Bedford
15th December 2012

One of the most spoken about new bands of 2012 decided to return to their hometown roots and perform a monster of a show in a tiny 400 capacity venue that very few had ever heard of, although it has hosted shows for bands as big as Coldplay and Supergrass.

The four piece pop-rock band with their hook-heavy and energetic songs wasted no time and got the show into full swing. The distinguishable routine ‘The Walk’ makes an appearance within seconds as the band open with the song ‘Priorities’. Somehow the band reminds you of a teen boy band as they perform their rehearsed dance moves. Band members and the rowdy crowd are not holding back tonight.

With a mixture of old material and songs off of their debut album ‘Priorities’, their performance is full of energy and the band work together fantastically; their timing is outstanding. Crowd favourite ‘Whole Truth’ involves the audience getting onto each other’s shoulders; lead singer Rob Damiani encourages people as people are flying high above the crowd as strangers become friends within the audience. All the band are interested in is making this show as fun as possible for everyone.

The smile on lead singer Rob Damiani’s face showed his amazement to the crowd’s reaction as the crowd screamed at the top of their voices right back at him. The sweat drenched crowd “really take the biscuit” as some audience members decide to join the band on stage with a bit of cheeky crowd surfing, it’s all fun and games here.

Although the show was disappointingly short, with the band only performing for one hour and five minutes, the show was truly one to remember. From a teenage dream to reality, it is clearly obvious that Don Broco still haven’t showed us everything they’ve got. Expect much more from them in 2013.

Don Broco are touring in 2013, see dates below

February
18 Arts Centre, Norwich
19 O2 Academy 3, Birmingham
20 Joiners, Southampton
21 Underworld, London
22 The Haunt, Brighton
23 White Rabbit, Plymouth
24 Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff
26 The Cockpit, Leeds
27 Corporation, Sheffield
28 O2 Academy 2, Newcastle

March
01 Cathouse, Glasgow
02 Academy 3, Manchester
30 O2 Academy, Liverpool

April
13 53 Degrees, Preston
14 Slade Rooms, Wolverhampton
16 Concorde 2, Brighton
17 Academy 2, Oxford
18 KOKO, London
20 Hit The Deck Festival, Bristol
21 Hit The Deck Festival, Nottingham

Photo: Emma Wallace – taken at Red Bull Bedroom Jam Finals

Categories
Live Reviews

Fidlar live at Dingwalls

Fidlar
w/ Drenge
Dingwalls Camden, London
4th December 2012

Hidden away is Dingwalls, but tonight Fidlar and support band Drenge are determined to make their voices heard. Drenge are made of two brothers from Sheffield who capture the familiar indie sounds of the steel city tonight. While taking elements from indie veterans The Strokes, Arctic Monkeys and The Libertines, making Drenge sound like a distant relative of theirs.

Dashing through like lightning bolts Fidlar burst into the hysteria and ear-piercing guitar rhythm of ‘Cheap Beer’, before pounding every ounce of energy and mutiny in ‘Stoked and Broke’. Lead singer Zac Carper tells the storming crowd “I want everyone under 30 down at the front” and within seconds the stage gets completely gate-crashed. There are limbs being pulled in agonising directions as one member of the audience even manages to yelp that they’ve broken their hand. Well that’s Rock ‘n’ Roll for you!

Oozing from the L.A quartet comes ‘No Waves’ which prides itself on the birth of a sea of mighty mosh pits. Guitarists Brandon Schwartzel, Elvis Kuehn and drummer Max Kuehn at one point even attempt to make a deal with the security who have been taking a firm monumental stand centre-stage to fight off crowd surfers. This promise comes with trying to make peace with security by getting them out of the way if the crowd “turn it down a notch”. All is well for the first verse of ‘Max Can’t Swim’ then it is back to pure teen destruction.

The likes of rowdy tracks ‘Got No Money’ and ‘Carnivore Girls’ take a blow to the 500 capacity venue, soaking the walls in sweat. The stage diving continues song after song as the band advise kids to “drop out of school and start a band”. It’s Fidlar’s rendition of Blink 182’s ‘Damn It’ though that eats up the venue, swallowing the stage whole by the end of the truly exhausting set.

The rising skate-punk four-piece released their official video for ‘Cheap Beer’ last month. Check them out.

Jenny Chu

Categories
Live Reviews

Lucero live at the Windmill, Brixton

Lucero,
London Brixton Windmill,
28/11/12

These days, it seems that more and more of London’s venues are covered in corporate branding, so it’s comforting to arrive at the Brixton Windmill and find it still resolutely independent and reassuringly shabby. Certainly, Lucero seem to have adopted it as their home from home – this is the third visit for Ben Nichols’ crew, and tonight is the first of a four night stand.

Sweetheart Contract are Londoners, but their sound is steeped in Americana, with alt-country rhythms, twanging rockabilly bass and even a touch of harmonica in the mix. You could argue about authenticity, but the numerous folks tapping their feet along to the catchy ‘Summer Heist’ and ‘Honesty Is Comedy’ would rightfully ignore you. Singer/guitarist Dexy is blessed with the voice of an indie-pop angel, but sprinkles everything he sings with a touch of gritty defiance. Check them out – you won’t regret it.

Lucero arrive to a heroes’ welcome from a sold-out crowd, but neither crowd nor band seem quite as invigorated as they did five years ago at this very same venue. Still, it’s a cold Wednesday night outside, and old favourites ‘Sweet Little Thing’ and ‘Nights Like These’ are a fine tonic for weary souls, whilst a few tunes from recent album ‘Women & Work’ are lent a welcome ragged edge in the live setting. They play for nearly two hours (but for some reason ignore 2007’s superb ‘Rebels, Rogues…’ album), and by the end, it feels like we’re part of the congregation in some kind of alt-country chapel, with the preachers bashfully enjoying the devotion on display. Six old Memphis road-dogs they may be, but Lucero know – as ever – how to create a sense of occasion.

Alex Gosman

Categories
Live Reviews

Converge and Touché Amoré live at London Koko

Converge,
London Koko,
25/11/12

Tall, cavernous theatres like Koko may not be the ideal setting for a hardcore show, but then Converge are no ordinary hardcore band, and tonight’s line-up reflects this.

A Storm Of Light are armed with some seriously seismic grooves that fill the venue with ease, and give its foundations a bit of a shake into the bargain. Behind the band, a huge projector screen shows footage of rioting, war and burning cities – an appropriate backdrop if ever there was one, as this is perfect ‘impending apocalypse’ music. It’s an assault on the senses, and an oddly reassuring one at that.

A combination of almost non-stop touring and last year’s excellent ‘Parting The Sea Between Brightness And Me’ album have gained Touché Amoré plenty of well-deserved recognition, and tonight they justify the hype in fine style. Every word is screamed back at vocalist Jeremy Bolm as his band rip through the likes of ‘Pathfinder’ and ‘Home Away From Home’ with minimum stage patter and maximum conviction. They’re clearly stoked to be touring with Converge, and with their intelligent, honest approach to hardcore, greater things surely await Touché Amoré.

The last time we witnessed Converge separated from their audience by a barrier (at the Electric Ballroom a few years ago), frontman Jacob Bannon seemed uncomfortable – prowling the stage like a lion unable to savage a nearby herd of wildebeest. This time around, he comes across more like a hardcore Spiderman – zipping around the stage with barely a pause for breath, and that’s when he’s not actually down on the barrier screaming into the front rows.

Never slouches in the live department, Converge get through a good 20-odd songs tonight. ‘Sadness Comes Home’ (a highlight of recent album ‘All We Love We Leave Behind’) is already a crowd favourite, although – as ever – ‘Jane Doe’ era favourites like ‘Bitter And Then Some’ are the ones that really push the already-seething pit into overdrive.

Few bands find themselves making some of their best records after nearly two decades’ existence, but such is Converge’s position. No surprise that their fans are as devoted as they come, and on tonight’s evidence, that shouldn’t change anytime soon.

Alex Gosman

Categories
Live Reviews Music

Deaf Havana Live at Shepherd’s Bush

Deaf Havana

DEAF HAVANA
w/ There For Tomorrow, Canterbury
Sherperd’s Bush o2 Academy, London
15th November 2012

Shepherds Bush Empire was the venue for Deaf Havana’s biggest headline show to date. Selling out five days before the show, this was shaping up to be quite spectacular, and in no means did the night disappoint.

There for Tomorrow, forming in 2003, have established themselves as a major act on the rock circuit in the US, playing all the dates on the 2011 Vans Warped tour and releasing two full-length studio albums. Having headlined the Garage in London in November 2010 with support coming from Deaf Havana, it was clear from the start that the quartet had some fans around the venue with various screams and dancing, an overall solid performance.

Next up were main support Canterbury. After gaining a major fan base after releasing their debut album, ‘Thank You’ as a free download in 2009, they returned in 2012 with their much anticipated follow up studio album ‘Heavy in the Day’. Playing songs from both albums, including ‘Wrapped in Rainbows’, ‘Survivor’ & ‘Gloria’, at the end of which front man Mike Sparks thanked the crowd for their constant support of both themselves and more importantly the British Rock scene, which he then went onto say was booming which was apparent from tonight’s British acts. Finishing off their set with ‘Friends? We’re More Like A Gang’, Canterbury continue to show why their ones to watch in 2013.

A year on from releasing their album ‘Fools and Worthless Liars’, Deaf Havana are playing their biggest headline show since forming in 2005. Albeit with some technical issues early on, and starting their set with an alternative, slower version of ‘Youth In Retrospect’, it wasn’t long before they sent the sold out crowd into frenzy. Having the option to play material off both their original and deluxe edition, it was anyone’s guess as to which versions of the songs they were going to be played. A song that stood out to me on both versions of the albums was ‘Anemophobia’, tonight they showed how diverse they were as a band both live and recorded as they started the song off on a piano like that of the alternative version and then kicked in as the whole band to finish it off.

During their set it was clear to see how overwhelming the night was to James Veck Gilodi and his fellow bandmates. They used the platform to announce that they will be supporting fellow Brits You me at Six at their Wembley show that was met by a lot of screams from the crowd. Coming on for an encore, they were joined by eight members of the London Youth Gospel Choir to do renditions of their three songs ‘The World or Nothing’, ‘Fifty Four’ and Finished off with ‘Hunstanton Pier’.

This show will stick in the minds of the band and fans alike for quite sometime, and tonight has been a clear reminder that Great Britain have got one of the finest rock scenes, which Deaf Havana will keep climbing.

Words & Photos: Tim Easton

There For Tomorrow
There For Tomorrow
There For Tomorrow
Canterbury
Canterbury
Deaf Havana
Deaf Havana
Deaf Havana
Deaf Havana
Deaf Havana
Deaf Havana
Categories
Live Reviews Music

Parkway Drive Live at The Roundhouse, London

PARKWAY DRIVE
w/ Emmure, The Words Alive, Structures
The Roundhouse, London
17/11/12

Parkway Drive are the headliners at tonight’s show at a packed out London Roundhouse, and judging from the expectant air looming about the venue, it’s going to be a great night.

Up first are the techiest band tonight; Structures. They sound great and manage to get the crowd pumped up early in the night. Definitely one to watch live, as they sound a great deal more powerful on a stage than a CD.

Next on are The Word Alive, who blend melody and heaviness superbly. They manage to cram loads of songs into their relatively short set and the crowd seem to be warming to them by the middle of the performance. Pleasingly, the band seem utterly grateful to be able to play to so many people, and thank the crowd over and over, which is good to see!

Emmure are probably the ultimate marmite band. Yes, lots of people will turn their noses up at them, but they manage to pull off one of the best live performances of the year tonight. They sound monumentally heavy, and the crowd react to all of frontman Frankie’s commands without thought. They too sound better live than on a cd, thanks to massive tone and drums, along with Frankie’s unique vocal delivery. Grand.

Parkway Drive however, will ALWAYS steal the show when it comes to a live performance. Packing 2 projectors and all the lights you’d ever want onto the stage tonight, PWD are on perfect form, sounding monstrous as usual. They are deliver their set like it was their last ever show, with the crowd response matching as they go mental throughout the entire performance. With a lengthy setlist comprising of all their best songs from previous records and some huge new tracks from new release ‘Atlas’, their show is pretty much spot on, and they remain THE live band to beat. Very, very impressive indeed.

Structures
The Word Alive
Emmure
Parkway Drive
Parkway Drive
Parkway Drive

Words & Photos: Jake Owens

Categories
Live Reviews

Monster Magnet play ‘Spine of God’ live in London

Monster Magnet,
23rd November
Electric Ballroom
Camden, London.

It’s extremely rare these days to discover an album of this magnitude. Monster Magnet‘s ‘Spine of God‘ was, and still is, one of the very best stoner rock records ever made. When this dropped back in 1991, it blew everything else out of the water. This album, made up of the most potent, acid-tinged, psychedelic rock, is so strong, and so deep, that it will forever live in the top 5 albums ever made in my book. No other album released since could push it down the pecking order. Not even QOTSA. You can argue amongst yourselves on this one, but i’m sticking to my guns. This album is fucking blazing and the OG since Sabbath.

davewyndorf_monstermagnet

Tonight, singer/guitarist Dave Wyndorf and his current band mates have traveled to London to drop an atomic bomb on a sold out Electric Ballroom. Now 56 years of age and looking the best he has done for years, he takes to the stage to unleash Monster Magnet’s debut album ‘Spine of God’ in its entirety and tells the crowd that he has come only to give all to the “emotional”. As a result, his worshippers give him everything as the band leap into the awesome, spiralling drum roll of ‘Pill Shovel’, one of the truly great album intro’s of all time.

The riffs that follow make a sea of heads nod as the deep, dark crunch of sludge is served up like a tsunami. This is hotknife material that you are fucking with here. The very best airplane toke you ever rose for. This show is for the microdot you lost under your fridge in 1992, the lump of hash you dropped at a festival that was never found. The first ever line of coke you blew onto the carpet in front of a room full of drug dealing Hells Angels. None of this is fiction. This is reality, and this, is the soundtrack of our lives.

Wyndorf’s voice is spot on. As he delivers the intro to ‘Medicine’ with the lyrics “Place the stones in the circle of twelve” we could feel the pre-empted anxiety from everybody around us, all ready to explode from the atomic pounding that was unleashed from the opening riff of this beast of a tune. His evil screams sent shivers down every spine in the house before the epic crescendo burst its banks and made way for that one and only “whoooooooooooooooooshhhhhhh, ……..” as the head rush from the needle point of ‘Nod Scene’ slowmo’d through veins and crashed gently into a mulch of psychedelic bliss. By this point, minds had gone all over the venue. This is the best fucking experience EVER! “Screw you if you think I care!”.

The evil riffs of ‘Black Mastermind’ bring the zodiac levels up to full capacity once again. Air guitar strings are snapping all over the fucking venue as people lose their minds from an overdose of space rock. After a nine-minute jam of frenzied guitar solo’s, Zodiac Lung sees Wyndorf turn from jamming into the drums to fronting classic lyrics: “When I die, It will be cos of you:. “It’s fuck up’s like you, that never seem to die.” I guess he seems pretty thankful he is still alive at all, after a lifetime of drug fueled touring, breakdowns, prescription drugs overdoses and personal trauma, Wyndorf has lived to tell the tale. At the end of set following ‘Spine Of God’, ‘Snake Dance’, ‘Sin’s a Good man’s Brother’ and ‘Ozium’, he apologises to the audience for not writing a longer album. Just like on record, the only way to get over ending this masterpiece is to press play on the first track again, but sadly, this is not possible live. So once the band have a well earnt breather, they return for an insanely good version of ‘Lord 13’ from ‘Tab’. This is where everything changed.

As ‘Traktor’ delivered its laughing pill, Wyndorf moved away from the mic by 4 feet but the vocals rang out through the PA perfectly. I had to ask my buddy next to me for re-assurance, who to my surprise, saw the exact same thing. We looked at each other with jaws open-mouthed. Is Dave Wyndorf fucking actually singing or what?! Is a tape of his vocals playing throughout the entire show? Is it just some helpful backing track for certain parts he can no longer reach? It turns out that the sound man controls a lot of the reverb on his vocals, so that’s that cleared up.

monstermagnet_electricballroom

I came here to melt, to indulge, to reminisce, to appraise, to be electrified, and thankfully, I was rewarded with all of the above. So thank you Monster Magnet, for delivering the best gig you have played since we saw you at the Windsor Old Trout on the 4th of September back in ’92, and the Underworld show a day later. It’s a Satanic drug thing…..you wouldn’t understand.

Zac

Categories
Live Reviews Music

Pure Love Live at The Boileroom, Guildford

Pure Love 1 copyright Emma WallacePURE LOVE
w/ Sharks, Scholars
The Boileroom, Guildford
26/10/12

The tiny Boileroom is packed tonight, not just with people but with a heavy sense of curiosity and excitement. First up are Scholars, although relatively unknown they manage to gain the interest of the whole room. Tracks such as ‘Blinda Data‘ really show this bands capability and with an impressive live show, make a note of Scholars as a potential buzz band for 2013.

Sharks have a strong fan base in the venue tonight, it appears every other person is wearing one of their shirts. So you’d think they would captivate the crowd, however they make little impact. ‘Arcane Effigies‘ creates a small sing along, but they don’t have half the presence and movement of Scholars. Unfortunately the old-school punk look and gimmicks don’t pay off, this is a case of image over substance.

Pure Love 1 copyright Emma Wallace

There is a genuine sense of excitement as Frank Carter, Jim Carroll and band take to the stage. They don’t stay there long. Just after one track Frank parts the crowd and takes the show into the pit. He declares ‘Put your phones away, stop posting photos on instagram looking like your having fun, lets have some real fucking fun. Stop making digital memories, lets make some real ones,’ and instantly the Pure Love party starts.

Despite their full-length still to be released the majority of the crowd somehow seem to the know every track word for word. Song after song is a mass of dancing bodies with Frank screaming into faces of the audience and Jim performing on the shoulders of the rest. Frank crowd surfing over to the bar for a beer whilst the drum kit moves from the stage into the pit for ‘Riot’ seems perfectly natural in this chaotic bliss.

Carter’s initial speech of ‘Guildford you are about to have the best 45 minutes of your entire life,’ seemed a bit presumptuous to start with, annoyingly arrogant even. But hats off to him, he was right. This has to be one of the greatest shows to have ever hit this sweat box venue, and arguably one of the best shows of the year. With every single punter leaving the venue with a grin from ear to ear it’s clear Pure Love are more than just a little project, this band could really achieve something.

Words & Photos: Emma Wallace

Categories
Live Reviews Music

Hildamay, Album Launch Show – The Garage, London

HILDAMAY
w/ Landscapes, Tu Amore, Black Shapes, Insurgents
The Garage, Islington
22nd October 2012

Hildamay have had a hell of a year already, the quintet from Kent had a busy summer wowing the likes of BBC Radio 1, Reading and Leeds festival as well as preparing the release of their debut album ‘Miles Away’. Now they’re back on the road ahead of that release and everyone here tonight is in for a real treat, plugging an exclusive-listening of the new tracks.

Insurgents picked the shortest straw and are up first. The trio from Watford perform like they have everything relying on it. It’s not until they bring out an additional two drums into the centre of the crowd to form a drum battle which see’s frontman Ant Giannaccini and bassist Bentley Levy bash away to a beat that their show becomes is three dimensional.

‘It’s like a twelve year old school disco,’ frontman Gareth Evans of Black Shapes tells the half empty venue. The result? Gareth resorts to joining the intimate crowd, performing majority of the set off the stage. On the plus side, the fans that are present have more space to hard-core dance and the opportunity to share the frontman’s microphone for numerous choruses. We’d be lying if we said we weren’t looking forward to the release of their new EP ‘In The Mourning Light‘ out later this month.

Tu Amore have a soulful, indie sort of sound to them stirring in drumbeats that bring the show alive. The four members from Peterborough seem to have established a sound that sets them apart with energy of a much heavier band. Up next is Landscapes who have the challenge of getting some kind of crowd engagement. ‘I can’t even see you!’ Complains vocalist Shaun. What welcomes them though are a small group of hard-core kids and the band seem far from impressed. The quartet from Somerset no doubt have the songs to put other British rising rock bands on the edge of their seat. Whether they stick to half-hearted shows such as tonight’s is another story.

Just after 10pm and the half empty venue turns into a tightly squeezed room eager for the headliners. Hildamay strike up ‘We Loved, We Lost’ and ‘This House Became Our Home’ plunging down a route of heavy rock, but what these clever lads have managed to do is put meaning into a genre that is known to be full of mosh-pit mayhem melodies. Their tunes are extremely rough round the edges but you can tell they’re genuinely heart-felt.

The band are truely passionate which shows in tonight’s performance, pushing through songs that are bounded together by fist pumping beats and gritty guitar riffs. Usually it’s the frontman that captures the attention but Hildamay are a band that have so much going for them as a whole. Recent single ‘Changing The Key’ even managed to turn the heads of those at Radio 1’s Rock Show gaining Track Of The Week status. Tonight’s live performance of that track certainly showed it was worthy of that title and what Hildamay are made of as a whole.

Words: Jenny Chu