Mean Fiddler
18/03/06
The London Astoria, on a bill with One Minute Silence, Fifteen years old, and I’m standing there saying ‘who the hell is this? They are fucking awesome’. Six years later, five minutes down the road and i’m still absolutely blown away.
A ten song set merged into what seemed like seconds onstage, and not long enough, as I’m pretty sure the crowd would have agreed. There are times when you pay so much attention to every song played, the set list branding itself on your memory, and there are times when you’re just so wrapped up in the music that it flies by without warning. And the 45 minutes of intense incredible old skool noise, which sounded as good now as it did back then, was the latter.
They blurted out If She Could Speak about three songs in, where I seemed to forget all photographic responsibility & suddenly became unaware of the bodies falling behind me. Grady Avenell was screaming inches away from me, spitting like a rabid dog, proving that he’d not lost any of his awe inspiring showmanship as a front man since the last time I saw him.
Not to forget the other band members who together, collectively, have created some of the most amazing music i’ve ever heard in my life. Their recording material is awesome, but there’s just something about going onstage and not stopping until you’ve given everything you have, that makes Will Haven’s live set that much more incredible.
I thought my love for metal was dying, and the Deftones were the pretty much the only band left on my list. I thought hiphop had pretty much almost taken over my life, but not entirely, despite coming home & falling asleep to Cage, I had to play Carpe Diem, which dutifully ended the set last night.
It has to be said that Will Haven well & truly have earned a place in my heart for a lifetime of intense and completely boundary free noise, and anyone who didn’t go and see this heart stopping show really missed out. Luckily, this time, I only have to wait 3 days to see them do it all over again.
Jen Saul
[Photo by Jen Saul]