Here's a little fact for you: We took our name from the songs Havoc A and Havoc B. That was only relevant because I find myself writing yet another Enter Shikari review. It seems like only a few months ago that we went to see them at the Roundhouse... Oh wait. It was.
A new venue for me to review; London's Hammersmith Apollo. Pretty much slap bang in the middle of London (sort of) it's a right bugger to get to even if it is surrounded by numerous Underground stations. There was a little confusion over the timings. The tickets stated that doors opened at 6 but the signs at the venue said 7. Not to worry though, we were unorganised enough not to read our tickets so we got there for 7pm anyway. The venue itself was an all round decent building with the only major fault being that the floor sloped downwards and so constructing a mosh pit occasionally proved difficult. 8/10.
It's amazing how often Eva Spence gets mistaken for a man. It took almost ten minutes before Gemma realised that the wild screaming echoing from the stage was in fact coming from a woman only a few years older than us, and she only found that out because I told her. Personally I never understood Rolo Tomassi's sound but they are rather entertaining to watch and while there were a few fans down the front moshing like they had some kind of painful spasms, the majority of the crowd wore the same expression on their faces which was that of confusion. 28/100. www.myspace.com/rolotomassi
Following them were The King Blues. There's something about the Ukulele that always makes me chuckle. I can't figure out what it is (possibly the minature size) but it does explain the reason of why I find The King Blues so amusing. As usual they spread smiles throughout the crowd and got everyone to shout "F*** the BNP!" (Not difficult considering I can't name one person who actually likes them). They also performed a cover of Bonkers which was slightly strange but good. 45/100. www.myspace.com/thekingblues
As is the routine with an Enter Shikari gig, as soon as Solidarity kicks in, the crowd erupts into a frenzy and 'Havoc' ensues. As is also the routine, I find myself separated from Gemma after approximately 30 seconds. I've come to associate Enter Shikari with loud, energetic gigs and this one was no exception. I found myself on the floor in a matter of minutes and spent most of their set with one shoe barely hanging on. Now that's what I call a proper gig. Mosh pits spread through the entire venue, a somewhat short-lived circle pit took place in the centre of the crowd and apparently there were even a few human pyramids. However, Enter Shikari had something even more special planned... they brought back Jonny Sniper! Oh yes, you heard me right. It was immense. This gig may not have been as good as their 3 Nights at the Astoria 2 but it certainly was a typical Enter Shikari gig; rough, sweaty and incredible. 82/100. www.myspace.com/entershikari
NOTE; Gemma's ratings;
Venue: 8/10
Rolo Tomassi: 35/100
The King Blues: 47/100
Enter Shikari: 85/100
Saturday, 27 February 2010
Wednesday, 24 February 2010
Cobra Starship, O2 Shepherds Bush Empire, Wednesday 10th February 2010.
From the outside the O2 Shepherds Bush Empire looks impressive. A tall, towering building, it's got history and a personality much better suited as a music venue rather than the BBC Television Theatre it used to be. However, the queue was not so impressive. Considering we arrived over half an hour late I was surprised to see the doors still firmly shut and the queue winding all the way up the street. I was even more surprised when a truck pulled up alongside the queue and a woman inside proceeded to jump out and begin offering free cans of Monster (the energy drink) to all us stunned spectators. For some reason, she passed right by the two of us without a glance and I was ever so slightly offended. Inside, the view was even more impressive but the unorganised cloakroom let the venue down. 7.5/10.
Personally, I always like to catch the support bands when I go to gigs. I like to think they create some hype amongst the crowd and get things going. But sometimes they don't. By the time we got inside, the first support band had taken to the stage and a strange screechy wailing filled the room. At first I didn't pay attention as I was too busy heading for the merch table but when I began to listen I immediately had the urge to push ear plugs as far inside my ears as possible. On the stage were a group of girls who looked like they should have spent less time on their appearance and more time learning to play their instruments. You think I'm harsh? No, they were just crap. 10/100... Oh wait, I almost forgot to mention their name. The Plasticines.
You would have thought that the next band would be a significant improvement. I mean, surely ANY band would be a significant improvement. Sadly, I was wrong. Family Force 5 were a complete disaster, parading around the stage with 'Hulk Hands' pretending to have 'moves'. To be honest, it was possibly the most cringeworthy sight I have ever seen but at least they gave me something to laugh at for half an hour. 15/100. www.myspace.com/familyforce5
Finally, Cobra Starship took to the stage. After years (and I mean years) of waiting for this gig, I couldn't help but smile. Bring on the party! But after all that waiting, were they worth it? The answer to that is yes and no. To sum it up there were some good points and there were some unexpected negatives. So I'll start with the bad... When I first entered the venue I commented on the good sound quality but during Cobra Starship's set there seemed to be some kind of major fault that nobody bothered to fix. The sound was muffled and I could barely hear the instruments. Then there were the many speeches of Gabe Saporta. Don't get me wrong, I like a band to interact with their crowd but there is such a thing as over-doing it and by over-doing it I mean spending approximately a whole third of the set talking about Gabe's views on the world. Toward the end of one of these talks, the crowd got so fed up that they started chanting something along the lines of "Play a song!" I felt bad for Gabe but it's what we were all thinking. The other negative was the lack of enthusiasm from the rest of the band. While Gabe put everything he had (maybe a little too much) into his performance, the other band members looked slightly bored, which eventually turned into downright miserable. To be honest though, I can't really blame them. They just wanted to play some music. After that little rant I would like to move onto the positive. When they eventually got round to playing a song, they played well. And they played all their best songs; Good Girls Go Bad, Pete Wentz Is The Only Reason We're Famous, Hot Mess, The City Is At War, Kiss My Sass, Smile For The Paparazzi, Send My Love To The Dancefloor... and The Church Of Hot Addiction. A perfect setlist for Cobra Starship. But the real highlights of the night were The Scene Is Dead; Long Live The Scene (which surprised me) and my personal favourite Guilty Pleasure during which the whole crowd joined in with the Guilty Pleasure dance. It may not have been the best gig ever but despite all my criticisms, it WAS a good gig and I would see them again. Fangs up. 70/100. www.myspace.com/cobrastarship
Photos courtesy of Laura :)
NOTE; Gemma wasn't here :'(
Personally, I always like to catch the support bands when I go to gigs. I like to think they create some hype amongst the crowd and get things going. But sometimes they don't. By the time we got inside, the first support band had taken to the stage and a strange screechy wailing filled the room. At first I didn't pay attention as I was too busy heading for the merch table but when I began to listen I immediately had the urge to push ear plugs as far inside my ears as possible. On the stage were a group of girls who looked like they should have spent less time on their appearance and more time learning to play their instruments. You think I'm harsh? No, they were just crap. 10/100... Oh wait, I almost forgot to mention their name. The Plasticines.
You would have thought that the next band would be a significant improvement. I mean, surely ANY band would be a significant improvement. Sadly, I was wrong. Family Force 5 were a complete disaster, parading around the stage with 'Hulk Hands' pretending to have 'moves'. To be honest, it was possibly the most cringeworthy sight I have ever seen but at least they gave me something to laugh at for half an hour. 15/100. www.myspace.com/familyforce5
Finally, Cobra Starship took to the stage. After years (and I mean years) of waiting for this gig, I couldn't help but smile. Bring on the party! But after all that waiting, were they worth it? The answer to that is yes and no. To sum it up there were some good points and there were some unexpected negatives. So I'll start with the bad... When I first entered the venue I commented on the good sound quality but during Cobra Starship's set there seemed to be some kind of major fault that nobody bothered to fix. The sound was muffled and I could barely hear the instruments. Then there were the many speeches of Gabe Saporta. Don't get me wrong, I like a band to interact with their crowd but there is such a thing as over-doing it and by over-doing it I mean spending approximately a whole third of the set talking about Gabe's views on the world. Toward the end of one of these talks, the crowd got so fed up that they started chanting something along the lines of "Play a song!" I felt bad for Gabe but it's what we were all thinking. The other negative was the lack of enthusiasm from the rest of the band. While Gabe put everything he had (maybe a little too much) into his performance, the other band members looked slightly bored, which eventually turned into downright miserable. To be honest though, I can't really blame them. They just wanted to play some music. After that little rant I would like to move onto the positive. When they eventually got round to playing a song, they played well. And they played all their best songs; Good Girls Go Bad, Pete Wentz Is The Only Reason We're Famous, Hot Mess, The City Is At War, Kiss My Sass, Smile For The Paparazzi, Send My Love To The Dancefloor... and The Church Of Hot Addiction. A perfect setlist for Cobra Starship. But the real highlights of the night were The Scene Is Dead; Long Live The Scene (which surprised me) and my personal favourite Guilty Pleasure during which the whole crowd joined in with the Guilty Pleasure dance. It may not have been the best gig ever but despite all my criticisms, it WAS a good gig and I would see them again. Fangs up. 70/100. www.myspace.com/cobrastarship
Photos courtesy of Laura :)
NOTE; Gemma wasn't here :'(
Wednesday, 17 February 2010
Lostprophets, Margate Winter Gardens, Tuesday 9th February 2010.
A word of advice: Always be prepared for cold weather. Especially in Britain.
So, back to the dreary Winter Gardens again. Much like before, walking into the Winter Gardens gave me the impression that I'd walked straight into some kind of Stamp Collecting Convention but one look at the crowd thankfully proved me wrong. However, unlike before, the entire back wall had miraculously disappeared to reveal rows of additional seats. I'm still confused as to how this happened and so, because the staff at the Winter Gardens can make walls disappear, I'm bumping the score up to 4/10.
From what I can remember, the first band of the night were called Hexes. I think I may have once said that the bass can never be too loud but after standing next to the speakers throughout their whole set, my ears suffered a little too much damage and so I take it back. As to their music, it was generally just a little bit too messy for my liking. There were times when they sounded half-decent but as a whole all I have to say is "No." 30/100. http://www.myspace.com/hexes
Which brings us onto Kids In Glass Houses. Having seen them a few times before, I'd previously arrived at the judgement that they (for some reason) are better as a support band. That's not to say that I don't enjoy their live sets. I was extremely excited about seeing them again but for once, I was sadly disappointed. They lacked something but I still can't put my finger on what it was. The only way to phrase it is that their sound didn't really FILL the room and so it failed to have an impact on me. I stand by what I said, I still prefer them as a support band but I'd like them to prove me wrong. 50/100. http://www.myspace.com/kidsinglasshouses
And so we have reached the headliners. I've always expected Lostprophets to be a loud, bold, in your face band when it comes to their live performances and I was proved half right. They weren't the most chatty band and the little that Ian said I couldn't understand at all (and that's not because he's welsh), it may just be because his microphone was turned down a little bit too low. However, unlike KIGH, their music definitely had an impact on the crowd. It echoed through every corner of the room and everyone was moving like someone had given them a giant electric shock. All of the well-known favourites were played; Last Train Home, Last Summer, A Town Called Hypocrisy, Rooftops (A Liberation Broadcast) and Can't Catch Tomorrow while new songs Dstryr/Dstryr, It's Not The End Of The World But I Can See It From Here, Next Stop, Atro City and in particular A Better Nothing proved to any doubters (including me) that their new album IS good. However, the real highlights of the night were Burn Burn which evoked a crazy mosh pit, Where We Belong and their cover of The Prodigy's Omen which was unexpectedly brilliant. 80/100. http://www.myspace.com/lostprophets
Photos courtesy of Laura :)
NOTE; Gemma's ratings;
Venue: 6/10
Hexes: 40/100
Kids In Glass Houses: 60/100
Lostprophets: 82/100
So, back to the dreary Winter Gardens again. Much like before, walking into the Winter Gardens gave me the impression that I'd walked straight into some kind of Stamp Collecting Convention but one look at the crowd thankfully proved me wrong. However, unlike before, the entire back wall had miraculously disappeared to reveal rows of additional seats. I'm still confused as to how this happened and so, because the staff at the Winter Gardens can make walls disappear, I'm bumping the score up to 4/10.
From what I can remember, the first band of the night were called Hexes. I think I may have once said that the bass can never be too loud but after standing next to the speakers throughout their whole set, my ears suffered a little too much damage and so I take it back. As to their music, it was generally just a little bit too messy for my liking. There were times when they sounded half-decent but as a whole all I have to say is "No." 30/100. http://www.myspace.com/hexes
Which brings us onto Kids In Glass Houses. Having seen them a few times before, I'd previously arrived at the judgement that they (for some reason) are better as a support band. That's not to say that I don't enjoy their live sets. I was extremely excited about seeing them again but for once, I was sadly disappointed. They lacked something but I still can't put my finger on what it was. The only way to phrase it is that their sound didn't really FILL the room and so it failed to have an impact on me. I stand by what I said, I still prefer them as a support band but I'd like them to prove me wrong. 50/100. http://www.myspace.com/kidsinglasshouses
And so we have reached the headliners. I've always expected Lostprophets to be a loud, bold, in your face band when it comes to their live performances and I was proved half right. They weren't the most chatty band and the little that Ian said I couldn't understand at all (and that's not because he's welsh), it may just be because his microphone was turned down a little bit too low. However, unlike KIGH, their music definitely had an impact on the crowd. It echoed through every corner of the room and everyone was moving like someone had given them a giant electric shock. All of the well-known favourites were played; Last Train Home, Last Summer, A Town Called Hypocrisy, Rooftops (A Liberation Broadcast) and Can't Catch Tomorrow while new songs Dstryr/Dstryr, It's Not The End Of The World But I Can See It From Here, Next Stop, Atro City and in particular A Better Nothing proved to any doubters (including me) that their new album IS good. However, the real highlights of the night were Burn Burn which evoked a crazy mosh pit, Where We Belong and their cover of The Prodigy's Omen which was unexpectedly brilliant. 80/100. http://www.myspace.com/lostprophets
Photos courtesy of Laura :)
NOTE; Gemma's ratings;
Venue: 6/10
Hexes: 40/100
Kids In Glass Houses: 60/100
Lostprophets: 82/100
Monday, 8 February 2010
Kerrang! Relentless Tour, Camden Roundhouse, Friday 5th February 2010.
So it was back to the Camden Roundhouse for us as we went to check out this year's Kerrang! Relentless Tour. One thing that the Roundhouse must be congratulated on is the speed at which they get the crowd inside. Considering we were at the back of the queue I was impressed that we got inside in about 15 minutes. The actual venue was pretty much exactly the same but I liked it more the second time round. Don't ask me why... 7/10.
Sadly (or maybe not so sadly) we missed the first band and spent their set on the London Underground. I'm not quite sure why we arrived late, it was probably the Underground cocking things up in typical style. Anyway, the only thing I have to go on is that they got a few half-hearted claps later on which suggests that they were most likely your average band.
Due to this misfortune we also missed about half of Young Guns set too. Never fear though, we made it upstairs in time to catch the last few songs. Having never heard them before I didn't really know what to expect but they gave a solid performance and sounded pretty decent to me. 60/100 because I only heard a few songs. http://www.myspace.com/youngguns
Taking to the stage next were My Passion. Now, I'm aware that Prejudice (the foul monster) is never a good thing but based on what I'd previously seen in magazines, I honestly thought they were going to be (to put it bluntly) s***. So I loved the fact that they proved me wrong. Indeed, appearances can be deceptive. They may look like 'emos' (hence my prejudiced views) but they were actually an immensely entertaining band. 70/100. http://www.myspace.com/mypassion
So, The Blackout? You either love them or you hate them. Or, if you're me, you spend ages hating them and then wake up one morning, give them another listen and think "Actually, I quite like them." This was my second time seeing them but my first time seeing them AND knowing any of their songs. They played a hugely enjoyable set and were always getting the crowd involved whether it be zombie impressions, getting everyone to "kneel the f*** down" or creating an epic circle pit during 'I'm A Riot? You're A Fucking Riot' (and I know it was epic because I was in it). So I can now safely assure you that yes, I do like The Blackout. 78/100. And a word of advice to the tossers who refused to kneel down... if Sean Smith tells you to kneel down, you'd better bloody do it. http://www.myspace.com/theblackout
The final band of the night: All Time Low. It's amazing how the crowd can change at the blink of an eye. One minute I'm standing there surrounded by sweaty men and as soon as ATL take the stage, I'm being pushed around by a hoard of teenage girls (and one lonely looking boy). Opening with Lost in Stereo, All Time Low played an energetic set which included all their best songs and an endless stream of jokes guaranteed to make the parents standing at the back frown and the kids down front laugh. They even included an excellently played acoustic Remembering Sunday which saw the whole crowd singing along. 82/100. http://www.myspace.com/alltimelow
NOTE; Gemma's ratings;
Venue: 7/10
Young Guns: 65/100
My Passion: 65/100
The Blackout: 80/100
All Time Low: 80/100
Sadly (or maybe not so sadly) we missed the first band and spent their set on the London Underground. I'm not quite sure why we arrived late, it was probably the Underground cocking things up in typical style. Anyway, the only thing I have to go on is that they got a few half-hearted claps later on which suggests that they were most likely your average band.
Due to this misfortune we also missed about half of Young Guns set too. Never fear though, we made it upstairs in time to catch the last few songs. Having never heard them before I didn't really know what to expect but they gave a solid performance and sounded pretty decent to me. 60/100 because I only heard a few songs. http://www.myspace.com/youngguns
Taking to the stage next were My Passion. Now, I'm aware that Prejudice (the foul monster) is never a good thing but based on what I'd previously seen in magazines, I honestly thought they were going to be (to put it bluntly) s***. So I loved the fact that they proved me wrong. Indeed, appearances can be deceptive. They may look like 'emos' (hence my prejudiced views) but they were actually an immensely entertaining band. 70/100. http://www.myspace.com/mypassion
So, The Blackout? You either love them or you hate them. Or, if you're me, you spend ages hating them and then wake up one morning, give them another listen and think "Actually, I quite like them." This was my second time seeing them but my first time seeing them AND knowing any of their songs. They played a hugely enjoyable set and were always getting the crowd involved whether it be zombie impressions, getting everyone to "kneel the f*** down" or creating an epic circle pit during 'I'm A Riot? You're A Fucking Riot' (and I know it was epic because I was in it). So I can now safely assure you that yes, I do like The Blackout. 78/100. And a word of advice to the tossers who refused to kneel down... if Sean Smith tells you to kneel down, you'd better bloody do it. http://www.myspace.com/theblackout
The final band of the night: All Time Low. It's amazing how the crowd can change at the blink of an eye. One minute I'm standing there surrounded by sweaty men and as soon as ATL take the stage, I'm being pushed around by a hoard of teenage girls (and one lonely looking boy). Opening with Lost in Stereo, All Time Low played an energetic set which included all their best songs and an endless stream of jokes guaranteed to make the parents standing at the back frown and the kids down front laugh. They even included an excellently played acoustic Remembering Sunday which saw the whole crowd singing along. 82/100. http://www.myspace.com/alltimelow
NOTE; Gemma's ratings;
Venue: 7/10
Young Guns: 65/100
My Passion: 65/100
The Blackout: 80/100
All Time Low: 80/100
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