You Me At Six, Brixton Academy, Saturday 20th March 2010.

Last year we went to Give It A Name at Brixton Academy and I thought the queue was fairly decent, aside from the fact that it rained. This year, we went to see You Me At Six at Brixton Academy and the queue somehow managed to trail around all four sides of the building, back past the entrance, all the way down the road, round the corner and all of the way down the next road. Impressive then that we were only in the queue for about 40 minutes. Sadly, it rained, again. Once inside it's easy to see why the Brixton Academy is such a popular venue. It's the perfect size for those well known bands like You Me At Six because it's not so big that the crowd at the back of the venue can't see the band but it's not small enough for the band to feel that they're playing to a tiny crowd. 8/10.

Because the queue was rather long, we missed We The Kings entrance. However, we caught most of their set which made my night as they were the main reason I went. What we did see was impressive enough to convince me to buy a £20 t-shirt and thus put myself into debt (borrowing money when you don't have it is a bad move). They played excellently with all their best songs including Skyway Avenue, Stay Young, Heaven Can Wait and set closer Check Yes Juliet. The highlight of the night was Secret Valentine which Travis introduced by saying, "I don't want to offend anyone but this next song's about... sexual intercourse" which caused an explosion of female screams throughout the crowd. I believe I once stated that I would not give a support band above 70... I take it back. 78/100. www.myspace.com/wethekings

The main support band were Forever The Sickest Kids, a band I've been waiting to see for quite a while. As I expected, they lived up to all my expectations, giving an extremely energetic performance which was hugely entertaining to watch. The majority of their set was made up of songs from Underdog Alma Mater such as Whoa Oh! (Me vs. Everyone), Hey Brittany, She's a Lady and My Worst Nightmare. While everyone enjoyed their set, nobody seemed to enjoy it more than the band themselves and this is what made it so darn good to watch. 70/100. www.myspace.com/foreverthesickestkids

For the first time since I first sat down and created this blog, I won't be finishing my review. I'll be handing over to Gemma to review You Me At Six as she is a much better judge of their music...

Woohoo my turn :)

The venue went dark and the crowd was left in suspense for what was to happen next. All of a sudden bright flashing white lights began to reveal You Me At Six coming on the stage opening with the track “Safer to Hate Her” from their newest album, Hold Me Down. With the crowd singing along, sprits were high and the band seemed to be enjoying the gig. Playing straight into “The Truth is a Terrible Thing” mosh pits and screaming fans seemed to become more apparent at this point. The night continued with a large amount of energy and effort from the band to give an amazing performance; which they did. During the gig, the ongoing air raid alarm (from the begin of the second album, "The Consequence") played for around a minute and a half to reveal the majority of the band head banging and giving it all they’ve got. During the song, a performance by the Blackout’s Sean Smith was given with Sean climbing all over the speakers and screaming the lyrics “I’ve got real big plans and such bad thoughts.” The set list continued containing other songs from both albums like; Jealous Minds Think Alike, Liquid Confidence, Stay With Me, Finders Keepers, If I Were In Your Shoes as well as singles; Kiss and Tell and Finders Keepers and a few more. After the song Fireworks, the band disappeared to leave many fans chanting for an encore. They delivered this with the songs "Always Attract" featuring Josh’s Sister- Elissa (which involved the entire venue singing along), "Save it for the Bedroom" and finishing with "Underdog". All of which were performed withgreat energy.
After the concert, it took us 4 hours to get home, but it was so worth it :) 89/100. www.myspace.com/youmeatsix


NOTE; Gemma's ratings;
Venue: 8/10
We The Kings: 79/100
Forever The Sickest Kids: 76/100
u Me At Six: 89/100

Enter Shikari, Hammersmith Apollo, Friday 12th February 2010.

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

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 :'(

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

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

Soundhole, 23rd January 2010.

Here at Havoc Reviews (we don't actually have a specific location) we don't just go and see big or upcoming bands. No, we like to support our locals too and local to us is a gig called Soundhole. It features half a dozen bands from the surrounding area and although it's only a small event, we have a good time.

I won't be comparing these bands to actual professionals so the marks out of 100 you see here are based completely on Soundhole.

Let's start with the venue. Based at High Halstow village hall, it is really a rather small venue and sadly it's only about a quarter full tonight. So the roof may be missing some tiles, the walls are a bare white and those 'school cafeteria tables' are set out the back with Monster Munch and Magic Stars piled up for us all to munch on. Now, I quite like Magic Stars so I'm not going to complain about this. What I'm trying to say is that it may not be a venue with character but it's decent enough. 5/10.

First up then is a girl named Emma Holbrook. I commend her for getting up on stage in front of a crowd who are more worried about socialising than actually listening to her music. There were some who paid attention though and I was one of them. She switched between a guitar and ukulele (the latter amused both Gemma and I) and she played them both well. In terms of her vocal style we drew a comparison with Kate Nash, with the exception of her having a good old Kent accent. Overall, a very good set. 68/100. http://www.myspace.com/emmaholbrook1

Next up was Luke Paul Jackson. We've seen him before and he played just as well as last time. He even pulled out of nowhere a cover of Crazy by Gnarls Barkley as well as a combination medley of Kings of Leon songs; Sex on Fire and Use Somebody, both of which were surprisingly extremely excellent. A good singer and a set well done. 70/100. http://www.myspace.com/lukepauljackson


Onto the bands. The first band of the night were named Stacey and the Freeloaders so I was just a little bit confused about the fact that not one member of the band looked like a 'Stacey' due to the fact that every member of the band was male. This was all cleared up though when it was announced that Stacey was the guitarist... As far as I can remember the music was ok, a little average but the vocals didn't work. 40/100. http://www.myspace.com/staceyandthefreeloaders

Following them were Four Day Story. Now, I don't want to be mean but they really weren't my cup of tea. At all. On a more positive note, I've never seen a boy with shinier hair. 30/100. http://www.myspace.com/fourdaystory

So finally a band I liked: 10 to 7. They seemed to have some fans/friends in the crowd so they were a bit more interactive and they were the first people on stage who actually appeared to be having a good time. The guitarist broke a string after only one or two songs and so disappeared back stage, leaving his bandmates to entertain the audience, which they did with a well played cover song. The first band to put a smile on my face so they get 65/100.

Onto the penultimate band, Ultimatum. Another acoustic set, Gemma liked them more than I did but they weren't that bad. They could all sing well and they had a harmonica which bumps up their score a bit, even though it was only in one song for about two seconds. 55/100.

And so we have reached the final band. A Three Sided Square seemed to enjoy playing, it's just a shame that nobody else did. By this point, half of the 70 or so people had already left and we only stuck around to finish off the night. 32/100. http://www.myspace.com/athreesidedsquare


NOTE; Gemma's ratings;
Venue: 5/10
Emma Holbrook: 65/100
Luke Paul Jackson: 73/100
Stacey and the Freeloaders: 35/100
Four Day Story: 40/100
10 to 7 65/100
Ultimatum: 55/100
A Three Sided Square: 40/100

Upcoming 2010.

2009 was an excellent year for gigs. Fall Out Boy, Give It A Name, Gallows, McFly, Enter Shikari, Bowling For Soup, Biffy Clyro, Green Day and Paramore. Not to mention Gemma's trips to You Me At Six, The Blackout and the Jonas Brothers. (The last one is slightly questionable.) So can 2010 get any better? Of course it can...

UPCOMING GIGS:
Kerrang! Relentless Tour 2010 (All Time Low, The Blackout, Young Guns and My Passion), Camden Roundhouse, Friday 5th February.
Lostprophets, Margate Winter Gardens, Tuesday 9th February.
Cobra Starship, O2 Shepherds Bush Empire, Wednesday 10th February.
Enter Shikari, Hammersmith Apollo, Friday 12th February.
You Me At Six, Brixton Academy, Saturday 20th March.
Pendulum, Wembley Arena, Friday 28th May.
The Prodigy, Milton Keynes Bowl, Saturday 24th July.
Muse, Wembley Stadium, Saturday 11th September.

And I have a feeling that's just the beginning. Happy New Year folks.