Being the only UK show of this mammoth European tour, also featuring Into it. Over it. and, one of my favourite bands, Make Do and Mend, this show was bound to get a more than enthusiastic response, and it did just that and more.
First up was Into it. Over it (6/10) who I sadly missed most of due to the queue stretching several hundreds of metres down Holloway Road. Regardless, I was impressed. Having only listened to the album Proper, knowing relatively little about Into it. Over it and expecting to see a full band, I was surprised to see one man (Evan Thomas Weiss) accompanied by solely an acoustic guitar on his lap. It was a stark contrast from the fast-paced aggression of Title Fight that would take his place, and a welcome one at that. Though I did think there was a little too much talking in the set and Into it. Over it suffered from the fact that the queue was still sprawling outside meaning most people hadn't made it in yet and the set was broken up by streams of people still entering.
Next to take to the stage was Make Do and Mend (6/10). Unfortunately Make Do and Mend severely fell victim to the terrible sound at the Relentless Garage; firstly you could hardly make out James Carrolls vocals as the mic kept cutting out and even when the vocal troubles had been resolved the bands sound was terrible unbalanced with way to much drums and it was almost impossible to differentiate between the guitars. Though Make Do and Mend overcame this with their distinctively raw performance and the quality of their music, especially their new album, Everything You Ever Loved. Once the microphone issues were resolved, James Carrolls voice was close to perfect. However, when you're playing a show in which there are two headline acts, it's inevitable that your set is going to get cut pretty short. After only 6 songs, which is nowhere near enough time for Make Do and Mend to truly get comfortable on stage after their technical difficulties, their set was already over.
And now for the first of the two headliners Title Fight (7/10) who caught me completely off guard kicking off with Safe in Your Skin and immediately a surge of bodies come flying off the stage into the audience. This was Title Fight for the following 45 minutes: sheer aggression. Nonetheless, the technical difficulties suffered by Make Do and Mend still hadn't quite resolved themselves; much of the first few songs consisted of obscene amounts of re-verb and white noise. Once the technical difficulties had ceased, Title Fight's new album Floral Green was really put to show, as well as playing some old favourites such as Loud and Clear and Symmetry. You would have thought from the reaction of the crowd that they were the final band of night. Already by the end of the set, the walls and ceilings were dripping with steaming sweat, the room was echoing with screams and shouts and the stage and audience seemed one. Though the enthusiasm of the crowd did distort the performance a little. The constant stream of stage-divers did get in the way of the band, both visually and audibly but when Title Fight finished with 27 it was undeniable that their success has only just begun.
Finally for the band that everyone (well at least me!) had been waiting for: La Dispute (9/10). La Dispute had by far the best sound of the night allowing them to pull off tracks from their outstanding and poignant album Wildlife. Opening with the spine-tingling All Our Bruised Bodies, the audience could already tell that this was going to be an intense and stirring 45 minutes. After Title Fight, you may think that this would be the wind-down, but you would be very wrong. True, La Dispute weren't as 'fast-paced' as Title Fight, but they were emotionally exhausting. The whole crowd was transfixed on Jordan Dreyer's pleading haunting vocals in All Our Bruised Bodies and A Poem and hypnotized by serene guitar in Andria, but the highlight of the night was their finale: King Park. The whole song builds up to an epic and dark ending perfectly suited to end such a violent and consuming gig as the crowd screams word for word along: "Can I still get into heaven if I kill myself?". And it's all over. Finally I return to the relatively dull reality but still with La Dispute ringing in my ears and wanting more.
First up was Into it. Over it (6/10) who I sadly missed most of due to the queue stretching several hundreds of metres down Holloway Road. Regardless, I was impressed. Having only listened to the album Proper, knowing relatively little about Into it. Over it and expecting to see a full band, I was surprised to see one man (Evan Thomas Weiss) accompanied by solely an acoustic guitar on his lap. It was a stark contrast from the fast-paced aggression of Title Fight that would take his place, and a welcome one at that. Though I did think there was a little too much talking in the set and Into it. Over it suffered from the fact that the queue was still sprawling outside meaning most people hadn't made it in yet and the set was broken up by streams of people still entering.
Next to take to the stage was Make Do and Mend (6/10). Unfortunately Make Do and Mend severely fell victim to the terrible sound at the Relentless Garage; firstly you could hardly make out James Carrolls vocals as the mic kept cutting out and even when the vocal troubles had been resolved the bands sound was terrible unbalanced with way to much drums and it was almost impossible to differentiate between the guitars. Though Make Do and Mend overcame this with their distinctively raw performance and the quality of their music, especially their new album, Everything You Ever Loved. Once the microphone issues were resolved, James Carrolls voice was close to perfect. However, when you're playing a show in which there are two headline acts, it's inevitable that your set is going to get cut pretty short. After only 6 songs, which is nowhere near enough time for Make Do and Mend to truly get comfortable on stage after their technical difficulties, their set was already over.
And now for the first of the two headliners Title Fight (7/10) who caught me completely off guard kicking off with Safe in Your Skin and immediately a surge of bodies come flying off the stage into the audience. This was Title Fight for the following 45 minutes: sheer aggression. Nonetheless, the technical difficulties suffered by Make Do and Mend still hadn't quite resolved themselves; much of the first few songs consisted of obscene amounts of re-verb and white noise. Once the technical difficulties had ceased, Title Fight's new album Floral Green was really put to show, as well as playing some old favourites such as Loud and Clear and Symmetry. You would have thought from the reaction of the crowd that they were the final band of night. Already by the end of the set, the walls and ceilings were dripping with steaming sweat, the room was echoing with screams and shouts and the stage and audience seemed one. Though the enthusiasm of the crowd did distort the performance a little. The constant stream of stage-divers did get in the way of the band, both visually and audibly but when Title Fight finished with 27 it was undeniable that their success has only just begun.
Finally for the band that everyone (well at least me!) had been waiting for: La Dispute (9/10). La Dispute had by far the best sound of the night allowing them to pull off tracks from their outstanding and poignant album Wildlife. Opening with the spine-tingling All Our Bruised Bodies, the audience could already tell that this was going to be an intense and stirring 45 minutes. After Title Fight, you may think that this would be the wind-down, but you would be very wrong. True, La Dispute weren't as 'fast-paced' as Title Fight, but they were emotionally exhausting. The whole crowd was transfixed on Jordan Dreyer's pleading haunting vocals in All Our Bruised Bodies and A Poem and hypnotized by serene guitar in Andria, but the highlight of the night was their finale: King Park. The whole song builds up to an epic and dark ending perfectly suited to end such a violent and consuming gig as the crowd screams word for word along: "Can I still get into heaven if I kill myself?". And it's all over. Finally I return to the relatively dull reality but still with La Dispute ringing in my ears and wanting more.
I was there and I totally agree. I'm not a Hardcore fan at all, my friend bought me the ticket but I thought it was great. I had no idea what to expect from it and being trampled and stood on pretty much constantly made me fear for my life, but I enjoyed it.It took me a whole 2 days to get my hearing back and I think the mic should have been turned up because all I could hear was bass and drums. Overall a 7/10 gig
ReplyDeleteGlad you had a good time :) It was an insane gig, I got drop kicked on the head by some stage diver during the first song of Title Fight which put me out of action for a couple of songs. Almost lost the memory card in my camera as well!!
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