Rancid and Cock Sparrer @ HMV Forum 14/12/2012 review

It has long been debated whether or not punk is well and truly dead (or dying!). For the most part, over the past decade or so, punk and rock bands have been shunned out of the mainstream culture of music and replaced. Nevertheless, two of the most influential bands in punk to this day, Rancid, celebrating their 20th anniversary, and Cock Sparrer, celebrating their 40th, still succeed in selling out three successive dates at the acclaimed HMV Forum, which has been one of the leading venues in London since it's days as the Kentish Town Forum. Granted, Rancid and Cock Sparrer haven't released much in the way of new material, if any at all, but these three shows are surely going to be nothing but unadulterated punk rock.

Rancid Tour Poster

First up of the notorious headliners is the East End band Cock Sparrer, arguably the inventors of the punk sub-genre Oi!. While obviously drawing more in the way of veteran punk fans to the show, they made this show uniquely British with their own brand of punk working class punk anthems. Certainly, they did whip the crowd up into a chanting frenzy, especially with the famous Take 'em All, but they lack the diversity and musicianship of Rancid. The biggest reception they received was when they were joined on stage by Lars Frederikson. For me, even though they were technically co-headlining, they were just a warm up for the band I had come here to see. 

Cock Sparrer and Lars Frederikson

After about five years of waiting to see Rancid, Californian punk legends, I finally get the chance to witness my favourite ska-punk band in the world. The hardly recognisable Tim Armstrong, obscured behind a mass of facial hair, opens up with the gradual opening of the '94 classic Radio, and then arguably the best bassist in punk rock Matt Freeman well and truly gets the gig going and soon enough the whole audience is dancing, skanking, moshing and chanting 'Here we go, here we go...'.

As Rancid have hardly paid the UK a visit since the release of, in my opinion, their rather mediocre album Let the Dominoes Fall in 2009, it was unclear whether or not this was going to be the typical nostalgic anniversary show, or whether it would be further promoting their most recently release. Fortunately for me, it wasn't the latter! Most tracks off my favourite Rancid album, ...And Out Come the Wolves, must have featured in the setlist. Maxwell Murder, in it's one minute thirty of incredible bass solos and speed, hypnotised the audience as they either watched Matt Freeman in awe or struggled to keep up with his incredible speed and skill.

It was however noticeable that, even though they had no trouble in energising the audience, Rancid themselves were tiring. Lars sometimes fell behind the lyrics especially during Dead Bodies and the band as a whole did remain mostly static on stage. Nonetheless, this was completely unnoticeable during the highlight of the night for me Time Bomb. Being possibly the first punk song I ever truly loved, I couldn't help but get involved in the pit and I definitely wasn't alone! After Rancid finished with Ruby Soho the Forum was left with pools of sweat, beer, blood and mud and hundreds of smashed up plastic cups and a few phones that I'm sure their owners won't be seeing again!

Tim Armstrong

Despite the ages of both Rancid and Cock Sparrer, they are still just as popular and attracting yet more fans to see them live. True, punk may not have such a force in the commercial aspect of music any more  but that doesn't mean it is dead! Judging from tonight, and I'm sure the other two nights, it's still going...just. 

Alexisonfire Farewell Shows @ Brixton Academy 2-3/12/2012 review

This is without a doubt going to be the hardest review I'll ever write. Not only because reviewing two dates at once is certainly going to be a rather interesting task, but to remain critical about my favourite band in the world playing two final farewell shows, Alexisonfire, but also about The Ghost of a Thousand who are about my third favourite band and playing their last two shows EVER isn't going to be easy. On top of that, I was even lucky enough to get myself a Meet and Greet ticket and was actually able to talk to every member of Alexisonfire. So this review may turn out to be more an homage to Alexisonfire and The Ghost of a Thousand than anything. So here goes.

After a rather stressful day, there I was, outside Brixton Academy on a frosty Sunday night with a handful of other Alexisonfire fans anticipating to live out the moment they've all been waiting for, the chance to meet their favourite band in the world: their last ever chance to meet their favourite band in the world. The air was electric with excitement and nerves. Finally, after some delay, the big glass doors to Brixton Academy open and welcome us inside as we collect our limited edition posters, laminates and Crisis bonus tracks 7''. We're then lead through a small door at the back on the main entrance hall up a narrow staircase and into the dingy little VIP bar. And this was when it hit me, that after all this waiting, I'd finally get to meet Alexisonfire, and it would be the perfect way to send off a band that have forged your music taste to what it is today.

Subtly and quietly, without any announcement, Alexisonfire sneak in through the side door. It's only when Dallas Green stands in the middle of the bar and announces their arrival does the whole room fall silent in awe. And so the 'meet and greet' begins.

I was expecting Alexisonfire to be stood behind some barrier as we queue up and greet them one by one, getting our limited edition merchandise signed and photos taken and then hurriedly moving along, but this was not the case at all. Alexisonfire were dispersed throughout the bar giving us the opportunity to talk to each member of the band and ask them questions, it was much more personal than I was expecting. As it turns out, Alexisonfire must be some of the nicest men in music. Not only do Alexisonfire make some of the best post-hardcore out there and take time out of what I'm sure must be busy schedules do grace us with one last farewell tour, but they also take the chance to meet their fans which have been following and supporting them from the beginning, and they seemed genuinely happy to be doing so. It was certainly refreshing. 

Now I've spent enough time ranting about the Meet and Greet, thought I'd have a break and show some pretty pictures of the Meet and Greet bundle stuff and of Alexisonfire :D

Me and Chris Steele

Me and Wade MacNeil

Me and Dallas Green

Me and George Pettit and Jordan Hastings

Signed 7''

Meet and Greet Laminate

Meet and Greet Laminate

Limited Edition Poster signed by Dallas Green

And now for the reviews of the actual shows. It seems like not many people at the shows had any idea who The Ghost of a Thousand were, which was surprising since Alexisonfire and The Ghost of a Thousand had toured together before, so I did think it was a shame that their last ever shows were going to be to a crowd of strangers. However, TGOAT proved me wrong. Opening as always with Small Mercies as an introduction to their raucous live shows, the crowd did not know what to expect. And then Left For Dead kicked in. I always considered Left For Dead their most popular track, but at both shows it received a rather lukewarm response, it wasn't until Bright Lights followed that the show really got started. In both shows, Tom Lacey chose this song to get involved, and hence get the crowd involved. It didn't matter whether you knew who TGOAT were or not, it was impossible to ignore them and to not get swept up in their unique brand of Rock 'n' Roll infused Hardcore Punk. After Bright Lights, TGOAT had certainly grabbed the audience's attention and it remained that way for the rest of set.

One great thing about TGOAT, is that not a single member of the band is anything less than hyper. Even Jag Jago launched himself into the crowd at the end during Bored of Math and Andy Blyth's groovy Rock 'n' Roll riffs possessed the crowd's bodies forcing them to dance along. I always knew that this was going to be an Alexis show, not a TGOAT show, though I really would have like a longer set. That being said, having only released two albums, there wasn't too much left to add to the setlist (which I seem to remember remaining the same for both nights). 

I managed to beg stage crew for a setlist and pick for TGOAT's show (it's the Sunday night setlist, though they were the same for both nights).

And now for the moment we've all been waiting for: Alexisonfire for one (or two!) last time(s). I have never heard an audience cheer so loud at a gig just as the band come on stage. By playing what felt like an incredibly long introduction before they graced the stage, the atmosphere in this rammed out Brixton Academy was buzzing to say the least. How the barrier managed to withstand the sheer pressure of people scrambling towards the front, desperate to get as good a view of Alexis for one last final time, I have no idea.

Having been to both Brixton shows, I was expecting little change in the setlist, I thought I'd be able to predict the exact song coming on next. Normally Alexis open with Young Cardinals, but on the Sunday show, expecting to hear that pounding guitar and bass line of the intro to the Young Cardinals live version, instead my senses were shaken awake by Crisis. And so, evidently on the Monday, I was expecting Crisis, but Alexisonfire surprise me yet again by this time opening with Young Cardinals. Obviously, Alexisonfire are going to be keeping us on our toes on this tour! And so the riot begins.

Farewell and reunion shows are always a bit of a risky move. You have to be sure that every single member of the band is in it 100 percent, that the band remain as a unit, despite breaking up. I obviously don't know what exactly happened within Alexisonfire during the breakup, but I can say this, I honestly don't think I've seen the band so excited to be on stage. Even Dallas was jumping around! George Pettit captured the audience with his intense intimidating stare, while Chris Steele stunned us with his insane moves as he jives and flings himself all over the stage and the floor, he must be my favourite live bassist around!

Furthermore, as far as musicianship goes, they were spotless. As always, Dallas Green's voice was faultless and beautifully serene, as soon as he opened his mouth the audience went silent. He made songs like The Northern and No Transitory his own with his hypnotic angelic voice. The combination of Wade, George and Dallas on vocals was incredible, as every single one of them was on top form and effortlessly weaved in and out of each other.

However 23 songs is a long set! The crowd did have trouble keeping up. I even felt that across the two nights, people had tired out. I'm sure there were many people in the crowd like me who had gone to both sets and were still suffering from the Sunday night, so unfortunately there was a bit of a lull on the Monday night. That being said, it didn't withdraw from Alexisonfire's incredible performance and sure enough the crowd managed to gather up all the energy they had left for the encore as people piled over the barrier. Both nights ending with the classic Happiness by the Kilowatt, it was a perfect finale to a perfect career.

And it's over, Alexisonfire leave the stage to never return.

On a lighter note, George Pettit handed me the setlist and the end of Sunday's show, here it is:

Also thought I'd upload pics of my Alexis tattoos just for fun :)

Hundred Reasons @ The Coronet London 22/11/2012

Celebrating the 10th anniversary of their revolutionary album Ideas Above Our Station, Hundred Reasons return to London to grace the stage of the Coronet and play homage to their breakthrough album by playing it in it entirety. Due to the phenomenal rate at which tickets sold out to their show at the HMV Forum on the weekend, they announced an extra show, fortunately for those of us who weren't lucky enough to get a ticket first time round. Joined by Hell is For Heroes, playing their album The Neon Handshake and Cable, playing their first shows since 1999, this was certainly going to be a trip down the post-hardcore memory lane.

Before Hell is For Heroes (7/10) had even come on stage, the venue was already bursting at the seams. Arriving a little late at the venue, I was confused to be told by the security to go upstairs. After asking why, they said it was because I wouldn't be able to see a thing. I ignored this response and went straight downstairs to stalls and sure enough, the security guard was right. There was hardly any space left on the floor to even place my feet let alone see anything. Ashamedly I have to admit that before this gig I had only listened to Hell is For Heroes a couple of times, god knows how they didn't cross my path, but after this performance, I'm sure to be listening to them much more. Although I had an awful view of the stage, thanks to the sound at the Coronet, I still didn't feel as though I missed a thing. It's rare for every song on an album to be a live hit, but The Neon Handshake appeared to be an exception. Slow songs and heavy songs alike drew equal attention from the crowd such as Slow Song, which at the finale of this track managed to create the biggest pit of the set, and Out Of Sight. Overall, it was quite an enjoyable set, though not spectacular.

Fortunately, as everyone moved back to the bar during the break, I managed to squeeze into front row for Hundred Reasons (7/10). Expecting Hundred Reasons to come out blasting with I'll Find You, the first track off Ideas Above Our Station, I was surprised to say the least to hear instead Broken Hands. It became clear very quickly that this wasn't going to be your stereotypical Hundred Reasons set, it wasn't even going to be a stereotypical album show. The one Hundred Reasons set morphed into three completely different and contrasting sets. Firstly, was you could say the most classic of a Hundred Reasons set. Much of the set was compromised of old Hundred Reasons songs mostly from the album Kill Your Own, such as This Mess and The Perfect Gift. Even though for some people in the audience hoping for a set filled with newer songs from Quick the Word, Sharp the Action when not playing Ideas Above Our Station, I thought it fitted perfectly into the set. As they were celebrating their 10 year anniversary of an album, it made sense that this gig was going to feature plenty of nostalgia, especially since it's been 5 years since they have released an album. Once their initial 7 song set was over, Hundred Reasons confusingly left the stage leaving us wondering whether this was going to be the Ideas Above Our Station show that we were told. But, sure enough, after a brief but much needed break, they came on to perform arguably their best ever album. It was evident that the audience had come prepared as every member was singing along to every single word. Even though Hundred Reasons sure have aged a fair amount since the release of Ideas Above Our Station and perhaps lost some of their energy, they were still remarkably lively and seemed genuinely happy to be playing their debut album, the album which thrust Hundred Reasons into the limelight. The only problem with playing your best album in its entirety, it doesn't really leave you with many songs to play in the encore. And so the third set commenced: the encore. It was again a song weighted on older material, even featuring Remmus off EP2 and My Sympathy off Shatterproof is Not a Challenge, though finishing on a high with the well know Kill Your Own.

This show will certainly stand out for me with it's outstandingly refreshing yet nostalgic set. Though there did still seem to be something lacking, and it may have been that Hundred Reasons aren't as relevant as they were. Without a new release for 5 years, it forces people to wonder what was the real intention for these shows?