Few bands of the 'post-hardcore' genre can say that they have played a venue the size of Brixton, and hardly any of them can say that they can play a venue of this magnitude after only two full-lengths, a hiatus, a reformation and then a break-up and then another reformation! It's even more shocking that Finch's second album of the two hardly made a blip on the post-hardcore radar, and that still, after a whole decade since it's release, What It Is To Burn, is still causing as much of a stir now as it was the day it was released. Having sold out Shepherd's Bush Empire, the venue was quickly upgraded, and here we are, outside Brixton academy, waiting for quite possibly my one and only chance to see one of the biggest post-hardcore bands play one of the most critically acclaimed and loved, if not the most, albums of all time in it's entirety.
First band I caught of the night was Mallory Knox. They may have been musically relevant, being, as many other bands are out there, basically a product of the What It Is To Burn album, but it certainly didn't feel that way tonight. Mallory Knox are certainly making waves among the up and coming rock scene, having just released their debut album Signals earlier this year and making the festival run this summer with Hit The Deck, Slam Dunk and Reading and Leeds, but unfortunately they hardly got a response tonight. Having a band that is popular among mostly teenagers, with only one two month old album under their belts, supporting a veteran post-hardcore band that has been around for over a decade, whose fan base is between 20 and 30 years old, just didn't work. Despite this, I had to admire their enthusiasm on stage. Mikey Chapman's vocals were excellent and Lighthouse did manage to raise a few heads. Though their poppy infused post-hardcore just didn't ring with the crowd tonight.
And surprise, surprise the intro to New Beginnings echoes around the colossal Brixton Academy, and the hour long sing along ensues. Finch appeared to get off to a great start, with not a single person in the audience stood still, and not a single word was unsung. Of course with an album like What It Is To Burn, in which every single track is a stand alone anthem, the response is going to be epic. Nonetheless, about half way through, once the momentum of the anticipation of seeing Finch had died down, and of course once Letters To You had already been played, I started to notice that Finch didn't seem to share the same energy. I wasn't alone. The crowd started to lose energy and enthusiasm. Yes, they did say that apparently tonight was the best show they've ever played, but I highly doubt that! It was probably just a poor and desperate attempt at getting the crowd excited again. For the most part they seemed un-focused, impersonal and withdrawn. By the time that Ender came on, the crowd had fallen into a deep lull.
To make matters worse, when you didn't think the crowd could get any less bothered, they started playing songs that weren't on What It Is To Burn. I am aware that Finch simply cannot rely solely on What It Is To Burn to make up their set list, it simply would not be long enough, but honestly, they really could have done without playing old unheard tracks. It even would have been better if they had played Letters To You and second time acoustically, as opposed to playing anything else! Instead Nate played the little known Once Upon My Nightstand solo to a disappointed and confused crowd, made worse by the fact that his voice did seem a little out of tune. They didn't even play anything off Say Hello To Sunshine. And so it was left up to the crowd to get the momentum flowing again for the finale title track, What It Is To Burn. At least it ended on a high.
With a year like the last, with countless reunions and comebacks such as Refused, Alexisonfire and Hundred Reasons just to name a few, Finch just didn't live up. That being said, the sheer quality of What It Is To Burn and the fact that is easily one of my favourite albums of all time meant that this gig was saved for me, and probably for almost everyone else. Despite Finch's poor effort, it didn't mean that the crowd couldn't at least enjoy singing along and experiencing a moment of sheer nostalgia and getting a chance to pretend they were their 15 year old emo self again. It was great to start off with, but unfortunately Finch did suffer in the middle from lack of interest in older material, which resulted in a disappointingly mediocre gig.
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