Excellent show by The Treatment, this review was posted on Grapevine's website.
Written by Ryan Whitwell
Saturday 15th December 2012,
A
mild winter's Saturday I had A quick potter around Camden market for
Christmas presents. Oh yeah, I also saw one of the best heavy metal
bands around at the moment in the form of The Treatment at Camden
Underworld.
Curren kicked off an early
start to procedings. Solid with plenty of American style rock about
them. The early start of about 6.30 meant the crowd was a little on the thin
side but that didn't dampen Curren's spirit and the lack of numbers held
up pretty well when faced with some audience participation. The band
have a great vibe about them, good upbeat band with a solid set
including a cover of Bob Seger's 'Rosalie' which matched their style
really well.
Next up on the four band roster were the brilliant Four Wheel Drive.
The high rollers were on form once again to cement themselves as one of
my favourite bands right now. This was my second Four Wheel Drive gig
but this time the band were penned in to the confines of Underworld's
stage, so no bar top guitar solos (although that didn't stop one
guitarist walking through the crowd riffing like a boss).
I'm
not sure why but I always gain an involuntary smile when I hear a Four
Wheel Drive track, much like the one I get when AC/DC is played on the
radio. I guess my subconscious is so happy this brilliant music exists
that my frontal lobe can't hide it. The same thing happened during the
headliner's set, but more about them after I mention the third band of
the evening.
Vega are a band that I had
not seen nor heard before and their style of theatrical vocals and
keyboards immediately made me think of that other side of eighties rock.
They felt a bit Bon Jovi/Billy Idol but with boyband-esque key changes
and vocals. Definitely a vocally focused band and the guitarist from
Night By Night was playing along on stage, which was a nice surprise
because he is a good guitarist. As the set continued I couldn't shake
the image of a an 'attitude' laden film from the mid-eighties where the
hero would at some point ride a motorbike for an entire song (probably
by Stan Bush) because he had to battle the bully in the big dance
tournament to get the girl. It wasn't bad and there were plenty of
established fans singing along as I think all of the songs featured an
opportunity to chant the word 'hey' or 'woah' in leu of an extended
guitar solo.
After what seemed like an especially long time, The Treatment glided on stage and proceeded to blow the roof off The Underworld and the World's End above it!
If
you haven't heard of these young guns from Cambridge then you owe it to
yourself to get a dose of The Treatment (Sorry, I promise not to do
anymore medical puns). Rounding up what has been an amazing year for the
traditional heavy metallers, supporting the likes of Motley Crüe, Kiss
and Thin Lizzy both here and in the US. The Treatment powered up their
amps and turned everything up to 'awesome' to prescribe some more volts
to an already electric Camden crowd (I promise that was the last medical
pun).
Playing a bit of their 'This Might Hurt' album and a
couple of newer tracks, The Treatment have clearly learned a lot from
the masters they have recently supported. The crowd were up for it and
all five band members knew it. plenty of fist pumping, arm waving and
head banging was going on as the barrage of hard and fast metal blasted
into the very core of our beings.
By the end of the set
the room was so energetic that a stage invasion ensued as the smothered
band played one of my favourites, 'Shake The Mountain', to top off a set
full of hit and miss crowd surfing, studded leather jackets and guitar
solos and the band just took it all in their stride as if they've been
doing it for 50 years.
Ending with a great encore
featuring a cover of Saxon's 'Motorcycle Man', the band managed to add
themselves to my list of best live bands I've seen this year!
I
cannot praise this band enough and sincerely hope they go on for a very
long time as we may well be witnessing the start of something very
special in a new wave of British heavy metal, and it's just what the
doctor ordered (OK, that one was really bad).
Gigs are great, most of the time, so to commemorate such events I have decided to create a blog dedicated to the reviews I write. Most are sent and uploaded to GrapeVineLive.co.uk, under the reader's reviews but there may be one or two that don't make it. All reviews are the opinion of me, Ryan, and therefore probably mean nothing in the greater scheme of things, Be excellent to each other, Ryan
Showing posts with label Camden. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Camden. Show all posts
Thursday, 10 January 2013
Tacoma Narrows Bridge Disaster @ Boston Arms, Camden
One of the support acts' (Muddy Miles) singer/guitarist is an old friend of mine from Uni. This was also my first prog gig and was posted on Grapevinelive.co.uk.
Thursday 6th December 2012, Boston Arms, Camden
Written by Ryan Whitwell
Prog, not a genre I'm well versed in but it is one that has intrigued me, the idea of having something seem so random and disordered but at the same time maintain a structure is interesting. However my knowledge of prog rock extends as far as ‘Yes’ and the stranger end of Pink Floyd, so tonight’s gig featuring three prog bands was going to be an experience regardless of the quality of music.
As I sat on the tube from High Barnet to Tufnell Park I listened to the EP of a couple of the three bands I was heading to see at The Boston Arms, Camden. Tacoma Narrows Bridge Disaster had top billing with support from Colchester’s Telepathy and Bristol’s Muddy Miles and I was excited to experience some bands that I wouldn't normally choose to see.
The venue was a bit sparse in terms of crowd, but a nice collective managed to form as the three bands progressed throughout the evening. Muddy Miles were first up. I had heard their recorded stuff before but live they managed to push their sound to a different level. I guess my favourite thing about prog is the chaotic nature much of the genre possesses, but it somehow remains ordered. Muddy Miles’ barrage of effects take the guitar and bass to places it was never meant to go and it all works surprisingly well. The level of distortion didn't interfere and Muddy Miles seemed loose but well rehearsed at the same time (after talking to the bassist I found out they hadn't played for a while, so maybe the loose organic feel was accidental, either way it worked so why worry?) Muddy Miles are planning to relocate to London so hopefully they will be playing a lot more gigs soon.
Telepathy, from Colchester, managed to take the chaos I mentioned earlier and rank it up to ‘certifiable’! The four piece seemed to be enjoying themselves as they moved around like a band possessed. The effects pedals were in full effect, altering everything, impressing everyone and the sound firing through the amps was nothing short of insane. The songs were all instrumentals, which meant the structures of the songs were far beyond the usual verse-chorus-verse format I'm used to. The shifting tempo and rhythm kept the songs moving in all sorts of directions.
Tacoma Narrows Bridge Disaster were the third and final band of the night. More reserved than the previous bands but still maintained the energy of the evening. They were also sporting a new bassist and I think they had another change in the form of a lack of vocals, but I don’t know enough about the band to know what happened there. The loss of vocals would be a dramatic change for many bands but Bridge Disaster's songs shift and morph to the point that you wonder where a vocalist might fit in such a thing. I really enjoyed all three bands tonight, so much so that I might start to give prog a bit more respect now.
All three bands have free songs and other stuff online through Band Camp, so you can get some free music and donate a few pounds if you like what you hear.
Tacoma Narrows Bridge Disaster : http://BridgeDisaster.co.uk and facebook.com/tnbduk
Telepathy : http://telepathyband.bandcamp.com/ and facebook.com/telepathyband
Muddy Miles : http://MuddyMilesBand.co.uk and facebook.com/muddymilesband
Thursday 6th December 2012, Boston Arms, Camden
Written by Ryan Whitwell
Prog, not a genre I'm well versed in but it is one that has intrigued me, the idea of having something seem so random and disordered but at the same time maintain a structure is interesting. However my knowledge of prog rock extends as far as ‘Yes’ and the stranger end of Pink Floyd, so tonight’s gig featuring three prog bands was going to be an experience regardless of the quality of music.
As I sat on the tube from High Barnet to Tufnell Park I listened to the EP of a couple of the three bands I was heading to see at The Boston Arms, Camden. Tacoma Narrows Bridge Disaster had top billing with support from Colchester’s Telepathy and Bristol’s Muddy Miles and I was excited to experience some bands that I wouldn't normally choose to see.
The venue was a bit sparse in terms of crowd, but a nice collective managed to form as the three bands progressed throughout the evening. Muddy Miles were first up. I had heard their recorded stuff before but live they managed to push their sound to a different level. I guess my favourite thing about prog is the chaotic nature much of the genre possesses, but it somehow remains ordered. Muddy Miles’ barrage of effects take the guitar and bass to places it was never meant to go and it all works surprisingly well. The level of distortion didn't interfere and Muddy Miles seemed loose but well rehearsed at the same time (after talking to the bassist I found out they hadn't played for a while, so maybe the loose organic feel was accidental, either way it worked so why worry?) Muddy Miles are planning to relocate to London so hopefully they will be playing a lot more gigs soon.
Telepathy, from Colchester, managed to take the chaos I mentioned earlier and rank it up to ‘certifiable’! The four piece seemed to be enjoying themselves as they moved around like a band possessed. The effects pedals were in full effect, altering everything, impressing everyone and the sound firing through the amps was nothing short of insane. The songs were all instrumentals, which meant the structures of the songs were far beyond the usual verse-chorus-verse format I'm used to. The shifting tempo and rhythm kept the songs moving in all sorts of directions.
Tacoma Narrows Bridge Disaster were the third and final band of the night. More reserved than the previous bands but still maintained the energy of the evening. They were also sporting a new bassist and I think they had another change in the form of a lack of vocals, but I don’t know enough about the band to know what happened there. The loss of vocals would be a dramatic change for many bands but Bridge Disaster's songs shift and morph to the point that you wonder where a vocalist might fit in such a thing. I really enjoyed all three bands tonight, so much so that I might start to give prog a bit more respect now.
All three bands have free songs and other stuff online through Band Camp, so you can get some free music and donate a few pounds if you like what you hear.
Tacoma Narrows Bridge Disaster : http://BridgeDisaster.co.uk and facebook.com/tnbduk
Telepathy : http://telepathyband.bandcamp.com/ and facebook.com/telepathyband
Muddy Miles : http://MuddyMilesBand.co.uk and facebook.com/muddymilesband
Jettblack @ The Underworld Camden
I ended up being a bit later than I wanted to be for this one, so I missed the support, but Grapevinelive liked this review enough to post it on their site.
Written by Ryan Whitwell
First things first, due to whatever reason, I managed to miss the first support act of the evening (Sondura) and only saw a smidgen of the second band's set (The Mercy House), so I can't really go into detail about them or their music. But seeing as they were supporting the brilliant Jettblack, they must be good.
High Wycombe's heavy metalers, Jettblack, played Camden's Underworld as part of their first headline tour (not including the co-headline gigs they did with Heaven's Basement a couple of years ago). The main support were a band called Night by Night, whom I had never heard of until tonight but they did intrigue me.
Night by Night had a bit of a following with a fair number of the crowd singing along and raising hands, but I had my 'gig review' hat on and as soon as they began to play I tried to sum them up in a way that would describe them well to somebody that hasn't heard of them... I failed at that, coming up with the idea that they are musically a little bit like Fallout Boy or maybe Avenged Sevenfold but with the vocals of Backstreet Boys, which sounds like a terrible band description but Night by Night are actually quite impressive. I have only seen them live this one time and am yet to listen to any recorded stuff, but I'd say they are very much vocally led. Some great guitar solos and the lead singer was brilliant but what impressed me more was the harmonies from both the bassist and one of the guitarists (Night by Night are a 5 piece), harmonies that were so pitch perfect I almost wondered if they had pre-recorded it because that level of perfection is rare even for some of the bigger names.
Onto the headliners. I think the last time I saw Jettblack was at the same venue about two years ago with Heaven's Basement and Earth Prayer and I saw them at Ozzfest 2010, so it's fair to say I have faith in this band and I'd call myself a fan of theirs. Since I last saw them they have released their second album and are definitely progressing. A quick word about their second album (Raining Rock), in short I was a bit unsure of some of the tracks because lyrically a couple of the songs were a bit off putting, but the majority of the album was as good as (and sometimes better than) their excellent debut album. Fortunately, Jettblack's set was well thought out, they did the best possible thing and played the best tracks off of their latest offering and switched it up with the best their first album has to offer. Opening with the instrumental first track of their latest album and immediately setting the venue alight with the hard hitting 'Slip it on', one of the tracks that got me hooked on this band in the first place. The great tracks just kept on coming and with the venue jumping to the powerful 'Less Torque More Thrust' and 'Get Your Hands Dirty'. Even the slower ballads like 'Not Even Love' were greeted with a chorus of fans singing every word at full volume.
And the band seemed to be enjoying every second, the bassist especially had the cheesiest grin for most of the set as the crowd continued to make themselves known with plenty of movement and vocal encouragement, a sure sign that this band are worth investing your interest in. In my opinion, what makes or breaks a gig is the connection the band has with the crowd. When I saw Turbowolf a couple of weeks ago, they were on fire and the lead singer made sure we were all having a damn good time. Rival Sons, however, failed to connect, mostly because of their bizarre choice to play their entire new album note for note in the same order as the record but also because there wasn't much talking to the crowd. Jettblack were excellent entertainers, playing the best songs off of both albums and encouraging everybody to join in gave the whole gig a real collaborative vibe, as if we, the crowd, were being acknowledged as part of the band, because (as I've said before) a band without fans isn't a band at all and I think Jettblack displayed just how much they appreciate their fan base and I can't wait to hear more from them.
Friday 26th October 2012
Written by Ryan Whitwell
First things first, due to whatever reason, I managed to miss the first support act of the evening (Sondura) and only saw a smidgen of the second band's set (The Mercy House), so I can't really go into detail about them or their music. But seeing as they were supporting the brilliant Jettblack, they must be good.
High Wycombe's heavy metalers, Jettblack, played Camden's Underworld as part of their first headline tour (not including the co-headline gigs they did with Heaven's Basement a couple of years ago). The main support were a band called Night by Night, whom I had never heard of until tonight but they did intrigue me.
Night by Night had a bit of a following with a fair number of the crowd singing along and raising hands, but I had my 'gig review' hat on and as soon as they began to play I tried to sum them up in a way that would describe them well to somebody that hasn't heard of them... I failed at that, coming up with the idea that they are musically a little bit like Fallout Boy or maybe Avenged Sevenfold but with the vocals of Backstreet Boys, which sounds like a terrible band description but Night by Night are actually quite impressive. I have only seen them live this one time and am yet to listen to any recorded stuff, but I'd say they are very much vocally led. Some great guitar solos and the lead singer was brilliant but what impressed me more was the harmonies from both the bassist and one of the guitarists (Night by Night are a 5 piece), harmonies that were so pitch perfect I almost wondered if they had pre-recorded it because that level of perfection is rare even for some of the bigger names.
Onto the headliners. I think the last time I saw Jettblack was at the same venue about two years ago with Heaven's Basement and Earth Prayer and I saw them at Ozzfest 2010, so it's fair to say I have faith in this band and I'd call myself a fan of theirs. Since I last saw them they have released their second album and are definitely progressing. A quick word about their second album (Raining Rock), in short I was a bit unsure of some of the tracks because lyrically a couple of the songs were a bit off putting, but the majority of the album was as good as (and sometimes better than) their excellent debut album. Fortunately, Jettblack's set was well thought out, they did the best possible thing and played the best tracks off of their latest offering and switched it up with the best their first album has to offer. Opening with the instrumental first track of their latest album and immediately setting the venue alight with the hard hitting 'Slip it on', one of the tracks that got me hooked on this band in the first place. The great tracks just kept on coming and with the venue jumping to the powerful 'Less Torque More Thrust' and 'Get Your Hands Dirty'. Even the slower ballads like 'Not Even Love' were greeted with a chorus of fans singing every word at full volume.
And the band seemed to be enjoying every second, the bassist especially had the cheesiest grin for most of the set as the crowd continued to make themselves known with plenty of movement and vocal encouragement, a sure sign that this band are worth investing your interest in. In my opinion, what makes or breaks a gig is the connection the band has with the crowd. When I saw Turbowolf a couple of weeks ago, they were on fire and the lead singer made sure we were all having a damn good time. Rival Sons, however, failed to connect, mostly because of their bizarre choice to play their entire new album note for note in the same order as the record but also because there wasn't much talking to the crowd. Jettblack were excellent entertainers, playing the best songs off of both albums and encouraging everybody to join in gave the whole gig a real collaborative vibe, as if we, the crowd, were being acknowledged as part of the band, because (as I've said before) a band without fans isn't a band at all and I think Jettblack displayed just how much they appreciate their fan base and I can't wait to hear more from them.
Rival Sons at The Electric Ballroom
This was the first review I sent to Grapevinelive.co.uk,
Monday 1st October 2012, Electric Ballroom, Camden
Review by Ryan Whitwell
Monday the 1st of October, the first of hopefully a good month of live music for myself. I took the train from Witham down to Camden's Electric Ballroom to see Rival Sons, a band I myself know little about. I've only really listened to their latest album, Head Down, and a few tracks from their two previous albums that friends have shared on Facebook.
The evening started with the first of two supports, Pint Size Hero. An Eastbourne based band that kicked things off with a solid and upbeat set to get the crowd nicely warmed up. Lots of bands came to mind as they performed; Oasis, Libertines, The Enemy, The Cure and a touch of the Clash about them, which all added up to a great sounding act. Quality songs all performed well, possibly one to watch in the not too distant future.
Ulysses, from Bath, were next up. Opening their set with a bouncy upbeat number almost like a rocky beach boys, the kind of thing that would suit a beach party, but a touch dirtier (the music is a bit dirtier, not the beach). There were also a few tracks that hinted at a Who influence. Ulysses sounded great and have already got quite a following if the Ballroom crowd was anything to go by. But the main event, all the way from California, would prove to be...
Brilliant! Really good stuff. Honestly, Rival Sons are a band well worth getting hyped about (if you're not hyped about them already). Performing their last show of the UK leg of their current European tour, they looked good, sounded tight and had the presence of a band that are deserving of big things.
However, and this was a bit of a thing between my friends and the surrounding crowd, they were playing their latest album, note for note, in the same track order as the album! Now, I've seen a fair few bands and I've never seen one that does that. They've had 3 albums plus one EP and they chose to play their current album as if they had plugged in an iPod and added some distortion. The atmosphere began at a good level, as many of the crowd had followed Rival Sons for a number of years, but steadily dwindled as the band continued to play the first 9 songs off their two week old album, but then something brilliant happened.
The band turned it up and played some of their older stuff, the fan favourites, like Tell Me Something and On My Way, really raw and powerful, as if the first part was a contractual obligation and suddenly they could do what they want.
The Ballroom lifted, the band connected with the crowd and suddenly I was surrounded by jumping fans and rapturous cheers as the first chords of 'Torture' were struck. The gig went from potential disappointment to a fantastic performance. Everything worked, the guitar licks were spot on and the vocals matched. We were witnessing a band that could very well go on to be something epic, with a sound that pleases both young and old (I know, I've tested it and the age range in the crowd proves it too) Rival Sons will be bigger, and better, but their set list might need some work as the doubt that they may not be good live was lingering for far too long and the lack of talking to the crowd felt a bit odd.
Overall the line up was great, the atmosphere matched and all three bands were firing on all cylinders (even if Rival Sons took a while to get the engine revved up)
If you want to see Rival Sons (www.rivalsons.com) now, then their next gig is in Spain. As for Ulysses (http://www.myspace.com/ulyssesgb) and Pint size hero (www.pintsizehero.com), they both have plenty of stuff online so be sure to give them a listen.
Monday 1st October 2012, Electric Ballroom, Camden
Review by Ryan Whitwell
Monday the 1st of October, the first of hopefully a good month of live music for myself. I took the train from Witham down to Camden's Electric Ballroom to see Rival Sons, a band I myself know little about. I've only really listened to their latest album, Head Down, and a few tracks from their two previous albums that friends have shared on Facebook.
The evening started with the first of two supports, Pint Size Hero. An Eastbourne based band that kicked things off with a solid and upbeat set to get the crowd nicely warmed up. Lots of bands came to mind as they performed; Oasis, Libertines, The Enemy, The Cure and a touch of the Clash about them, which all added up to a great sounding act. Quality songs all performed well, possibly one to watch in the not too distant future.
Ulysses, from Bath, were next up. Opening their set with a bouncy upbeat number almost like a rocky beach boys, the kind of thing that would suit a beach party, but a touch dirtier (the music is a bit dirtier, not the beach). There were also a few tracks that hinted at a Who influence. Ulysses sounded great and have already got quite a following if the Ballroom crowd was anything to go by. But the main event, all the way from California, would prove to be...
Brilliant! Really good stuff. Honestly, Rival Sons are a band well worth getting hyped about (if you're not hyped about them already). Performing their last show of the UK leg of their current European tour, they looked good, sounded tight and had the presence of a band that are deserving of big things.
However, and this was a bit of a thing between my friends and the surrounding crowd, they were playing their latest album, note for note, in the same track order as the album! Now, I've seen a fair few bands and I've never seen one that does that. They've had 3 albums plus one EP and they chose to play their current album as if they had plugged in an iPod and added some distortion. The atmosphere began at a good level, as many of the crowd had followed Rival Sons for a number of years, but steadily dwindled as the band continued to play the first 9 songs off their two week old album, but then something brilliant happened.
The band turned it up and played some of their older stuff, the fan favourites, like Tell Me Something and On My Way, really raw and powerful, as if the first part was a contractual obligation and suddenly they could do what they want.
The Ballroom lifted, the band connected with the crowd and suddenly I was surrounded by jumping fans and rapturous cheers as the first chords of 'Torture' were struck. The gig went from potential disappointment to a fantastic performance. Everything worked, the guitar licks were spot on and the vocals matched. We were witnessing a band that could very well go on to be something epic, with a sound that pleases both young and old (I know, I've tested it and the age range in the crowd proves it too) Rival Sons will be bigger, and better, but their set list might need some work as the doubt that they may not be good live was lingering for far too long and the lack of talking to the crowd felt a bit odd.
Overall the line up was great, the atmosphere matched and all three bands were firing on all cylinders (even if Rival Sons took a while to get the engine revved up)
If you want to see Rival Sons (www.rivalsons.com) now, then their next gig is in Spain. As for Ulysses (http://www.myspace.com/ulyssesgb) and Pint size hero (www.pintsizehero.com), they both have plenty of stuff online so be sure to give them a listen.
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