BRIXTON ACADEMY – WE THE KINGS, FOREVER THE SICKEST KIDS, YOUMEATSIX

[INBRED HAIRCUTS!!! - Lia]
Walking out into the circle in the Brixton Academy is a slightly daunting experience. The tiered seating with the ornate, slightly theatre looking architecture around the ceiling looks down on an open standing area which tonight was full within 15 minutes of the doors being opened. The queue circled the entire building, a sign that people were looking forward to this line up.

The first band on stage were the Floridian 4 piece “We The Kings”; an upbeat long haired poppy band whose music has never made the charts, but has made an impression teenage girls all across the land. Travis Clark, the lead singer, announced while on stage that this was the biggest gig they had ever played, and after this statement I had hoped that they were about to step up a gear from the last time I had seen them last year. Unfortunately this wasn’t to be the case. Some of their more well known songs, “Check Yes Juliet” and “Secret Valentine” were well received by the people in the crowd who had obviously taken a quick look at their music beforehand but when Clark held the microphone to the crowd, people didn’t know the lyrics well enough to sing back to him. They played a good gig for people who knew their catalogue back to front and could sing along all the way through; but in truth the most liked song of their set was a cover of “The Middle – Jimmy Eat World”.


Second came “Forever the Sickest Kids”. They played a lively, but short set which seemed to be well received by the mainly teenage crowd. By this time the place was completely full, with people wandering around aimlessly in the circle trying to find themselves anywhere to sit down. FTSK played through their repertoire of songs including “She’s a Lady” and “What do you want from me”; much to the delight of some of the audience who obviously were there to see them. They played a good but not memorable gig, and just enough to warm up the crowd in time for the headline.


Youmeatsix came out onto a nearly bare stage, with only a drumkit for company. After the long changeover time between acts, it was clear that something was going to happen. After the third song, the band ran offstage, to be replaced by red searchlights, sirens, and roadies. The sirens did go on for too long, but the crowd didn’t care. At this point they had already been treated to “Kiss and Tell” one of the bands biggest songs shown by the amount of crowd members parading around in their Kiss and Tell t-shirts. Once the sirens stopped, the curtain was dropped to reveal a setup which allowed to band to walk on ramps around the drumkit. The setup was good, even if slightly reminiscent of one used by the Jonas Brothers at some point last year; but the crowd seemed not to remember this and loved it, especially when the singer from the Blackout came on stage to help out with “The consequence”. The rest of the gig went well, with the crowd seeming to lose no energy throughout. The encore included their more well known “Save it for the Bedroom” and “Underdog”. They were joined onstage during the encore by We the Kings frontman Clark, and Youmeatsix frontman Josh’s sister Elissa.

All in all it was a good gig; the bands played well and the audience enjoyed it. There were a few mishaps, when the drummers from both We the Kings and FTSK tried to flip their sticks high in the air and catch them and carry on, but both dropping them; and also when Josh from Youmeatsix tried to spin the microphone but dropped it on the floor; but despite these, a good night for music lovers.

4/5

Joey Gibbs

BORDERLINE – BRIGADE, CANTERBURY & TWIN ATLANTIC 03/03/10

[TWIN ATLANTIC - dude in the green nearly has Ally McBeal MOOBIES!-Lia]
Being an underground club near Soho, Borderline had an aura to it before even going inside. On entering this was confirmed with quirky pictures on the wall and a stage that just seemed to invite crowd-surfing. A chat with “Twin Atlantic” before the gig showed them to be a group of lads who enjoyed making music and having a laugh.

The first support band were a surprise for the night, even to Twin Atlantic who didn’t know that they were supporting until a few hours before the gig. It was obvious that “Brigade” were used to being a headline act, as when the 3 guitars came onstage so did 12 pedals. During the first song the lead singer decided not to sing or play guitar, but instead to moan about the fact that his pedal wasn’t working correctly, he then changed his guitar; twice. The band itself were okay once the pedal nonsense had finished, the drummer in particular who had extremely quick hands and obvious rhythm.

The next support act came in the form of “Canterbury”. The band were upbeat from the start, with a mixture of looks onstage ranging from the ‘preppy’ lead guitarist to the drummer with flowing ginger locks. They were an obvious hit with the crowd, including a number of young girls at the front who knew every word, much to the enjoyment of the lead singer. A definite to look out for in the future.

Then came Twin Atlantic. No setlists came onstage during the changeover, and when asked later they replied that they didn’t need them. They reeled off a number of hits from their latest release “Vivarium”, all of which were known by what seemed to be the entire audience. Some highlights included “Lightspeed” and “Audience and Audio”, both from the album. They have been compared to Biffy Clyro in the past; but someday it could be the other way around.

4 / 5
JOE GIBB-ster.

SCALA – HOT HOT HEAT & OFFICIAL SECRETS ACT 02/03/10

Walking into Scala the first thing to be seen in the main room is the large open space in front of a knee high stage; and from the sound checks the acoustics seem ready for a perfect gig. An interview with the supporting act “Official Secrets Act” revealed that the band was tired from travelling but eager to impress. And impress they did.

Energy and presence were obvious on stage, all that was lacking were some of the more well known tunes, including the new single “Believe Me”. But this was the only criticism that could be made, as the final song “So Tomorrow” had even newbies to OSA dancing around.

After OSA came the big haired and equally big voiced Steve Bays and Hot Hot Heat. Their setlist included obvious crowd favourites including the well known “Bandages” which had the whole crowd singing in unison. The band also included some songs from the new album “Future Breeds”. These were well received by the audience filled with obvious fans of the band.

Overall the gig was a definite success for both bands, showing their musical ability to all who were there.

4 and ½ / 5

JOE GIBBS. DA MAN.