With the imminent closure of the Astoria, it looks like the Kentish Town Forum will be in the running for the title of London’s premier mid-sized gig venue. Tonight is suitably packed, although much of the crowd look disinterested when Attack! Attack! take to the stage. They perform well, despite vocals falling flat on the last couple of songs, which is a shame, because I really wanted them to be perfect live, which sadly they weren’t.
In Case of Fire fail to warm the crowd up, despite producing one hell of a massive sound for a three-piece. With shades of early Muse and QOTSA, it’s very possible they’ll be filling venues much bigger than this off their own back in the not-too-distant future.
Next up, the Motherfucking Cancer Bats from Canada proceed to make things sweaty and liven up the festivities. With a frontman as excitable as a 4 year old on crack, it’s hard for anyone in the room to stand still while watching them. Highlights come in the form of ‘Lucifer’s Rocking Chair’, and of course ‘French Immersion’ and it’s a set that’s over all too soon.
So that just leaves Funeral For a Friend, then. Celebrating both the release of their fourth full length, ‘Memory and Humanity’, as well as the 5th anniversary of their debut, tonight’s set includes a pleasing mix of songs spanning their career. The likes of ‘Waterfront Danceclub’ and ‘You can’t see the forest for the wolves’ sound bloody massive, while ‘This Year’s Most Open Heartbreak’ and ‘Your Revolution is a Joke’ cause several hundred die hard fans to shit themselves on spot. Like a fine lady improves with age, they get more impressive with every tour they embark upon, and new guy Gav Burrough slots in perfectly to the line-up. With a new album that shows them back to their best, their live shows have never faltered, and this being the twenty-something time i’ve seen them, they’re still delivering the goods.
Andy R