Gym Class Heroes at York Fibbers
I’ve got a thing for Gym Class Heroes. Something inside me that clicks with what they do. No, I don’t like hip-hop, but that’s literally the point. I also like the York Barfly venue – it doesn’t live up to Camden’s, but hell, it’s got character to it. So, Gym Class Heroes in York? Yes please…
Arriving at the venue at about 10 to 9, local act The Breakout Project are literally just finishing. I did my research, and listened to about 15 seconds on their first Myspace song, before choosing to listen to something else. I wasn’t all that miffed, mainly because the 5-10 minutes I did catch did very little to change my opinion.
Tour support was announced a few weeks back in the form of For Winners’ Fleeing From Finales, which was music to my ears since I’d be hard-pushed to name another unsigned UK act who are impressing me more and more. Tonight’s set is dogged by technical difficulties: a lack of piano for the first two songs, and poor vocal levels are obvious ones, but the lads battle on, and come out on top. It’s not spectacular, but they leave me wanting more, ending on a high-note with ‘An Emotional Summer of Cricket’. (8)
As I say, Gym Class Heroes are something of a guilty pleasure. I don’t know what it is, or whether I’m just becoming that little bit more WACKY1!!LOLZ with age, but listening to their hip-hop-pop, or something, just makes me smile. Rifling through the new album ‘As Cruel As Schoolchildren’ and the better parts of ‘The Papercut Chronicles’, there are smiles, words, raised arms with fingers fashionned as guns, and hilarious dances from once side of the room to the other. There’s a lack of ‘Clothes Off’, which leaves most people feeling a little down, and there are technical difficulties all over the place (one of them being the sampler for Clothes Off being broken), but what Travis and co do tonight is keep the vibe of the place up. I’d have to say that this, my third Heroes experience, wasn’t my favourite, but it was certainly good fun. (8)
Dave