A Destructive Issue, Bradford Rio
*At the Market Tavern*
I was warned before the bands began tonight’s by one of the members of A.D.I that there had been serious problems with the sound guy (he hadn’t shown up) so last minute the groups had had to organise a mate to come over and help set up the PA. Obviously this meant the whole evening was rushed and sadly the sound wasn’t always up to its best. Fortunately one of the five bands had dropped out, leaving the remaining squashed line – up a tiny bit of breathing space. However, things were going to get ugly, and it wasn’t long before more time was freed up….
First on the tiny, but fairly significant stage was a local band, PENKNIFELOVELIFE. They began the evening with amazing energy and a huge live sound. It was clear from the beginning how much these guys loved the music they played and how much it meant to them. The singer hurled himself around the stage as the rest of the band threw their guitars and limbs into the vacant space. My one criticism seems that the vocalist screamed too much. The music was there for a melodic voice, and he frustratingly had that voice to use, just didn’t. Maybe the energy of the performance pushed him to scream more than usual, but in the brief breakdowns when he used his talent, he had an exceptionally good voice. Something to work on maybe. Sadly for everyone tonight, the event that marred the evening was the moment when the riot on stage went up a gear (as if it wasn’t already on overload) and the bands bassist got caught in the cross fire and was thrown from the stage head first into a monitor. It appeared after a few seconds he would continue, but when he and a few friends left the venue in a rush it appeared the damage was far worse, and from what I heard it would seem some serious damage had been done to his eye socket. The set was cut short. (9)
As attention was drawn to the toilets area, and then to outside as PenKnifeLoveLife’s bassist was rushed to hospital, up stepped FILAMENT a younger band. They began their set well, but it seemed only to me the vocalist/guitarist had any interest in the performance. He was backed up by a very talented but distant drummer and bassist, and a second guitarist who contributed some vocals. This band should defiantly have been on first, or maybe not at all. In terms of contributing something better to the night, they slowed down the pace, and their music wasn’t really of the same style of the any of the bands playing tonight. Still, a moderately solid performance, a few nervous mistakes and one or two rookie errors, but this band need gigs like this to grow, and hopefully they will have learnt a lot and use it wisely. (5)
As A.D.I kindly swapped positions, up next came Sheffield band BRING ME THE HORIZON. This band again a 5 piece like the first act, but had a much stronger hardcore/thrash sound. There were again plenty of bodies and limbs flying around on stage and at one point the singer was wrestling the guitarist to the floor while he was still playing. I couldn’t really make out any words the singer was screaming or at least attempting to convey, which maybe is the point, but still it sounded like he could have had a decent voice, a shame he didn’t use it more. Highlights of the set saw Pen Knife Love Life’s singer join the screaming and both guys wrenched their guts out whilst pumping the veins in their necks to the max. Again the live performance was impeccable by this band who I would defiantly want to see again. (8)
Finally Punktastic’s band of the moment, A DESTRUCTIVE ISSUE got to take the limelight. Tonight A.D.I had a lot to live up to, the most impressive acts of the evening had been 5 piece so there was a lot more potential to move about and generally kill each other, as they weren’t all tied down to microphones. A.D.I have trouble in that guitarist Rich has to stick by his mic, and on the left Kezza’s hair could be a serious choking hazard for anyone within 5ft. However, they played up to the previous bands performances and were ferocious even by their own standards. Tonight A.D.I were the liveliest I’ve ever witnessed them. Kezza played half the set on the dance floor participating in the slam pit, while Rich and John wrestled their guitars and threw themselves about the stage. Admittedly tonight’s sound was poor and did A.D.I the least justice. They came out sounding sludgy and a lot darker than usual. A lot of their songs were played at a faster pace as well which also made things very roughed up. A usual the band ended on “Stop Gap” to which anyone who could grab a mic did, and screamed along, before Rich threw himself into the drums, and the guitars were left ringing out (9). It was then everyone had a chance to catch their breath, take it all in, and then think, “I wonder what happened to that bassist?”
Pete
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