Alexisonfire, Leeds Cockpit
Another night down at the Cockpit sees me trudging in at half 7 to the sound of the first band HIDING WITH GIRLS. These guys seem to take a bit of stick, why I don’t know at all. To me they are one of the best British bands we have, top quality music, all lead by an impressive front man. You see Hiding with Girls are the epitome about what for me, a good band should be; lively, passionate, hard working and have stacks of talent. HWG keep chugging away with some excellent songs, and these tour dates are without doubt going to improve their performances and fan base. (8)
Next on stage are The Bled. I hadn’t heard anything by this band, but come assured it’s right down my street. It takes me a while to get into though. At first The Bled didn’t really seem to get it right, maybe they were just having a bad show, or the crowd wasn’t giving them enough, half way their set, the stage diving began, and front man James Munoz gets the banter going, and the band seem to relax. Highlight of the evening is when an idiot from the crowd climbs the PA speaker stack to try and impress the band, who instead turn round and abuse him, and encourage the crowd to avoid his falling body when he jumps…which I believe they did. (7)
It was around this point I was beginning to wonder if the punters tonight had come to the show with concrete in their boots. The crowd movement was non-existent and for the power and energy both bands had produced so far, I was a bit shocked. Rest assured ALEXISONFIRE would cause havoc. But they didn’t. And Leeds stood and watched the band hurl themselves about left right and centre, and spit and scream as if they were an acoustic act. More stage diving proceeded, most of which got stupid and people began flying off stage elbows and knees first. Alexisonfire at the end of the day didn’t impress me as much as what I had hoped. A little bit of an anti-climax. Playing predominantly songs from “Watch Out,” an album I’ve admittedly struggled to get into, it wasn’t until the encore and the band played early tracks like “44.Caliber Love Letter” and “Polaroid’s of Polar Bears” that I remembered why I like this band. Tonight their sound was a bit disorientated and jumbled, quite disappointing, but nevertheless, I’m sure this is a band we won’t have heard the last from on these shores. (7)
Pete
Options:»
Gig Reviews Index
