Fightstar, Leeds Met Uni
I know what you’re saying…. “Why the hell are they reviewing Fightstar?” – Well I, like most people, and probably even you, was curious as to what all the fuss was about. So we all know Busted and we all know the dross that surrounded Charlie leaving, but was he really going to cut it in a post-hardcore band? And was that band going to play well to a sold out Leeds Met University, especially when it was a strictly over 18’s show only? I had my
doubts, and not only that but part of me inside wanted to see it fall flat, as I had a slight lean towards Busted and felt sorry for the two members left behind…
Inside the venue it was difficult to move, as fans of MTV wet themselves with excitement at the presence of Alex Zane (who?) and whether or not they had taken 8 or 900 pictures of him with their latest Nokia 500kdpi720, I headed to the gig room, where tonight’s openers BRIGADE were attempting to warm up a crowd that really were only bothered in seeing Mr. Charlie. However Brigade were most interesting. They carried a late nineties punk rock feel which had me searching through memoirs of past favourites – My Vitriol, Seafood, and early Feeder – but were fronted by a vocalist that didn’t really catch me with his relaxed vocal tone. One thing I loved about this band though was their energy and their movement on stage. The four – piece knew how to throw shapes and swing guitars and generally relish the atmosphere. I don’t imagine this band will ever perform to crowds like this, or take part on tours like this again… It’s not to say they are not worthy, probably mistimed in terms of musical swings and roundabouts. (7)
After a brief changeover, FIGHTSTAR took position with Charlie Simpson taking centre stage. I read that at a gig early this week, someone had hurled an apple at Mr. Eyebrows himself, but he had taken it all in his stride, luckily for him the Leeds crowd seemed a lot less aggressive. Between songs you could hear faint “booing” and the occasional taunt from a
few spectators, but to be fair with this running as a club night, most of the “scene hardcore” kids were too busy slamming away in the metal room on the other side of the bar to notice. The band kicked off their set with one of about 3 songs which in total stood out from their overall “bland” set list. As they mainly took up stage posture reminiscent of Slipknot, (the hunched over – nod your head with the beat,) there wasn’t a lot which really hit me as “amazing.” The songs were delivered well, with Charlie obviously having the confidence in him from his Busted days, with the obligatory “You’re the best crowd we’ve had,” and a few “We love you Leeds.” I thought there may have been time for an “Everyone on this side of the audience clap your hands!” – But sadly not.
After each song, the band was greeted with a huge shriek of approval, but not many hands applauded. It made me wonder what sort of music lovers were actually in tonight’s crowd, and how many people were actually going to think to themselves on their way home, “I wonder why they do that screaming stuff?” Fact is, you can’t help but look at Simpson and remember the face that sung hit singles about air hostesses, and crashing weddings, flux capacitors and good old Miss McKenzie…. Overall I found Fightstar overrated, and in the end boring. Their final track was poor, and even the inclusion of a cover song in their set didn’t arouse my senses. I’ve heard a hundred better screamo bands, playing toilet venues out of the back of an ex-post office van, which clock up 400+ plays on pure volume and chase labels every weekend. It’s sad but true, this band has probably reached their position because of Simpson and not because of their talent. If their label had invested the same amount of money, but on half a dozen quality screamo bands, the U.K underground music scene might be a much better place. (5)
Pete
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