Allister, Leeds Cockpit
In my recent live reviews people have caught wrath of my formidable rant at my local venue, The Cockpit for having gigs start way too early. I’ve been known to show up at 7.30, rubbing my hands eagerly for the opening band, only to be shot down, realising they have already started. This evening as I sat on the 6.30pm train into Leeds, there was little chance of that…
But to my disbelief, The Cockpit proved they have the upper hand, for just as I pulled into Leeds, I got a call from my good friend informing me that this evenings opening act I AM THE AVALANCHE had just kicked things off at 6.45pm. What! Most people are still eating their dinner at this point! Regardless I ran to the venue and caught the bands last few songs. Former Movielife front man, Vinny Caruana, demonstrates to the quarter full venue, that there is more to life than the ashes of his last quintet. Adding a third guitar in some songs probably wasn’t the best of decisions midway through the set, taking away his showman abilities, and generally adding unnecessary layers to the songs, but nevertheless, I Am The Avalanche re-opened a chapter in music the split of the Movifelife had closed. Although the bands are not a carbon copy, soon I Am The Avalanche will be a band name on everyone’s lips (8)
Next to take to the stage, as the venue began to fill at a more appropriate hour for a gig, were HALIFAX. For me personally the jury was still out with this band, I’d only heard a couple of tracks, mainly the popular “Sydney.” Admittedly that isn’t a huge amount of evidence, but a live performance usually allows me to come up with a verdict. The thing about tonight’s performance is that if Halifax were a local band, they would get laughed at. Swapping bass players between 3 people, tripping over guitars, cock rock guitar solos, and generally geekiness would score them low in any battle of the bands competition. However, being a Drive Thru band is like a junior school kid collecting all the football stickers within the first month… cool. Halifax were average tonight, their reputation kept them afloat. (6)
This tour had produced more dropouts than the first month of a Learn to speak Japanese course for the over 50’s. However, HIDDEN IN PLAIN VIEW were probably the only band to have been settled on the line up from day one. HIPV aren’t one of my favourites, and as I actually analysed tonight’s line up I realised it was getting “poppier” the more it went on. However HIPV’s performance this evening was a lot more enjoyable than I imagined, proving that they were probably the most polished band on the line up. They might not have had as much rock than the previous bands, but they certainly knew how to get the show going. (8)
Last, but not least to grace the evenings festivities were ALLISTER. The final, and most pop sided band of the night. Me, not really a fan, at all… Lots of tandem jumping, and synchronised bunny hops didn’t really do much to impress, or in fact the crowd which seemed to have reduced dramatically as well. Allister are by no means the best pop punk act to come off Drive Thru, bands like The Starting Line do make them look really, really poor. To be honest, I didn’t watch much of Allister. When something isn’t your style, it’s hard to get into the band, and appreciate it. Allister are decent at what they do, but there are much better bands out there, doing similar things…. (5)
Pete @ Punktastic
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