Finch, Leeds Met Uni
It’s a sad, wet, miserable night in Leeds as I trudge out to see Finch this evening. I should be filled with more optimism, despite not really being gripped by their latest offering “Hello to Sunshine,” their last string of U.K dates, that included May’s Give It A Name festival, the band produced a magnificent performance, just what I needed tonight.
Somewhere between Finch and getting mobbed by door staff handing out flyers for every single event in Leeds for the next 10 years, are this evenings openers, London quartet MILLION DEAD. About a year ago, Million Dead were just breaking onto the scene, and I have to admit I was a massive fan – 12 months or so on, and they have progressed at a steady rate, with a new album in the shops, “Harmony, No Harmony,” and a few decent tours under their belts, they seem to have reached a credible position, despite not having the worlds biggest fan base. From the lack of fuss made by their latest album, I honestly haven’t given it as much attention as the bands debut release “A Song To Ruin,” so their 45 minute set tonight wasn’t the most interesting thing I’ve witnessed. A couple of old tracks lobbed in for good measure, but the fact that the biggest cheer the band got for anything all night was for asking “Who is looking forward to Finch?” goes to show that I wasn’t the only one in tonight’s crowd itching to get back to the bar. Since I interviewed Million Dead towards the end of 2004, I have always been puzzled as to whether or not the band are plain arrogant or plain stupid. It seems some of the things they say, and in particular the way front man Frank comes across onstage are completely unjustified. Tonight was no different, spitting “Fuck you all,” at the crowd for not responding the way he wanted, to his comments regarding the death of a personal hero, was not really appropriate at all, whether the crowd adore you, or don’t. Probably leaving Leeds with no more friends than when they arrived, Million Dead sign out for another few months. (4)
So, I guess the reason we are here is upon us, and FINCH hit the stage at just after 9pm. Cracking up with “New Beginnings” and then “Worms Of The Earth” things started o.k, before diverting to a sea of new material, some which stands out, but some which seems really, really bland. And you can’t argue against me, the crowd reaction to tracks from “What It Is To Burn” was so much more impressive than the one to the hits off their recent record. What’s worse is that I think Finch realise this…. It takes them a while to open up to the fans tonight, before Randy starts jabbering down the mic, and about 10 songs in before Nate addresses the audience. Even though Finch drop in the odd older track, 90 minutes is way too long for me, and a lot of people in tonight’s crowd obviously felt the same. One of the more amusing moments during the set was the constant heckles from the crowd for “Letters To You,” to which Nate replied with “Guys we have 7 songs left, we’re not playing Letters To You, Post Script, Perfection Through Silence, Stay With Me or Project Mayhem, so deal with it…” I think this annoyed the crowd, a lot. This indicated we had 5 more new songs, and “Untitled” and possibly “Ender” – which did eventually happen along with the inclusion of a cover. Finch’s paranoia was confirmed when large sections of the audience began booing – only for the band to discover it was over a fight amongst the kids. When the band put down their guitars for the last song, there was not much demand for an encore, and people headed straight for the doors and back into the miserable night. (6)
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