Finch, Nottingham Rock City
It is a very rare event to see Nottingham’s very own Rock city sold out for a punk gig. Normally punk bands can expect to see the venue three quarters full at best. Not so tonight, as the prospect of seeing Finch has brought the city’s inhabitants out in force. However, for me it wasn’t the draw of Finch that had led me to travel to Nottingham, it was the chance of seeing one of my favourite new bands of the last couple of years, Brand New, on their first visit to the UK.
When we arrived at Rock City it was already nearing capacity and people were still streaming through the doors. The merch stand was trading at a fair old pace, and the usual inappropriate pre-gig soundtrack was perplexing the crowd. At this point I began to worry about what sort of reaction Brand New would get, as in my experience Rock City is notorious for being apathetic towards support bands. I needn’t have worried.
Jesse took the stage alone at first, to a fair applause, and a surprisingly high number of people joined him in singing the opening lines of ‘Mix Tape’, before the rest of the band joined in proceedings. It proved to be a great start to what turned out to be an energetic and entertaining set. The likes of ‘Failure By Design’ and ‘Last Chance to lose your keys’ had a decent portion of the crowed jumping about, and the bands on stage antics helped to fuel this process. Unfortunately at times there were slight problems with the backing vocals, as the microphones were often too low in the mix. This was especially notable on ‘Jude Law and a semester abroad’ where the lack of backing vocals detracted from what is a great song. Another notable fact was how much more Jesse screams in a live environment, and, on the whole, he succeeded in adding an extra dimension to the songs. We were also treated to a new song that sounded very impressive, before things were rounded off in style with an awesome performance of ‘Seventy times 7’. Brand New produced a performance that satisfied fans and no doubt gained them so new ones.
And so, on to Finch. Everybody who reads this site will be aware that Paul worships the ground they stand on. However, I am not their biggest fan. I did, after much persuasion, purchase ‘What it is to Burn’, and I admit it’s a decent album. I was promised a live performance that was up there with the best of them. Did I get one? Well, yes and no really. There are aspects of Finch’s performance that I enjoyed; yet there are also aspects that annoy me. To me front man Nate is very much an enigma. There is no doubting his talent. His ability to go from softer melodic vocals, to full on screaming, is impressive to say the least. His vocals added much to performances of songs like ‘Grey Matter’. However, his constant stalking around the stage, detracts from the performance and gives the impression that he is not singing to the crowd. In fact this is a criticism that can be levelled at the whole band. Despite their obvious energy, you get the feeling they could pull off exactly the same performance, with or without the crowd. However, the crowd are oblivious to this, and for much of the set, all you can see is a sea of jumping, particularly when new single ‘Letters to you’ is played early on. Perhaps the treat of the night is the appearance of ‘Project Mayhem’, despite the fact we only get half the song! The band encored with ‘Ender’ and ‘What it is to burn’, a suitable ending for a performance that simmered rather than exploded. You get the feeling that Finch are in desperate need of a fresh albums worth of material to play, and not just the Incubus inspired ‘Worms of the Earth’!
All in all, the two bands provided a very good nights entertainment. From my point of view Brand New were the highlight of the night, despite a couple of technical problems. They just had more natural energy and interaction with the crowd. In essence their performance felt like a two way process. Don’t get me wrong; there is no doubting Finch’s obvious talents. I just feel they could open up more to the crowds that so obviously worship them.
Mark
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