Give It A NameHighlights from Give It A Name – Sunday, Earl's CourtUrrrrr, Christ on a bike. The only bad thing about being a journalist is having to do a show review when you've spent the past 24 hours propping up the bar. Kill. Me. Now. Do you mind if we keep this short then? OK: State Radio – great, You Me At Six – mind blowing, The Blackout – wicked, Silverstein – screamo, Anti-Flag – screamy, Billy Talent – top of the punks, 30 Seconds to Mars – beautiful (no lie). You want more? Oh fine, I guess that's only fair.  Turning
up fashionably late as always (hey, the drinks in there are expensive!
Needed to get some bevvies in beforehand), we wandered out of the
sweltering heat of London into the sweltering stench of Earl's Court,
just in time to catch reggae-rockers State Radio. Wild-haired vocalist Chad Stokes was on fine form, his rich melodic voice beseeching the crowd with his political message; at one point even apologising for the “embarrassing” state of the US government. State Radio's unique blend of reggae, rock and punk may not be everyone's cup of cha, but you can't deny the talent of this accomplished, socially aware band. Next up were punk act Strike Anywhere, who revved up the crowd nicely in time for e-Mo Magazine favourites, You Me At Six. It's incredible to think how far this band has come in such a short space of time; from standing in the audience at G.I.A.N last year, to performing on stage in front of thousands of screaming fans this year.  And
we're not kidding when we say “screaming fans”; we've never seen girls
sprint to a stage like that, tripping over each other in their
enthusiasm to get close to Josh and the guys. YMAS got one of the biggest cheers of the day, as hysterical girls clambered onto their boyfriends' chicken-bone shoulders to get a better look at the band.  The
whole of Earl's Court sang along to Gossip, In Your Shoes, The
Rumour and Save It For The Bedroom, and almost went into fits when Josh
jumped into the crowd at the end. We were also treated to a new track from the band, which should appear on their debut album due out later this year. Super sweet. The Blackout were up next. We missed part of the set, thanks to the ridiculously long line at the ladies (seriously, get more cubicles! RAH!), but the Welsh-rockers knocked our socks off and really kicked the event into fifth gear with Silverstein, Anti-Flag and Glassjaw following in short succession. By the time Billy Talent arrived on stage the atmosphere was electric; the crowd going wild as chipmunk-voiced Benjamin Kowalewicz belted out hit after hit including Devil In A Midnight Mass, Surrender (dedicated to a couple in the audience who had their first kiss to this song. Awwww), Fallen Leaves and Red Flag, which saw Chris#2 from Anti-Flag join Ben on vocals. Of course, the highlight of the evening was 30 Seconds to Mars. These guys certainly know how to put on a show, as the band appeared on stage behind a giant white sheet, Carmina Burana blasting out of the speakers. The sheet fell to reveal a stage decked out like the Orient, with red flags billowing in the (air-conditioned) breeze, golden spheres rimmed with neon lights and giant 30STM banners draped in the background. Jared Leto looked cute as always, his face decorated with his trademark green and orange black-light paint, as he stepped to the mike and bellowed out a Beautiful Lie. There was barely a pause for breath as the band rolled out all the crowd favs, including From Yesterday, The Story (which was just stunning! Soft, haunting vocals by Leto teamed with eerie blue lights on stage) The Kill and Attack. 30STM was a blazing end to a brilliant night; its a shame these guys won't be around for a while as they're recording their new album. But in the words of Leto, they “have to get a new record out sometime”. We simply can't wait. Now if you don't mind, I'm going back to bed. Urrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. |
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