Are You Loathsome Tonight?
Well my friends I am again privileged to be part of the audience for what is probably a hard to beat tour. The bands here are all killer, start to finish, front, back and side to side a never-ending moshpit.
Our American friends Gideon storm on and set the stage for what is gonna be a fast and furious night of metal. Hardcore heroics are the central theme and it’s great to see so many fans already here to cheer on the support band. They begin with ‘Bite Down’ and once they do, they will hang onto your nethers and chomp away. It is a painful assault on the senses but a very welcome one, a much needed one in fact as they are ‘Cursed’ with a ‘Style’ of their own and are the stuff of ‘Champions’. This is my first time seeing them but will look out for future shows.
Next in the ring are Liverpool’s finest, Loathe, and by crikey they’re like little wind- up toys, frenzied dancing from singer Kadeem France and ear-splitting drum and bass beats reminds me that they might actually be the secret lovechild of The Prodigy and Bad Brains. Using every part of his body he shook the venue to its core, the band in blistering form and nothing was going to stand in their way. With arms flailing and screeching and wailing, a well- structured and designed set, incredibly exciting and energising to watch, working the spirited and fervent crowd, that’s what we are there for. New single ‘Aggressive Evolution’ starts the set and we speed through ‘Servant And Master’, ‘Gored’, ‘The Cold Sun’ and finally the band exit after offering the most precious of gifts and saying, ‘It’s Yours’.
The end of the set played the robotic command of ‘I let it in, and it took everything’ which is the hugely anticipated new album, February 2020 ladies and gents, don’t be late. I may just call it now for album of the year.
The Devil Wears Prada, now these boys were surprise of the night for me, I wasn’t expecting such a manic, and incessant workout. Here to promote new album ‘The Act’ well it was action stations here as these guys were relentless. I’ve seen some guitarists, but TDWP are born shredders, such enthusiasm and skill and next level insane fretwork, top stuff my friends, really amazing to see. Maybe I should organise a ‘Shredfest’ and have this lot headline. The set was unceremoniously cut due to technical issues, but these boys are soldiers, they are warriors of their kind, still providing a lethal set, kinda reminds me of At The Drive-In visually and sonically. Hand-crafted, emotionally charged, stitch on your wings folks and make your escape, armed with a ‘Switchblade’ usurp the ‘Dead Throne’ if only I had read the ‘Lines On Your Hands’ I wouldn’t have needed to taste the ‘Chemical’.
Three of a kind, madam? Don’t mind if I do!
Internally Yours
Okay dreamboats get your rear ends into gear and forge your insides to turn the tide in your lives, on the night of your lives. Is there a ‘Fortune Teller’ in the house? They didn’t see this one coming in from stage right as Andrew Dijorio proclaims a ‘reformation’, a revolution even ‘in the way we treat each other. His anger is levelled at the church, politics and everything in between that has exploitation at its core. Our society and ‘culture’ are to blame and there it is my friends that ‘C’ word that I have died a thousand deaths for. Expectations have us in a stranglehold, get married, have children and so on, but when reality bites there is no escaping these chains. He continues with the affirmation ‘not in our world, not here’ and oh my I needed to hear that tonight. It’s great to feel wanted and safe; it’s great to belong.
A setlist that included ‘Goodnight Alt-Right’, ‘Second Death’ and ‘Ring Leader’ interspersed with positivity and an accepting attitude infiltrates the hearts and minds of those listening and will hopefully leave a mark that will resonate and reignite a hope and a passion for rebuilding and reparation. These artists know what goes on, they use that negativity to try and alleviate our fears and help us over our hurdles, through their art. Every effort is made to change the landscape and dynamic of our unfair and broken society.
A little crowd surfing always delights and so the intrepid Andrew throws himself onto the waiting mob to be gently flung around while the ceiling looks on indifferently.
Over at merch I had a brief chat with Andrew and saw the strategically placed note ‘tips for Nando’s’, I mean they know how to melt a girl’s heart. Well the boys have to eat if they are to continue decimating the nation, and the world, as tonight was the opener. For me it’s time to ‘bring the mother fucking truth out’. Look out for each other ladies and gents, it’s a cruel world.