This topic is locked
Hi All!
I'm totally lost for words....what an amazing gig, perfect venue, the vibe was spot on.
Sorry for not posting this review of my night sooner, due to my internet connection deciding it didn't feel like working when I got back and having to spend almost an hour on the phone to AOL I'm amazed that (A) i'm up so late on a work night and (B) I have the energy to write this potentially long review of one of the best nights of my life. And yes I must be a 'sissy' as I am still in pain from the gig, it was so amazingly intense, it was also the first time I have moshed to 'Hey Boy, Hey GIrl', a worrying moment for my girlfriends first chems gig, none the less she was gobsmacked!!
Anyway, enough chit chat, on with the day...and so the morning began waking up at the very early time of 5.45am to be taken to the train station by my girlfriends Dad (very kind of him!), I was so excited though, I didn't really have a good nights sleep as I was so up for the gig and have been counting down the days for so long now, well 2 months, it's a long time for me!!!
So we arrived at the station and made our 2.5hr journey from Somerset to Birmingham.
My girlfriend of course was very much looking forward to the large Bullring shopping centre and yes I was dragged around most female retail outlets and made to hold all the bags, what a gent I am...All day though I was chatting non stop about the chems, informing her that nothing I say can prepare her for tonight!
It was the most perfect place to go to a gig, staying in the Travelodge in the city center the venue is litterally a 5 min walk away with loads of food outlets and bars on the way, a lovely canal walk that leads up to the NIA as well! All a tones throw away, I would deffo go and see the Brothers again here, was so easy for us all weekend.
Anyway, if your still with me, I will now review the gig! ahhhh
SO we arrived at 5 even though the doors didn't open until 6, and yes they did wait until 6 (Buggers! It was freezin!) Got inside, James Holroyd was warming up in typically chilled mode it was heavy beats and cosmic rythms ot set the scene and warm the speakers...The support act, the amazing SMD had all there gear set up, the amazing light show was also being warmed up...So on came Simian at 8, i'd just got back from the toilet ans the lights went down...all I can say is they ROCKED!!! THe crownd really digged them, a lot more so than The Secret Machines at Wolves in 2005 (shame tho good band).
To my disgust, not once nor twice did James from the band get struck with a glowstick whilst performing, it hit him right in the chest, I have no respect for these pricks, so immature!
Anyway they played some great versions of their tracks, they started wit Sleep Dep, also It's the Beat and the heavy, dirty 'Hustler'! The crowd were on fire at this point, hands in the air stuff!
THey went off to huge applause, great job lads, but now for the main event!
On came the Chems after the powerful intro...Tom slowly started up the mixing desk sounding like a deep air raid warning siren until the dirty synth of Galvanize slowly but surely got louder and louder..this intro has got better and better thru out the tour and the vocal of 'Don't Hold Back' over the first teasing beats is so imense and exciting! But at first the atmosphere didn't seem to be here!!!!!! I know, but after the second breakdown the crowd were back on form and into Burst Generator we went, those visuals are so amazing, they go so well with that track! So next was Do it again, and I just love the dancers on this one, and the cow bells what a lovely sound!!! When the base line just falls in over the beat it makes my hairs stand on end just thinking about it! What a great track, and the way it slows down then builds into the evil clown and 'Get yourself High' is just perfect! Next, HBHG, and need I tell you how good this was, those green lasers!! Wowzers!!! As I said earlier, I was caught up in a mosh with 2 six foot plus blokes and it was angry and beautiful all in one, truly fantastic!!
I was hoping to catch my breath after that frantic opening, but as I knew, it was All Rights next, one of my fave tracks of the new LP, and the drums on this baby are so heavy, so again it was messy on the floor!! The visuals again are very good reminded me of metal being soldered and dripping over us!
Next we're smashed into 'Out of Control and Don't Fight' which is in my opinion such a genius way of reinventing an already killer live track. The Primal Scream vocal is so powerful, and the back drop of angry wild animals is quite unerving, in a good way, it's good to be scared a little!
Star Guitar,Surface to Air,It Doesnt Matter/Under THe Influence were all perfectly played (thos Robots were amazing, got some great footage of this!) before dropping into with out doubt my fave part of the set...Saturate into Believe. You all know how great the visuals are for Saturate and believe but I have to scho this again, truly fantastic, at this point it was total madness, people on shoulders of others people, one girl next to us turned to her partner and said I wouldn't want to be anywhere else in the world than here with you at this moment...ahhhh....but she echoed how I was feeling as we entered the final epic breakdown of Believe....So loud and so angry, I love it!!
THen into We are the Night, great track, great visuals, then I think it was 'Nude Night', amazing!!!!!!!! Wow, so good to here that live, I ticked so many boxes of tracks i hadn't heard live before that night, excelent!
After that it wasGolden Path and it sounded better than what I remebered from Wolverhampton all those years ago, maybe because it just felt better in the new set I don't know, but TOm and Ed used the 'Hmmm....I was confused...for if I was Dead, how and why...did I die' part which was really good and worked very well! And also the 'Please forgive me, I never meant to hurt you' part before the Elecktrobank drums came in and 'You are all My Children now' was spoken by our old friend 'Mr Clownface', was lovely to see him again!! Then into one of the tracks I'd been waiting for ever to see live 'Chemical Beats', AMAZING!!!! THen the value for money En-core! 4 songs!! Leave Home,Block Rockin Beats, Das Spiegel and finally Sunshine Underground to round off a truly memorable gig...can't believ I'm the only one to write a review out of the 4,000 plus that were there, oh well, my vids will be up soon, in the mean time enjoy the one and only vid i can be bothered to put up so far ;-)!
Hope I havent bored you all to sleep, it's way past my bedtime now, but have enjoyed re-living the memories of Friday night as I now go into depressed mode and the thought of a Manic Monday at the office :-(
Love is All!
http://www.youtube.c...h?v=vBa-lagFT2g
Cheers Tom and Ed, you rock! :-)
MultiQuote
