The last two shows Your Demise will EVER play together as a band, was held at Camden's finest venue, The Underworld. Booked 9 months in advance, we all already knew about the breakup and prepared for the final show, as I was lucky enough to get hold of tickets for this. Wishing the months would pass so I could finally say goodbye to one of the UK's finest hardcore bands was always on my mind, however as the days went by and the final gig was only a few hours away, I felt like it had come too soon and I really wasn't ready to say goodbye. Mainly focusing on Your Demise in this review, I wanted to keep it heavily based on them as well as acknowledging the supporting acts too.
Friday started off at the early time of 6, digging right in with Crooks who were first up. Pulling of a very lively and energetic performance, Crooks provided to get the crowd in the right state of mind, starting the tour off with immediate impact. Previously seeing them twice before this current year, they have always delivered a solid and passionate performance, being a perfect opener act for this special night.
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| MARMOZETS |
Following that fulfilment was Palm Reader, Heights and Marmozets who all pumped the crowd up, for Your Demise. Striking out from the rest, Marmozets gave an outstanding performance, which got the crowd spinning in circles and mayhem, as their last song was taken to the floor itself.
Drummer Josh Macintyre moved his whole kit to centre the crowd, conferring an energetic last song, as a tribute to be playing alongside YD themselves. All four support bands had gave a well-polished act, as it was an honour for them to play the penultimate show.
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| Heights ( Isha Shah Photography) |
9:15 Couldn't have come sooner, as it was finally time. The stage had now been set up, catering
exactly for the band, as a cheesy intro of Aerosmith -
I Don't Want to Miss A Thing crept in, and the crowd roared with excitement and laughter. At this moment the lights dimmed to highlight the stage, as everyone's mouth moved along, singing each lyric word for word before
MXX merged in and took over the stage. Within the first few seconds of this play, divers were taking over the stage, bouncing off each other all over the place, starting the set off in high spirits.
Becoming apparent that this was it, the final time ever we were going to hear Your Demise play, people just went mad, as
The Golden Age was next up, causing an ever larger group of surfers and divers all around the room. Packed with a sold out show, every single body was moving along to the music, despite the small spacing. The band were never alone on stage as divers kept them company, and helped Edd sing many of their well-known songs.
The night followed a similar set list to all the other nights with a solid and perfectly lined placement of true bangers. A mixture from
The Kids We Used to Be, The Golden Age and
Cold Chillin' as well as the much older YD, with Burnt Tongues and an extra song played on the last date, Burning Ashes.
Settling in with Scared of the Light, the crowd kept its fast pace movement along with the heavy guitar riffs produced, as Edd introduced each song. Your Demise have always been one band who knows how to put on a show from start to finishing, not messing about with anything, as well as constantly keeping a crowd well entertained, they had managed to provide us with enough energy to last their whole set.
Performance wise the band are a solid 10/10 as everything was in sync, sounding solid for the basement sound the Underworld was known for producing. Playing in such a small but memorable venue is hard, but YD certainly did pull it off.
Being the fourth time I had seen the band, I could see a lot of progression in Edd's vocals as well as the overall combination sound, as they sounded more united and together as ever. As the Friday date was packed with many hardcore fans of the band there was never a dull moment, even in between the breaks.
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| Edd McRae |
Things really started to heat up as soon as
Karma and
Push Me Under were introduce, being two heavy melodies in which everyone was familiar with. Explicitly plunging us in a full frontal breakdown, the crowd went absolutely wild, with two large pits filled with passionate dancers, going mental everywhere. The whole floor seemed to be shaking with heavy beats of bouncing fans, constantly moving along with the music. As the halfway mark was set with
These Lights, a song that does not sink in well with a lot of people, had to be played as a memorable, calm and cheesy tune to relax to slightly. Personally, I love this song and think it's as good as the others, despite its take back to a subtle and toned theme, it still provides a catchy and bouncy beat which you can't help but sing the words to.
As soon as that was out of the way it was back to the old stuff from
The Kids We Used To Be, keeping the crowd pumping with their radiantly hitting music. The night was certainly emotional for the crowd, but 10 times as hard for the actual band, as the time had come for that final last song and everything to be finally over.
Not making the generic move of going off stage while the crowd cheers for an encore, Your Demise knew well enough that it was easier to just play the one song everyone had been waiting for and not tease us any longer.
But before, a much needed speech was required.
Cutting the shit and being real, Edd took a few minutes to just talk about the things the band had accomplished and how they had done that, taking the time to thank everyone who had been a part of it as well as saying a great big "FUCK YOU" to everyone who hadn't believed in them. True words were spoken that night, as you could tell it came from the bottom of the bands heart, as they were even more dismal than the crowd. But there just comes a time in your life when you realise how happy you are and what you've done is enough. Your Demise have cultivated far more than a lot of bands, touring the world with friends and family, they can now say they have lived a Golden Age.
With that being said the heavy intro of T
he Kids We Used To Be settled in and the crowd teared their hearts out. More people on the stage than actually on the floor was a clear indication of how the night would end. The band had played a solid and perfect set, ending it with a song that means a lot to us. With hardly any tears but smiles of joy and sorrow on peoples face as they said a final goodbye to the band and each other in huddles before The Underworld was empty.
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| YOUR DEMISE (ISHA SHAH) |
As you can tell this review is probably a little bit bias, as I am a huge Your Demise fan, but it's just my opinion and how I took the night. I found it really hard to sum up the words I wanted to say In a fair way.
THE LAST EVER SHOW. SATURDAY 15.3.14
The doors to the venue opened at the same time of 6 with another great solid line up of:
Broken Teeth, TRC, Landscapes and finally Brutality With Prevail.
All four quality bands, as TRC captured me the most, with their lively and down to earth #TEAMUK performance.
Going straight into the main act, Your Demise play their second show at The Underworld this year, as well as their last ever. Being 100% concentrated this time with my eyes glued to the stage, we all stood, waiting for the band to join us finally. Having already experienced yesterday's show, I knew that tonight would be more emotional and heavyhearted than any other gig I've yet to endure.
Going all out tonight, Balloons and rolls of toilet paper were thrashed around right at us, already lifting our spirits. Setting a clear happy atmosphere, the nostalgic song of
I Don't Want to Miss A Thing carried out as it intertwined with the familiar set list of last night.
Comparing the two nights, they both proved to have the same amount of passion and enthusiasm from both the crowd and the band, however as it was THE FINAL NIGHT, the ending got a little more heated and emotions were high. The band's performance sounded even more perfected, heard the second time, rebounding all over the stage, as more and more divers took over. It came down to the last three songs and Edd just though, Fuck it let's play some oldies from
The Blood Stays on the Blade, with
Burning Ashes places right after
Burnt Tongues. Slightly changing the set list from the other nights, it remained the same in choice of songs however, the transition from one to another was more grasped and detailed as the whole set seemed like one giant pit.
Pumped with more energy let out on the crowd I found the atmosphere to be a lot more united and together as no one really wanted to say goodbye. Remembrance of what was next to come, a sudden realisation had set in and everyone stood still as Edd said some final last words joined by Stu and Oz who's emotions got the better of them. "There are some people you wish were here and others you really don't like." Keeping the same heart felt speech, with adding in a few new words and goodbyes, as confetti filled the ceiling with tears of colour, the final breakdown of TKWUTB demolished the whole venue.
Fans flying all over the place, trampling to get to the stage, then diving back in, not a single body stood still within the five minutes the song played for. As people were now actually falling off the stage, due to the amount who were flooding in, packing the space to the ceiling with tears of screams as the last lyric I'LL PROVE YOU WRONG, escaped and echoed the room in claps and screams.
The night was over yet, as people still huddled the stage, one by one clearing the space, with the realisation that Your Demise were now just Demise had suddenly hit them.
Words cannot express how amazing the two nights were and how lucky I was to be a part of it, there was so much I wanted to say and so much I had experienced along with the 5 times of seeing this band live that will continue to live with me. It is because of them I had truly gotten into hardcore, travelled to new places and met new people. Your Demise have made such an impact on me, and I can now say my final goodbye was a good one.
Remembering the first ever time I saw them in the summer of 2012 at tramlines was the highlight of this golden year, as they imminently got me hooked to their relatable music that suited ever single mood of mine. Your Demise are such a distinctive hardcore band, as no one even comes close to compare to what they produce, happily leaving them at London, I can really say that I wear this brave face with a smile.
Expecting to be highly emotional and teary, it surprised me at how good and happy I felt after the gig, it wasn't another sad ending but just a see you later sort of thing, as I will never really say goodbye to their music.
The band deserve more than a 10 on their music and performance and if I could give them any higher I would. Solid quality band 10/10 gig.
2000ANDFOREVER.
R.I.P
YD.
For the pictures head to:
Isha Shah Photography
Can't wait for the DVD now.
