While She Sleeps @ Vans store Camden 28/8/13

 Today was just a normal Wednesday like no other in the streets of Camden and people went by as their usual routines however THIS Wednesday was not.
Just a few days ago Sheffield's finest, While She Sleeps got announced that they would playing in the vans store in Camden Town later today.

This was massive news for sleeps fans as they had just come back from playing a monstrous set at reading, and were already back in London to play another small, intimate FREE show for their fans. Now you can't say that this band doesn't care about their fans, because they value them more than money.
Now the Vans store said you need to have a wrist band or be on the guest list to get into this small free show, neither of which I had however it was still too much of a good opportunity to pass by so I decided to go along just to see. It actually turned out that a lot of people were already there and the time was only 1pm, five hours before the gig was supposed to begin. Most of them were like me, wanting to get in but had no wristband. Despite all of this we waited outside the store until the gig was going to start to see if there was any extra room inside for us, even if they wasn't we could still enjoy the gig from outside.
 As it was While She Sleeps and they don't exactly put on a show for a small crowd.

Sitting outside the store for a while, we decided to go in and to our surprise the whole band was inside casually shopping like the next customer through the door was. The first member we saw was Mat Welsh, who was trying on a jacket that was way to big for him. He was really friendly and easy to talk to about what was going on and how they were and what happened at reading, he seemed to chilled out and relaxed about it all, soon after that we saw Loz and Sean trying on shoes at the back and went over to talk to them for a bit. We told Lawrence the funny about his sister coming up to us at slam dunk and declaring she was his sister and telling us where he got the lyrics to "Our courage our cancer" from. We wouldn't actually find Adam in the store but managed to find Aaron, who firstly said "I remember you" to me which came as a massive shock to me. I had been to a couple of their shows and signings but never would I have though that a band member would recognise me!

After all the meeting was over the gig actually began, and WSS took to just a small corner of the shop to play for a pretty large crowd of fans inside and out. Turns out that there wasn't enough room however this didn't matter, because everyone in the streets of Camden could hear their music through the shop doors and all joined in with the crowd.

Inside look really packed and stuffy but everyone was breaking out and moshing along, screaming the lyrics to every verse that had been sang, this was the same outside as there was an equal crowd following the same pattern but also starting a mosh pit just outside the store. When "This Is The Six" kicked in there was now a large circle pit formed where a few hardcore fans joined in, bashing each other to the beat of the song. Soon more and more people from the streets crowed and joined in to see what was going on.

Before we knew it Loz and Mat, ran through the crowd and joined us into the outside pit still screaming along with the song getting the outside crowd involved. At this point everyone pushed forth towards them, crowding them with their lyrics at full blast. This was exactly what you would expect from a WSS crowd, truly live and mental as it was so unexpected and wild. Loz then gave a quick talk thanking us for coming down and apologising for not getting everyone in, however he made sure that he brought the party both inside and out, which was honestly so lovely of him to do.

 The crowd outside got larger and larger as more people were curious to see what was happening, I mean there was a mosh pit in the middle of the streets! Not something you see everyday, but only in Camden.

There set lasted for about 40 minutes which was decent, and each song got more energetic than the last and towards the end a lot more people tried to crowd surf in the store but also a mad guy tried to crowd surf from outside to inside the store which was absolutely mad! He didn't make it of course but you have to give the guy credit for even attempting something as mad as that.

The band played all the bangers, one after the other making the crowd go wild with them, and once again Loz, Aaron and Sean all came out for the last song to meet the outside crowd but ran around the shop into the streets like the mad northerns they are before running right back into the shop again to catch the final lines of "Our Courage Our Cancer" It then all came to an end and everyone from the store made there way out, all hot and sweaty for one last group photo to sum up an amazing night. At this point everyone wanted to be in it, even if the tourist on the streets jumped in to get some action.

 That definitely had to be one of the most maddest gig's ever to go down in the WSS history, and Camden was so lucky to be a part of it. After most people had departed the band then came out to greet even more of their fans,making sure that everyone had a good time and got a chance to meet them which was nice of the band.

Even James from Deaf Havana was there catching the last set from sleeps. No idea where they had come from or why they were there but it was nice to see another fellow band enjoying their set also.
Now everyone was a bit more calmed down and just chilling with people, talking about how amazing the show was, I don't think anyone ever expected this to happen as it was totally random and spontaneous for even the band themselves as they had no idea how mad this show would get.

I was so glad I went in the end, because it honestly was one experience in a life time you'd never get again and I can't thank While She Sleeps enough for making it happening, all for free. Such a quality band to do something like this and still have time to chill with their fans. This being the Third time seeing them live, they have never once disappointed me and are still keep me on my toes with every performance being so unique and memorising.
One of my highlights of the summer. Great lads, thanks a lot guys for everything!

Letlive "Fake History" 2011 Album review

Released	April 2010
Recorded	Charlotte, North Carolina August–September 2009
Genre	Post-hardcore, experimental rock,alternative metal
Label	Tragic Hero (2010), Epitaph (2011 re-release)
Producer	Letlive., Brett Gurewitz "This Mime (A Sex Symbol)" Rating:

Fake history was Letlive's second album, originally it was released on Tragic Hero Records in April 2013, however this then became re-released by Epitaph Records the following April in 2011 with the three additional tracks.

The album begins with a warm up song, which gets the audience going with its heavy drum beat, which is then followed by Jason Aalon Butler (lead vocalist) voice, in "Le Prolouge". This carries on its upbeat and hardcore  genre as it gets your attention almost imminently and waking you up to the next song which follows on closely, "The sick, sick 6.8 Billion.". This one has to be one of my favourites of the album as it introduces a mixture of voices. Yes we are still hearing the hardcore screams of Jason, but this time we are also exposed to the softer, longer harmony's in which are being belted along with the energetic riffs of the guitar ad outburst of the drums. Now I personally have just heard the album not that long ago, despite that it had been around for three years now, but i instantly fell in love with it. The reason is that Letlive are not just your average hardcore band but much more experimental which is one of the qualities and styles they take into their songs to make it unique and fresh, sure not everyone will understand and agree to what I am saying, however I feel they have mad either mark by doing this but also doing it successfully.

The album certainylu does follow on its constant head hanging songs as the third one in the track list is "Renegade 86" which takes a back seat from the screams. Perfectly lining this song after such a diverse one, it calms the listner down a bit so they feel at ease with the song. The perfect beat of consistency within the song is flawlessly matched with its twisted ending that takes us back to what Letlive is all about and we are familiarised with Jason's voice yet again. Despite the lack of jumpiness it's very catchy and indeed with the riffs and beats of it all, which just make you tap your feel alongside it.

You have to give them credit for their perfect line-up of song order as they know exactly when to play each song for the maximum effect. Now onto "Enemies [Enemigos]" which is a much slow pace movement with a repetitive chorus, like the previous one with its catch drum beats, it acts as a balance as we are experiencing a similarity, yet still receiving a new twist towards the bridge. This all then returns back to its normal state of the song through a fade of repetition, this all changes as soon as we hit the next one which converts us back to the original Letlive tempo. "Casino Columbus" reminds me of their previous album, and takes me back slightly as it reveals elements which were foundered, it certainly puts a twist on what the listener would expect as the first four songs had been a whole new Letlive, they would be happy to know that not all has been changed.

The constant altering of songs which are totally different makes me adore this album even more, it allows so much expression to be exposed in such a short time, for an album it really does live up to what the band is labelled as, while "Muther" takes a softer slow swing with the vocals of Chelsea Warlick in sync with Jason's, it almost takes a soft and calm tone to the song as it's quite releasing to hear halfway through the album. This takes on a similar pattern of repetition when "Holmess Jazz" sets in as the heaviness is focused on the piano, that gives off an old school Jazz sound of diversity. Not seen as just one album from one band to me but Letlive explore pretty much everything in this album, which is done perfectly well that you cant possible hate them for it.

Leaving the album with a new yet familiar taste of auto enhanced vocals, this adds to its technological side of the band as they are capable of producing different combined elements of beauty with edge that intertwine into soft voices just to mess with the structure of the album, which keeps on giving me thrills that a newly formed equilibrium is made.
The last song of chorus has to be the most conjuring as it is probably the one that you would remember the most, while it was fresh in your head, this is the longest in the whole album. The main reason as to why it is my favourite from their work is because it's lyrical. Mind it being a whole six minutes long, the song is like the ending of a book, the final chapter with a hidden moral behind instead of words they are lyrics. The clear voice of Jason mixes with his angry screams as it is shows the two sides in which he is trying to express in this story of a song. The issues talked about are very real to life and relatable as when he is chanting them , its almost like a warning to you, with so much emotion and passion passing through his vocals it really does sink into your head that there is a hidden message here. When the lines of "Can't wait to say I told you so" play in, the tune changes and we are being laughed at with Jason's sarcastic voice of pity, this changes the mood with it also. "Day 54" is just beautifully conducted and concentrated together to produce the most powerful emotion that could be pulled out of us, empathy. The chanting of tempo and beats angers you as you are now feeling the mutual feelings of Jason's cries. It takes you up until the point where you are so intact with the song that you feel completely absorbed by it and taken away a bit.

And that is why the album deserves a well earned 5/5 stars.

Tigers Jaw acoustic instore @ Banquet Records 5/8/13

The daily acoustic in-store, came about however today banquet records was filled to the brim with many die hard Tigers Jaw fans as they popped in just before their show at The Fighting Cocks to play a little acoustic for just a small crowd. Priority went to those who were under 18, as the show later was an 18 and over show.
I managed to be one of the lucky ones who got to hear them first hand in the small record shop in Kingston.


They first originated with several members who had over time left the band, crushing it down to just two, Brianna Collins and Ben Wash. Rumours had been heard that the band were splitting up and this was their last ever show. However announced on the evening of the acoustic  a new album was said to be released and hints of further tours in the distant future.  
I was shocked to see the room filled with many heads, crowed round to get a listen of them before the show, as most of them were male and big fans of the band.

Acoustics have always been my favourite  as you get to experience the artists raw, real voice without anything on top of it, it's like stripping clean every single piece of layer that you hear on a CD, with the comfort of the sweet sound of an acoustic guitar. It instantly changes the mood, where everyone in the room is still and focus, eyes glued to the song, and the air filled with emotions coming from the artist.
The softness of Brianna's voice combined with the harmonic melody of Ben's alongside the harsh but clean strums of the guitar worked in perfect sync, as the voices which echoed the room were strong and powerful, hitting the crowd which bounced back in a mirror verse.

When the first line of 'Chemical's came into play, the whole crowd instantly connected and sang along to every lyric that had been sung, the atmosphere was truly tranquil and happy. 
This was my first time seeing Tigers Jaw live, and what more could I expect? They exceeded my expectations of them as previously heard on Youtube, they sounded 100x better in the flesh.
A bigger surprise and treat for us was that they played two new songs from their record that was yet to be released  which captured everyone in the room.



Defiantly one of the best acoustic sessions I had ever been to, even though it didn't seem to last long, the echoes of their voices still repeated over and over again in my head as I left the shop, in a much better mood. I look forward to seeing them in the near future with much more raw music.

You can find the full set here: LIVE

Tramlines festival 2013 20/7/13

Tramlines Festival was just a day away and I had no idea I was going until that Friday night at 11pm. (Just a bit short notice?) Me and my friend, Priya booked dour tickets that night ready for the next day to Sheffield. The though of it really did excite me as this would be my second time attending Tramlines festival. The main reason I was going was to shoot some footage for my A2 media music video coursework and of course to see four bands I've been dying to see for some time. (Bloody Knees, Neck Deep, Gnarwolves and Canterbury.)
Tramlines is a small independent festival held every year in Sheffield's city centre which explores new bands to perform across three days over various stages, it's very cheap in price at £15 for the weekend and only £6 for a day.

I only was attending the Saturday at the Corporation which held my favourite genre of pop punk bands. The same venue was split over two days and held a more hardcore scene of bands on the Sunday which I could not attend to. (Marmozets, Feed The Rhino, Decade and Polar.)
The show started at 5pm, as the doors to the run-down warehouse of a venue opened to a dark black room where crowds of people gathered together all around the venue.

The first band to start off the festival line up was a London band called Bloody Knees, I had previous heard of them a short while ago and gotten into their music, as their genre was pop punk, however it was more punk-core in itself, with the strange, uniqueness of Brad (lead vocalist) voice mixed with the original three piece, bass, guitar and drums. At this point the crowd was pretty clam in just swaying with the accosaianly head bang and mosher, but everyone seemed like they were trying to get into them. I certainly was. I also noticed another strange thing about the band, the bass player (Sam) was only playing with two strings, yet the hard riffs still stuck in my head. Bloody Knees have a bloody great performance, for a warm up band they got the crowd hooked and interested. They grabbed the attention of new listeners with their fast paste beats mixed with an old fashioned voice that gave you goosebumps.

They even gave a great performance, bouncing around, air flipping in the middle of songs, making sure that the audience was interacted and not standing still, they defiantly did a good job of that! After playing a few songs the bad had to leave the stage and hand it over to Neck Deep.

"HAVE YOU NOTICED ME LATELY" and the answer to that lyric came from the crowd with a colossal scream of "I know I've been vaguely twist my words." Neck Deep had finally hit the stage a quarter of the way into the night and already had got the vibes pumping at its highest choosing Over and Over as their first official opening song was defiantly a wise choice as imminently they wasted no time with the build up beat but departed straight forward. The bad are made up of five members who are all pretty young in appearance but also musically. The energy was flowing as Ben (Lead vocalist) stepped off the stage and right up to the barrier into the crowd almost demolished by them where a large mob formed around him, making sure this his voice was not the only one to be heard that night.
Neck Deep aren't the average band who just get on stage and put on a show for the sake of it and sing chronologically but actually take the time to interact with their fans and let off a bit of their personality and experiences with the crowd, which makes them even more liable as a band too. This was the main thing that I loved about them as it added to their music also, they never stopped moving despite all the high spirited gestures they had made throughout the night, Neck Deep gave it their all. As it was my first time seeing them I did have high expectations on their performance, this didn't let me down, however their sound did slightly The sound coordination's with the vocals seemed to be a bit out of sync. Wither it being the instrumental playing too fast for the vocals or the beat not quite catching up to the lyrical state and movements but something seemed a little bit too fast forwarded and rushed, however this only lasted in the middle half f the set, the last half seemed to be perfectly intact.

Nevertheless Ben kept pushing his efforts forward to making the performance lively and upbeat, alternating between the stage and the crowd, expressing his words through his facial expressions and sound as he blew me away and the whole room too. "Tables turned" came on and I managed to catch the most amazing footage while the song played, due to the luck of the lights flashing like bad and Ben's interaction, I got what I needed for my music video. It was all thanks to the band for giving such an A* performance as their set did seem really short, everyone seemed to enjoy it with their faces turned into pictures of screams.
Right towards the end the tension built right up to it's highest peak, while all the crowd surfers got into play and really did surf like mad, along with Ben, enjoying himself almost the waves, it was time to wash away Neck Deep and brig in Gnarwolves.

Topping the first two outstanding performance s was Birmingham's three piece pop punk band Gnarwolves, hitting the stage for the third round of madness. Now Gnarwolves are another one of my favourites to see, as the hype of them had risen over a couple of weeks and I wanted to experience it first hand at Tramlines. Oh man are they pop punk, Charlie (bassist) was first to come on stage, in a tye dye top, (which he is known for always wearing) joined by Max (drummer) and Thom (Lead vocalist and guitarist) The three boys whom two of them share DNA, hit the stage with a bang! Right away Thom was welcoming us all and asking us how we were doing, bigging up the bands who had just played before hand.

The crowd went beyond wild as Gnarwolves started playing their first song, and even bigger mob of moshers formed right towards Thom chanting lyrics right back at his sweaty face. The vibes were all great, as no one stood still in the venue, even I found my self repeating words back as they had just left Thom's mouth, and recognised a few as heard on record, they were a sold 10/10 better live. Such an awesome atmosphere and such welcoming sounds, I felt right at home while they played. The set was put together beautifuly wit
h each song chosen at the right point to make dramatic effects, my favourites was History is Bunk, which was one of the opening songs, along with Coffee Shop which was their last.

This time everyone went mental for them, wither you were a Gnarwolves fan or not, every single person was up in the arms of the crow and surfing along to get to the stage, even Bloody Knees were on the stage moshing before diving back into the crowd and up again! This really picked up the spirit of the night as no one wanted it to be over, Gnarwolves were tearing down the Corporation before the night was over, honestly so shocked by them, would defiantly have to see them again!
Sad to see them leave the crowd keep demanding "GNARWOLVES CREW F*** YOU!" back and them in a friend banter before they disappeared completely off-stage.

As soon as they left the stage so did most of the crowd, the pop punk, hardcore scene had moved away allowing a more older, hipster, mainstream crowd to form and await for Canterbury, the headlining band to perform.

I had seen Canterbury perform live in 2010 at the Roundhouse Camden, back with The Blackout when they were pretty much unknown, and now hundreds of people had come down just to see them tonight. I really did enjoy them then and I hoped to see their progress now as they were headlining with a much bigger fan base and success. Of course by now I was expecting a totally different mod change, as well as genre the atmosphere would be calmer and cooler as Canterbury weren't a pop punk band as such.
However not everything was that different, as soon as they hit the Stage in their dim lit appearance, the voices of a hundred fans screamed their name as Luke began to sing.
The opening song was pretty much slow and clam which helped to ease the new audience into their music as it got them in the mood, as it wasn't too upbeat nor boring. This slow song then turned into a very fast past one which made sure that the audience was well awake and moving along to their beats and rhythm. Everything was in place this time, even the lights were perfectly matched in a clam red glow as "Calm Down" began to strum through the guitar. This was one of their most famous songs heard and every single voice could hear this as they repeated each lyric back, the build up of tension on this song was remarkable, as it kept chaining in tone and pitch as Luke's beautiful voice echoed the whole room in shivers.
Although there was not much movement within their first few songs the band sure did make sure everyone was having a good time, and took a short break to explain who they were and where you can buy their albums with further links also for any unanswered questions before heading back to the music.

Their set lasted for 40 minutes which was not waste din the slightest, as Canterbury had disobediently grown as a band and gotten more versatile with their music genre and what they are capable of doing. Being front of the barrier I got to catch every little bit of reaction which came their way, as watching them perform showed me that they weren't as boring or just singing for the sake of a show but the desire and sensation which drove through their voice and movement of fingers along the guitars was significantly mesmerising, as they meant every single word they sang.
I was having a imaginary time, as I could feel myself losing my hands to their chats and connecting with them as I did recognise most of their songs, again a band who are equally as good on record as they are live! Canterbury played a mixture of their old songs combined with new ones to give the audience a real taste of what they are, which was boundless as everyone was just as enjoyable as the next. The night had ended with a goodbye and wishing to see you in the future from the band as they left the stage to a well satisfied audience.

Well that was only one of the days from Tramlines for you at one venue, there were plenty of other stages with two extra days to celebrate  the great love of local music in Sheffield, See you around next year then?

Young Guns @ Drop Dead

Today at the London Drop Dead store, Young Guns came down to do a signing, but if that wasn't enough, they even decided to chuck in a short acoustic set for 40 lucky fans. I was fortunate to be the 10th one.

Travelling all the way from Derby where they just had played a festival to a small shop in London, the guys proved how much they care for their fans.

The band arrived right on time at 3pm, to the long, noisy queues of screaming fans who awaited just outside the doors to the store, many had been there since 6am, to make sure they got one of the 40 wrist bands.

The singing then took place, allowing small groups of people in to the store and out again, the atmosphere now was very intense and full of excited fans who had just met their favourite band.

I wasn't a massive fan of them, but I did like them as musicians and personally as they do produce good music as well as having lovely personality's. Young Guns are certainly one of them special bands who actually do bother and care about their fans, as this showed straight away, when we entered the drop dead store. Gustav Woods (Lead vocalist) stood to the side with a massive grin on his face, greeting fans, waving to everyone, welcoming them in, which also boosted the mood of already ecstatic people. Despite the store being very small, there was a manageable queue formed inside where the excitement of meeting them, took a shortened delay.

Everyone there seemed to be young teenage girls with the odd guy, who appeared to be massive fans, holding posters, albums, even wearing their merch, giving of a positive vibe throughout the store. At this point the excitement was building up, as more and more people left the store, I got a step closer to the table where the band sat behind. They all greeted me with a big warm smile on their face already brightening up the mood.
For a signing, it happened pretty slowly, which was better than I expected as most just sign your poster and move on to the next, but not Young Guns, they each took some time to speak to me, even if it was just a "Hey" or "How are you doing", each member looked just as happy as I was to be there. My favourite of course had to be Gustav. He was standing right on the end, full of excitement, juggling pens and paper with posing for photographs to be taken. (Below you can see me with the band)

 

After the signing was all over, we were asked to leave the store for a short few minutes while the band got ready for the acoustic set for just us lucky 40 people.

Outside there were still screaming fans, still not over the fact that they just met Young Guns.

NOW IT'S TIME FOR THE ACOUSTIC!

 The hardest part was probably trying to fit 40 people into the tiny shop, which actually was manageable, and they even got to squeeze a few more others who were waiting outside. The band were all lined up on the window display, ready with their guitars and voices, while the crowd sat, heads tilted up with joy written all over their faces. Before playing the first song, Guss spoke to thank us for all coming down to see them, and how much it meant for them that we were here, and he even made a few cheesy jokes which made us laugh too, then introduced the song.

As the first note vibrated, the crowd was dead silent, in anticipation making the whole focus onto them. Guss then let out his angelic voice and instantly connected with the crowd, as every single eye was glued to him. I would have to say that this, was one of the most enjoyable acoustic sets that I have been to as most just consisted of the band paying songs, however Young Guns made sure everyone was having a good time, singing along and always laughing, as they even tried more of their cheesy jokes. (But it did work) They played 4 songs, which were all beautifully done, and impeccable to perfection. Even after they were all finished, the band was happy to still meet more fans for pictures and autographs to celebrate the success of a great evening. I personally enjoyed this set a lot, as it was more than just listening to the band, but also connecting with the music, and actually taking a few short minutes to hang with them as normal people rather than "OMG IT'S YOUNG GUNS!" At the end of the day, everyone was happy and put in a good mood thanks to Young Guns.