Finely Tuned Assassins - Live
A Word Like Attack / Ride the Skyline / Never Back Down
Friday 29th of August 2008
It's a pretty busy night here at The Joiners, with a noisy rabble outside, and surprisingly few in the Chinese restaurant next door. The acts tonight vary from local lads Never Back Down to Birmingham stalwarts, Ride the Skyline.
When Never Back Down hit the stage, I realise I've seen a couple of these guys before - the drummer and lead singer were formerly in Disaster by Design, who I saw down at the Talking Heads. Lead singer Danny seems very comfortable with his new line-up, and is vocally very reminiscent of Tom deLonge from Blink 182. Time signatures are complex affairs, but combine well with the simpler guitar and vocal styles. The new EP is launched tonight and with an adoring crowd joining in with several songs it seems likely to do well - clearly Danny has quite a following. Standout tracks of the night for me are 'Take me Home', which is well supported with improvised echo chanting and 'Move with the Motion' - another track from the EP, with the lyric "Please don't say I'm another regret, Please don't say I'm another reject".
One band unlikely to feel like rejects tonight are A Word Like Attack. They are, on the face of it, a typical pants-out, trousers too close to the ground type band. Sadly, most of Never Back Down's friends and family have left, leaving a rather sparse crowd for the other acts. A Word Like Attack are hugely energetic, and the lead singer is a microphone swinger and air puncher in the Roger Daltry mould. There's a definite Lost Prophets feel to these guys, although they manage to stay fresh and original sounding, using Qbase and Reason on their laptop to provide synth backing.
By the time their third song is blasting out, 'Women need not be afraid of man-eating sharks', The Joiners seems to have filled up again, and there is a lively crowd showing their appreciation. The bassist and lead singer certainly have the showmanship to go with the rockstar image, but the rhythm guitarist is rather static by comparison. The set tonight was very short as the band were a little late getting onstage, but the final song had a strong emo quality, very melodic, with both guitarists and the bassist on backing vocals. Generally, though, a good show - worth a visit if you see them on a line-up near you...
The next band on this four-band showcase are Ride the Skyline, from Birmingham. Again, pants on show. Clearly RTS have brought a few fans with them, all singing along and, erm, having piggy-back fights? This is the third five-piece band of the night, and the crowd seem to have dwindled once more. This, however leaves more space for headline act Finely Tuned Assassins to massacre each other in the mosh pit. There are two singers - one on melodic, one on scream duty.
These guys are intensely energetic and leap about throughout the whole show - this is aided by the fact the bassist has a wireless bass. These guys are seriously here to have fun, show what they can do and win over some new fans. Without a doubt they achieved this tonight, particularly with their comedy cover of 'Low' (by Flo-Rida, not Testament!) part way through a song.
One of the most bizarre things about the RTS set is that the headline act, Finely Tuned Assassins are here throughout, creating human pyramids, doing the "Oops up side your head dance", and other weird shenanigans! Certainly the most entertaining mosh pit I've ever witnessed.
Finally we have the band we've all been waiting for (or not in the case of some of the fans of the earlier acts) - Finely Tuned Assassins. They open their set with the line, "Who cares what it sounds like? It's what it looks like that matters! Not!" Hm... an unexpected start followed by "We don't like making music - it's all about the movement!" Now I'm starting to worry.
With no leads on any of the instruments, the guys do not stop still for a second, and leap about for the entire set. That said, though, the audience have upped the ante, and are leaping about even more.
In spite of really wanting to watch the Ian Brown look-alike lead singer, I find myself drawn to the crowd, (Ride the Skyline are getting revenge methinks with an uber battle of the moshpit). I actually find I'm watching Totem Wars more than the band, and am actually witness to at least one smashed nose (ambulance, blood, the works!) and various other minor injuries. That said, following up on the gig I did listen to 'Yankee Secrets' on their Myspace and really liked it - I couldn't say I took any notice of the music on the night itself. One closing memorable quote from Ian-Brown-man - "This is our naked song - I wanna see trousers ripping to this shit!" Quite possibly the theme of the night - trousers, noses, t-shirts; all were ripped in the name of rock.
I'll take away several memories tonight, but have to say I'm nervous about the direction the moshpit has been taking recently. More and more often it is becoming a place where people get hurt, and that was never what metal was about - there are more arseholes cropping up in metal venues who are not there for the music, but for the mayhem. This would certainly stop me from getting up close to the band, particularly having seen the repercussions for the guy with the broken nose. Let's try to keep it safe guys,yeah?
Author: Jeanie C
Venue: The Joiners (Southampton)
Found in: Live Reviews