Circa Survive, Fightstar, Madina Lake and Coheed and Cambria
Just been to see this tour at the Guildhall in Southampton - first show I've seen there. Overall, the sound was bloody awful - it actually gave me a headache. The problem with any hardcore/post hardcore show is that very little attention appears to be paid to the actual quality of the sound, as long as it's loud and bassy. Only problem with this, as any sign of treble makes the most awful screeching noise!
Circa Survive - for me, these guys were the band of the night. Inventive and different, I've just bought both of their albums and a tshirt on the strength of the live show - the 5 songs (ugh) they played blew the rest of the acts away tonight.
Fightstar - post hardcore by numbers; Charlie Simpson out to tell everyone that he's not in Busted anymore (that stupid singing voice will always be Busted to me - and Busted are better than Fightstar both live and on CD) by swearing and crucifying his own songs by screaming and telling everyone to get moving. There is nothing special about this band's live show, and Charlie Simpson is so irritating!
Madina Lake - before we came, I didn't actually like this band. I've heard their studio album and it didn't do anything for me, so I wasn't expecting much. Luckily, because of this, they didn't disappoint. The singer going on about losing our minds and being one and some pretentious crap, trying to give depth to their shallow, carbon-copy sound. It just wasn't happening.
Coheed and Cambria - I'm not a huge fan of this band. In Keeping Secrets is a pretty good album, but for me there's far better prog than this, and there's far better hardcore/whatever you want to call them so I wasn't expecting a lot (a theme for the evening!). The sound completely ruined Coheed. I don't know whether it's the stone walls, high ceilings or what but anything that wasn't a bass note was completely lost. The occasional phrase of a solo was allowed through, but nothing else. I was really disappointed, even though they played my 3 favourite songs of theirs!
I'm not sure if they're going to Birmingham Academy 2 on this tour (not Academy 1, the sound there sucks too), then go see it - Coheed are incredibly tight live, exchanging guitar solos seamlessly and interrupting the flow of the show very little, save to say "thank you guys", and Circa Survive were an excellent surprise.
What did you guys think of the tour?
Just been to see this tour at the Guildhall in Southampton - first show I've seen there. Overall, the sound was bloody awful - it actually gave me a headache. The problem with any hardcore/post hardcore show is that very little attention appears to be paid to the actual quality of the sound, as long as it's loud and bassy. Only problem with this, as any sign of treble makes the most awful screeching noise!
Circa Survive - for me, these guys were the band of the night. Inventive and different, I've just bought both of their albums and a tshirt on the strength of the live show - the 5 songs (ugh) they played blew the rest of the acts away tonight.
Fightstar - post hardcore by numbers; Charlie Simpson out to tell everyone that he's not in Busted anymore (that stupid singing voice will always be Busted to me - and Busted are better than Fightstar both live and on CD) by swearing and crucifying his own songs by screaming and telling everyone to get moving. There is nothing special about this band's live show, and Charlie Simpson is so irritating!
Madina Lake - before we came, I didn't actually like this band. I've heard their studio album and it didn't do anything for me, so I wasn't expecting much. Luckily, because of this, they didn't disappoint. The singer going on about losing our minds and being one and some pretentious crap, trying to give depth to their shallow, carbon-copy sound. It just wasn't happening.
Coheed and Cambria - I'm not a huge fan of this band. In Keeping Secrets is a pretty good album, but for me there's far better prog than this, and there's far better hardcore/whatever you want to call them so I wasn't expecting a lot (a theme for the evening!). The sound completely ruined Coheed. I don't know whether it's the stone walls, high ceilings or what but anything that wasn't a bass note was completely lost. The occasional phrase of a solo was allowed through, but nothing else. I was really disappointed, even though they played my 3 favourite songs of theirs!
I'm not sure if they're going to Birmingham Academy 2 on this tour (not Academy 1, the sound there sucks too), then go see it - Coheed are incredibly tight live, exchanging guitar solos seamlessly and interrupting the flow of the show very little, save to say "thank you guys", and Circa Survive were an excellent surprise.
What did you guys think of the tour?
