Well I can safely say that I haven’t been that sweaty at a gig for a long time. I thought I was getting too old for the whole crush/mosh/absolute shirtless wet men pushing each other around… However it was hard to not get involved (minus the nakedness) due to the small capacity of Sub 89, it really makes for an intimate gig. I don’t think the venue can hold more than 300 – 400 people, so for a band as big as Funeral For A Friend I was left feeling lucky to get so up close to them, however I kind of wondered how they have ended up playing such a small gig.
This was their first gig for a few months, and also their first gig with new bass player Richard Boucher. There has been a lot of movement within the band such as the large amount of different members, which makes you wonder if that may have had an affect on the act. One could also suggest that they peaked too early with the amazing debut album ‘Casually dressed and deep in conversation’, but after hearing some of their new material I believe that they are coming roaring back, even though some people (me included) don’t believe that they ever hit a slump.
Anyways, back to the gig itself, starting with the support acts who came in the form of upcoming welsh act ‘Boys with X-ray eyes’ and the London based 5-piece ‘Rise to remain’. Now these are both hardcore bands, so may not be up everybody’s street. ‘Boys with X-ray eyes’ had two singers, however one didn’t really seem to do a lot, he was perhaps just a tagalong, but as a singer he was fairly ineffective. The act as a whole though were full of enthusiasm and aggression but failed to really get the crowd going. I would say though that being the first act on is always difficult if people haven’t heard your music, so if you are into the hardcore scene then they are still worth checking out!
As for ‘Rise to remain’ they really got people involved, and had quite a large following. They were also a lot more polished than the previous band, and the vocals were noticeably a step up. I actually really enjoyed this act, so I will be checking out their latest EP ‘Bridges will Burn’.
So time for the main event, I was really excited to see Funeral For A Friend as I hadn’t seen them live since Reading festival 2008. I can safely say that I was not disappointed at all, they played a fair few new songs which all sounded really good, but at the end of the day when they can churn out tunes such as; Juneau, Escape Artists Never Die, All The Rage, History, Oblivion, Roses For The Dead and Red Is The New Black (and these are just the one I can remember) then it is impossible for the gig to not be a success. Matthew Davies-Kreye is a great front man and really had the crowd going, there were circle pits, sing a longs and some guy who did a pretty amazing back flip in and amongst all of that craziness. In terms of the vocals and the bands performance overall it was spot on.
If you have been out of the loop in terms of Funeral For A Friend, then they recently released an EP The Young And The Defenseless, and will have a new album out in march next year which is currently untitled. But if you are in the mood for a new song of theirs, they just released the video for ‘Serpents of Solitude’ which you can check out below! Enjoy! – Vizzler.
(And yes the picture at the top was taken by me, hence the poor poor quality!)
This was their first gig for a few months, and also their first gig with new bass player Richard Boucher. There has been a lot of movement within the band such as the large amount of different members, which makes you wonder if that may have had an affect on the act. One could also suggest that they peaked too early with the amazing debut album ‘Casually dressed and deep in conversation’, but after hearing some of their new material I believe that they are coming roaring back, even though some people (me included) don’t believe that they ever hit a slump.
Anyways, back to the gig itself, starting with the support acts who came in the form of upcoming welsh act ‘Boys with X-ray eyes’ and the London based 5-piece ‘Rise to remain’. Now these are both hardcore bands, so may not be up everybody’s street. ‘Boys with X-ray eyes’ had two singers, however one didn’t really seem to do a lot, he was perhaps just a tagalong, but as a singer he was fairly ineffective. The act as a whole though were full of enthusiasm and aggression but failed to really get the crowd going. I would say though that being the first act on is always difficult if people haven’t heard your music, so if you are into the hardcore scene then they are still worth checking out!
As for ‘Rise to remain’ they really got people involved, and had quite a large following. They were also a lot more polished than the previous band, and the vocals were noticeably a step up. I actually really enjoyed this act, so I will be checking out their latest EP ‘Bridges will Burn’.
So time for the main event, I was really excited to see Funeral For A Friend as I hadn’t seen them live since Reading festival 2008. I can safely say that I was not disappointed at all, they played a fair few new songs which all sounded really good, but at the end of the day when they can churn out tunes such as; Juneau, Escape Artists Never Die, All The Rage, History, Oblivion, Roses For The Dead and Red Is The New Black (and these are just the one I can remember) then it is impossible for the gig to not be a success. Matthew Davies-Kreye is a great front man and really had the crowd going, there were circle pits, sing a longs and some guy who did a pretty amazing back flip in and amongst all of that craziness. In terms of the vocals and the bands performance overall it was spot on.
If you have been out of the loop in terms of Funeral For A Friend, then they recently released an EP The Young And The Defenseless, and will have a new album out in march next year which is currently untitled. But if you are in the mood for a new song of theirs, they just released the video for ‘Serpents of Solitude’ which you can check out below! Enjoy! – Vizzler.
(And yes the picture at the top was taken by me, hence the poor poor quality!)
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