I’ll apologise now for the rant that lays before you, but why, oh why, do venues/production teams/bands choose to play that incessant dossh dossh dossh that some describe as dance music before a gig with which it has no musical connection. It wasn’t that I was at the gig overly early, the music just seemed to go on forever. That is, however, until the support band Louie rocked up on stage with their two lead front men and their attitude.

With a distinct heavy London sound – and I mean that in a classic 70’s punk-era way – but so much harder, front men Jordon Smith and Gaz Tomlinson ROCKED the Academy back to its heyday and reminded us what venues were made for – screaming songs oozing with Sex, Drugs and Rock n Roll, they presented a new twist to the world of punk. This six piece band, primarily from Yorkshire, had the crowd moving and kept the atmosphere warm for The Fratellis.

I must explain before I go any further, this gig ticket was purchased solely on the rebound due to lack of Killers tickets. I had bought the album in the lull before the release of both Jet’s Shine On and Killers’ Sam’s Town on the back of ‘Dolly Dagger’ which I still hold is a great track. These Glaswegians have almost created a new style in music with their interesting mix of old and new. Whilst some tracks sound very funky, others do have a serious splash of rock, yet there is a polished roughness that sets them aside. Despite my synopsis on their style, it is undisputed that the majority of their tracks inspire you to move. Tonight was no different when they mainly showcased the album Costello Music. Standing at the back it was clear to see they have a large following which became apparent as for the track ‘Henrietta’ the crowd did most of the vocal work. Astonishingly, the sound on the evening was superb for Louie yet the vocals for the Fratellis were slightly muffled whilst the music remained sharp and loud. Other tracks which followed included ‘Cuntry Boys and City Girls,’ but the poor sound quality which wasn’t damping the atmosphere at the front was sadly draining at the back. With the gig coming to an end, it was time for the make or break single of the evening as ‘Chelsea Dagger’ got the crowd alive again and the Academy jumped with a sea of 2000 heads bobbing up and down singing so hard that only the great guitar riff of this song could be heard over the crowd. After that song, at least a good few hundred decided enough was enough as they decided to leave.

All in all it wasn’t a bad gig, but it just didn’t live up to my expectations, although saying that I was expecting Killers tickets.

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 9th, 2006 at 9:42 pm by Bricking Chick and is filed under Gig Reviews, Metal Mayhem. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.