 
As I entered the main room, the first band were already on stage and playing
away. It wasn't even eight o clock, and so I wasn't quite ready for a band
yet, but still, they didn't seem bad. The Maple State by name, and not bad
by nature. They actually seemed to be a very good support for +44, as they've
got a similar sound going on. They sound like the headliners, only with
more of an indie edge, and are actually quite good. (Their new single Joanna
comes out February 19th, check it out!) So all in all pretty good sounding,
just not much of a stage presence. Obviously being the first band on at
a big gig in front of people who don't really know you, can be daunting,
and they didn't look nervous, but they weren't really getting into it.
The next band on, three angry women from Crewe. And amid the boyish jeers
of “get your tits out,” emerged surprisingly good heavy/punk
music, with a drummer going nuts and an awesome vocal contribution. The
vocalist/bassist strutted around the stage, and apart from slipping over
once on some random spillage which was then quickly mopped up by a roadie
after angry orders from the victim, looked comfortable in her environment,
speaking to the crowd and calling for pits and crowd participation where
relevant. There was one song, the name of which escapes me which started
with a really metal-like riff, which stood out like a sore thumb amongst
a generally good set of heavy punk rhythms and sequences. It was quite
late on in the set to, so remains as a poignant point of the show, thus
possibly why I'm mentioning it now. But other than that, brilliant, it's
just a shame that song let them down.
Three support bands? Oh lucky us. The Sounds. Fresh from Sweden. And
you know what, they should have stayed. Their show wasn't bad, an interesting
mix, but their music isn't what I'd go for personally. Imagine a random
eighties music video, where a male guitarist rocks out, in a white vest
and floppy hair, almost like curtains. Well yeah, there's the guitarist
covered. The vocalist was female, and walked around, hurling the microphone
here and there, and doing some quite impressive jumps to be fair. As for
the music, well, it was very poppy, and almost theatrical. You could imagine
a modern show or musical, featuring these guys. It wasn't rocky enough,
and although the singer clearly wanted to rock out, it just wasn't happening.
Basically, you can see why they made it big in Sweden. That's all I'll
say.
And then, happy days, +44 came on stage to just about the biggest cheer
ever, and fired straight into “Lycanthrope,” followed by “Baby
Come On,” and my personal favourite “When Your Heart Stops
Beating.” The two guitarists stood in their place, not seeming to
do much but change position on the spot and distort their figures about
their instruments as they got into the feel of things. It was Mark Hoppus,
(formally of Blink 182 as if you didn't know,) who kept the stage show
alive, running around the stage, almost skipping, stopping at either end
and looking out into the crowd, for cheers and rocking-devil-horns coming
back his way.
“Little Death,” “Lillian,” and “155”
preceded “Make You Smile,” the album version of which includes
a female vocal line, but obviously live, Mark has to sing the whole thing.
Which he did very well, a whole room of people singing back to him.
Then came a musical interlude, which ran into “Weather Man,”
and another personal favourite “No It Isn't.”
If you didn't know, quite a lot of their music is generally slower. In
interviews they've said that if Blink 182 was day, +44 was night, and
it's not something you really understand until seeing them live. A lot
of slower tunes, nice blue mood lighting and all that foggy nonsense,
and a style of song than can thankfully bypass the Guildhall's sound issues.
“Cliff Diving” however, isn't one of the slower ones, and
coming out of the previous song, contrasted beautifully with a fast-paced
heavier intro.
Between songs, Hoppus would talk to the crowd, thanking the previous
bands and what-not, and claiming that besides the roadies, who he also
thanked, that he was the hardest working person on the tour, putting in
a full hour and half every day.
The final song was “Chapter XIII,” and then the band were
gone; “we'll see you in a few minutes.” Now, is it me, or
do bands generally not forewarn the crowd that there's going to be an
encore? I mean, admittedly, it's to be expected nowadays, but still, you
don't tell them.
And so they returned, to play a song, after a brief musical interlude
by the drummer. Now, the +44 drummer is Travis Barker, who I'm sure you
all know, but for this tour, they were joined by a guest drummer who took
to an awesome drum solo. The following song was called “Metro,”
a cover originally by Berlin, and covered by System Of A Down before.
The +44 version however, was more like the original. It seemed to drag
on a bit though, maybe it's because most of the fifteen-year-old audience,
had no idea what the song was.
All in all, a good show. A brilliant sound, given the venue, and a great
crowd-response.
Review By Thom
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