I’ve
had the pleasure of seeing Madina Lake several
times before, the last gig was at Download 2011,
where they were well received and provided a lively
and almost grateful performance. It was there
they also announced they would return with a headlining
tour for their WORLD WAR III album, instead of
the usual supporting slot to bands such as Papa
roach as they had done previously. Fans seemed
eager to see how they would handle that back then
and I was eager to see how they handled it now.
My Passion are up first, and like always this
Hertfordshire band tear up the stage. They’re
always bustling with energy and tonight is no
different. Although I’m sure My Passion
could be playing this venue themselves, it’s
nice to see them supporting Madina Lake as they
both have similar sounds and mix what both the
UK and the US have to other in this genre. Lawrence
Rene’s beautiful tones crescendo across
the audience and everyone seems to be enjoying
their mix of rock and electro. There live show
is always on form and they play a good collection
of songs including “Crazy and Me”
and “Asleep in the Asylum”. They do
a great job of getting the crowd warmed up as
they seemed pumped and full of energy and by overhearing
the conversations from the gathered fans; it seemed
they were expecting an energetic performance from
the headline act.
 The band entered the stage one by one to roars
from the crowd, Nathan, shoeless as usual seemed
to be ready to burst with excitement at the site
of the audience and only a couple of tracks into
the set, launched himself into the crowd. While
the fans screamed and held him high, he continued
to perform as if he were still on stage, hitting
his notes perfectly while crowd surfing and only
pausing slightly when finally being dragged back
by security from the fans grasp.
A good stage performance is key to a good gig,
and when the giant balls, filled with confetti,
were released into the audience the crowds gladly
punched and threw them to each other creating
an almost circus feel. Crowd interaction is one
thing but it seems Madina Lake had to take it
up a notch by making it personal, thanking the
fans for being loyal to them was a good start
but it was when Nathan started to talk about his
brother Matthew, you could tell these boys were
being sincere. Nathan announced he was extremely
grateful to the audience for saving his brothers
life (the donations given by fans helped pay for
medical fee’s while Bassist Matthew recovered
after a serious assault, which he’s since
made a full recovery.) and made it clear that
without them, the band wouldn’t be where
they were today, which has been stated by many
a band before, but with Madina Lake, has never
been a truer statement.
 The band played the usual hits and a pleased crowd
welcomed new tracks from WW3 with open arms but
again the kudos goes down to the personal interaction
the Leone brothers seem to give to their audiences.
After completing the demanded encore, the guys
drenched with sweat, leaped down to greet the
crowd and personally shook as many fans hands
as possible, even posing for photos where they
could. The obvious fan chants were there “we
love you “ and “you’re amazing”
but it was when one female fan said “keep
doing what you’re doing” while hugging
Nathan Leone that made him pause and actually
seem overwhelmed with gratitude from the girls
comment. It’s inspiring stuff to see when
a band actually appreciates the fans.
This was a fantastic energetic display with tons
of real emotion thrown into the set. If this performance
is anything to go by, I look forward to bigger
and better things from them in the future.
My Passion 4/5
Madina Lake 4.5/5
Review By James Daly And Henry Finnegan |
