Having caught Night Verses two weeks before
at Hevy festival and been absolutely blown away,
it was crazy to think they would be playing in
my home town. Whilst Plymouth never does great
for bands, the White Rabbit it's self has housed
a few good ones including The Blackout only a
few months prior. I couldn't possibly think of
anywhere I'd rather see these guys perform their
high energy rock set than the intimate and charming
alternative venue with high quality PA system
that set's it above the rest of the small alternative
clubs that every city has, for example Bristol's
The Croft.
Flood Of Red had their work cut out for them opening
for Night Verses and this being the first time
seeing them I didn't know what to expect, but
now I can say that they fit the roll perfectly.
The set was pushed back slightly as the venue
was next to empty, but even with the delay the
crowd still comprised predominantly of Night Verses,
and tour staff. The Scottish six piece were cramped
on stage with the Synth player doubling up as
a second drummer with part of a kit. Vocalist
Jordan Spiers mic was slightly low for the first
song but it soon picked up, he also asked the
small audience to come right up to the stage.
They played though a mix of the debut "Leaving
Everything Behind" as well as some of their
newer material. The personalities of the members
really shined though and made the set, with the
bass player finding room to jump around stand
on the speakers, rest on the synth player, whilst
using the head stock to play the keys, put his
bass on the light rigging or rest it up against
the speaker to jump around more freely. Jordan
on the other hand was more static, but with the
bands clear "we don't really care what you
think we do what we enjoy" and even slightly
goofy nature he was wearing a Night Verses T-shirt.
Just as Night Verses did later they put on a show
as if the room was packed. Generally the sound
was good with some of the vocals being slightly
pitch and not quite perfect the quaint charm and
crazy nature of Flood Of Red makes me want to
see them again. The bassist wasn't the only one
having fun as the synth player was soaked in sweat
from head banging, and the drummer tossed his
sticks in the air. "Little Lovers" with
two beat downs that sounded sick live with the
powerful double drums. The contrasting personalities
of the band with shy guitarists to a bassist who's
even more hyperactive then Night Verses drummer
Aric shines though with their odd combination
of fierce guitar sounds combined with a synth,
but it works. Finishing off with Jordan, the drummer
and one guitarist left on stage for the last half
of their song and leaving me wanting more. It
was an entertaining show by an underrated band.
Night Verses opened their set up with "From
The Shadows Where I'm Low" off of the EP
"Out of the Sky". The song kicks in
to full throttle after about 20 seconds, before
dropping off to let Douglas Robinson's powerful
and emotional voice bellow out the opening line
and captivate everyone in the room. This song
starts off the set perfectly just as it does the
CD getting the attention of everyone with the
powerful guitar riff before showing that they're
capable of much more than just force. Just like
the song it wasn't long before their energy kicked
in with Aric Importa jumping off his drum stool
for the first time of the night, as well as Douglas
tossing aside the mic stand before demonstrating
the scream that could complete with any of the
hardcore acts at hevy. Reilly Herrera's simple
bass riff is the driving force for the bridge
leading perfectly into and truly insane beat down.
As they play though some of the songs yet to be
released it's clear the four tracks on the EP
are in no way the best the full length will have
to offer with every track keeping to a high standard,
and making me want to sing along even though I
didn't know the words, though I didn't have to
wait long as they soon played "To The Ends
Of The Earth". Whilst Douglas isn't the most
chatty front man between songs, something he admitted
himself, he has this presence on stage similar
to that of Eddy Vedder of Pearl Jam, and the emotion
in Douglas's singing is comparable to Eddy as
well. They took the time to thank the crowd and
made a few comments about songs, informing the
crowd they had recently released a video to the
next song before playing "Be Happy With Yourself"
a personal favourite. With the way they were playing
and the way they addressed the crowd anyone who
watched a video of the set would easily think
they were headlining a show to hundreds or even
thousands of people. I literally forgot where
I was during the set, I was in absolute awe, and
it's clear that they just want to play, having
fun whilst remaining very serious about the quality
of the show they put on, truly professional. Anyone
who play's an instrument takes a special interest
in the band member playing the same as them, and
with the talent of every member in Night Verses
most people probably leave thinking "I really
need to practice". Aric is one of the most
incredible drummers I've seen, and I've had the
pleasure of seeing Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins,
Travis Barker and quite a few more. Not only does
he hit the drums hard and play some fantastic
fills but he manages to do most of it whilst standing
or leaping from his drum stool without missing
a beat. Reilly managed to fit some slap bass into
the set as well as playing with a pick, and you
wouldn't believe they only have one guitarist,
Nick DePirro who ties it all together. Many bands
comprising of this much talent either end up playing
like they're all soloing on stage, and it doesn't
make a great song, or they have to hold back,
but with Night Verses not a drop is wasted. The
band don't want to show of individually or as
a collective, and the end result is sensational.
Jordan joined Night Verses for a cover of U2's
New Years Day before they tied off their 12th
ever show with "I've Lost My Way Back Down"
which saw the small crowd sing along, Aric take
one last dive off the stool and Reilly screamed
his heart out. Once again Night Verses has blown
my mind, of the six 5 out of 5's I've given out
these guys have got two in the space of as many
weeks. And they truly deserve it, whether they
play on a big stage or in a tightly packed room,
to hundreds or to thirty they give it everything
they've got. In the Bayside song "Blame It
on Bad Luck" Anthony Raneri sings "the
next band that would change my life, to change
my life" and in all honesty I wouldn't be
suppressed if Night Verses became that band for
quite a few people. The sound is always exceptional,
the show is full of energy, and they take the
time to chat to the crowd after, and it's for
those reasons and so many other's that we weren't
the only people from Hevy at the show. Most of
Plymouth missed out and should be ashamed, this
band has everything you could want from a set,
and I can't wait to get their full length. The
most exciting new act around.
Flood Of Red 4/5
Night Verses 5/5
Review By Marc Rich
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