Tonight's
show was to take place in Bristol Trinity in collaboration
with The Fleece. This being the first gig I've
seen at this venue as well as the first one I've
seen in a church. Standing somewhere in between
The Croft and Bristol O2 in terms of size and
only a short walk from Cabot Circus it was well
suited for Lower Than Atlantis's headline tour.
Unfortunately like many people I missed Gnarwolves
with the queue leading out of the door and off
of the grounds many people weren't admitted till
a few minutes before Don Broco took to the stage.
Don
Broco opened up with the title track off their
new album "Priorities" with the band
quickly pulling out "The Walk" which
anyone who's lucky enough to have seen them before
will recognise instantly. Barely two lines into
the song their infectious energy spread to the
crowd with people bouncing around and singing
along. Following up with "Fancy Dress"
with its driving bass riff coming from Tom Doyle.
Rob Damiani didn't waste any time flexing his
control over the crowd, getting them to split
for a wall off death, a feat he repeated a few
songs later. The lights remained pretty plane
but with the energy on stage with everyone bouncing
around and grinning constantly your never short
of entertainment. "Hold On" and "Whole
Truth" saw the same fired up reception from
the crowd
as well as some faultless harmonies. The simple
statement of "I want everyone to get as high
as possible" from Rob during the chorus got
half of the crowd lifting people on to their shoulders.
Don Broco always put on a great show with a nearly
CD quality sound, inside or out, with the only
issue tonight being a slight pithiness as a result
of the acoustics. I've never known what to class
Don Broco as musically, with their bassy up beat
fun songs, but way to rocky to be pop or punk.
That being said their energetic humorous shows
are quite unique as well, with so much to enjoy
without damaging the quality of the music as well.
Tom plays some of my favourite bass riffs, while
bouncing around with a grin like a chasseur cat,
Matt Donnelly’s drums adding so much
to such a strong rhythm section and Simon Delaney’s
guitar tying the whole thing together perfectly.
And If that wasn't enough you've got Rob for a
front man, getting the crowd to do whatever he
asks, while jumping about as much if not more
than the crowd. For the first time he managed
to stay on stage, after climbing the barrier into
the crowd at NASS and Reading. A cracking set
was drawn to a close with "Actors" the
final track off their debut album. Featuring some
great backing vocals from Matt, and tied together
well by guitarist Simon. Don Broco have the same
ability as Less Than Jake and Biffy Clyro to put
on a great show time and time again, converting
people who haven't heard of them or weren't to
bothered into the most diehard of fans.
After
the explosive set from Don Broco it was the turn
of Maryland alternative rockers The Dangerous
Summer to take to the stage. They opened up with
"Work In Progress" soon followed by
"Where I want to be" with its beautiful
intro played solely by guitarist Bryan Czap. Their
much slower pasted darker brand of music giving
the crowd a chance to rest. Sadly other than a
few swaying hands in the air The Dangerous Summer
got little out of the crowd, with not to many
people singing back. Something about the lyrics
and AJ Perdomo's voice made me think of Kenny
from The Starting Line but with a rougher, grittier
edge. They played through "War Paint",
"Northern Lights" before ending on "Never
Feel Alone" with the only complaint about
the sound being the volume of AJ's mic being fractionally
low. The set was pretty good but after such and
energetic and upbeat performance from Don Broco
I felt like they were out of place and underwhelming.
The line up and Rob's commanding nature with the
crowd detracted from what was musically a very
good performance.
Lower
Than Atlantis have played a number of festivals
this year including Slam Dunk, NASS, Heavy, and
Reading. I've seen them at all four so clearly
they've been doing something right at their live
shows. Before they'd even taken the stage the
room was filled with people cheering "L.T.A".
Jumping right in with "Love Someone Else"
the second single off the new album "Changing
Tune". With the darker bulkier sound of The
Dangerous Summer with some of Don Broco's energy.
Mike Duce took no time in addressing the crowd,
with one of my favourite intro's of all time "this
next song will make you want to punch a dolphin
in the blow hole" before "Motor (Way
Of Life)" the hard hitting opener for their
debut album "World Record". Mid way
though "Beech Like The Tree" this resembled
their reading shows with people hands in the
air singing at the top of their lungs and some
starting to crowd surf before disappearing at
the edge of the stage, something that continued
throughout the set. During the bridge Mike tried
The Blackout's trick of getting everyone to sit
down and jump up when the song kicks back in,
whilst it didn't work quite as well the crowd
were clearly eating out of the palm of their hands.
They played though a few more tracks from "Changing
Tune" including "If The World Has To
End" and "Go On Strike" with enough
crowd participation that mike could let the crowd
take a few lines, an impressive feat given the
album was realised only two days before. The intro
of "High At Five" was pouring out of
everyone's mouths before the end of the first
note, several too early in face. How many bands
have to start a song again because their fans
jump the gun on singing? It's can't be many. "Marilyn's
Mansion" was welcomed with the first
circle pit of the night. With a few lights in
the background changing colour, everyone jumping
round on and off stage to the thunderous guitar
of Ben Sansom. My first indoor experience with
Lower Than Atlantis was only slightly weakened
by the volume of Mike's singing which in spite
of his strong voice sometimes struggled to fight
over the crowd, and the barrage of noise from
the amps. This problem was inherited from The
Dangerous Summer, quite possible to counter some
of the issues Don Broco suffered with Rob's voice
bouncing off the walls of the venue. Strobes and
smoke was latter added to enhance the entertainment
on stage, though with no one standing still it
seemed more of a formality as a headliner. "P.M.A"
and "Far Q" followed before the customary
technical issues that come hand in hand with LTA's
shows. The show got right back on track as if
it hadn't happened with "Scared of the Dark"
and
"Normally Strange". After cries for
more Mike returned to the stage for the encore,
cracking out another jokey intro before performing
the heart moving "Another Sad Song".
Once again the views of those near the back was
blocked by a mass of people being lifted into
the air, and everyone singing their heart out
thinking about their own experiences, as the rest
of the band take the stage for the last part of
the song. As always finishing the show off as
strong as they started, with "Deadliest Catch"
and one last chance for the crowd to jump around
like a bunch of lunatics. Whilst sadly they didn't
perform their outstanding Foo Fighter's meddle
Lower Than Atlantis have as always managed to
draw out all the energy and emotion the crowd
could muster. With even more humour from front
man Mike Duce, they're performance seems to have
developed and improved even since NASS festival
a few months prior. Armed with a new set of tracks,
and a crowd as dedicated as any, I wouldn't be
shocked if they're headlining Bristol O2 by this
time next year.
Don Broco 4/5
Dangerous Summer 3/5
Lower Than Atlantis 4/5
Review By Marc Rich
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