Mind Noise Network
Kerrang! Tour 2015
Featuring Beartooth, Bury Tomorrow, Young Guns, We Are The In Crowd and Don Broco as headliners.
On 19th February 2015 at The Academy, Birmingham
by Daniel King & Luci Greenway
After struggling to find a parking space around The Academy in Birmingham we very much expected it to be a busy one, walking straight up to the doors not long after made me rethink that though. After making our way in it just so happened that the staff were just on top form and the entirity of the main room was full. Full and jumping around to the tour's openers, Beartooth. When we finally found a spot they were already midway through first track and the crowd were absolutely lapping it up.
Knowing who the headliners on the night were, I wasn't expecting much in the way of appreciation for these guys. After all, Don Broco and We Are The In Crowd don't have a scream between them. I was way wrong though, massive pits, an actual circle pit (which was nice after the dismal efforts by the kids at the Chelsea Grin/Veil Of Maya show a few days before). Beartooth used their time to absolute perfection and judging by their stage presence and the way they controlled the crowd you wouldn't know they were the opening band.
With the crowd being well and truly warmed up by Beartooth, Bury Tomorrow's job was made a little bit easier. They entered the stage to a big reception and they immediately turned the on stage energy up another notch. It was a great move putting these guys on second as it meant they could put all of their efforts into their performance instead of worrying about the crowd being ready.
They 100% lived up to their billing as one of the shining lights in British music, so much so a couple of the tracks I would have called weaker from their albums sound strong live with a full crowd bouncing along with them. This was another set that felt like it could have gone on longer and there was an air of disappointment when they departed, but the good kind of disappointment. Bury Tomorrow are a band that are welcome back in their "second home" whenever they fancy it.
But that's enough screaming, I'll hand you over to Luci......
The third set of the night was short, sweet and to the point. A small warm up spot for Young Guns to get the guys in shape for their up coming UK tour in March.
They played 3 songs that were well executed and with their usual cool style. Gustav Wood still knows how to command the stage, even if the crowd are still coming down from two pretty hardcore sets. I'd like to have had a bit more from them but it was a great interlude and the perfect reminder of what Young Guns can do. Overall, they did a nice job setting the crowd up for We Are The In Crowd.
Main support for the tour comes in the form of We Are The In Crowd. It's hard being a female fronted pop punk band, full stop. These guys are slick though, they know what they're doing. You have the sex appeal for all involved, the really fun natured sets and tight music skills to boot. If they could get the vocals up to be constantly powerful, along side the rest of the band, I predict these guys will go far. We saw the same rise in Avril Lavigne in the early noughties and Paramore more recently, I don't see why these guys couldn't take over and smash the hits out. I'm pretty new to the band but I wasn't disappointed with them, they were having a blast on stage and the excitement really translated to the crowd. I'm really looking forward to seeing how far they go.
Back to Dan to take you through the night's headliners.
Taking to the stage in front of an audience swept up in a euphoric wave of emotion Don Broco blasted straight into their recent single Money Power Fame and instigated the biggest sing-along I've witnessed since Slash at the LG...Genting...NEC in the latter part of last year. I was dubious in the run up to the gig as to whether Don Broco had what it takes to headline a tour that saw the legendary Limp Bizkit take the reins las time out. A minute into the first track and I was convinced. They had the energy, they had the look and they had the songs.
With only their second album imminent it is an impressive amount of fans that Don Broco have built up and they are all rewarded for their time with a passionate set. Not only that, but they manage to both keep the energy that all four support bands have built going and also keep smiling whilst they're at it. Tracks from debut album, Priorities, are received like someone was throwing winning lottery tickets into the air. Most pits started up during some tracks and to tracks like Hold On and Yeah Man every word was sung by band and fans alike.
I am truly impressed with the show that these guys put on. They've come a long way since I saw them at The Institute in Birmingham supporting Billy Talent and not only deserve their headline spot on this tour and their headline slot on the Slam Dunk festival bill, but also the inevitable number one album for their upcoming second effort. Keep an eye on these guys. With powerful live performances, catchy tracks and hair that gets curlier with each show it'll be hard to miss them.
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1/20
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