Beartooth slay Birmingham O2 Academy 2

Caleb Shomo - Vocals
Birmingham O2 Academy 2 - 28/10/2015
Photo Credit: Nick Neuenhaus Photography @nickneuenhaus

When Download Festival released tickets without a line-up earlier this year, there was no way in hell they were pulling me in. As one of my Facebook friends very eloquently put it “You could put Little Mix up there for all I know.”

But yesterday morning I finally gave in and spent all of my pennies (SERIOUSLY GUYS, PLEASE SEND CASH) on my 5 night camping ticket. Why? Well now I’ve seen Beartooth.

Back in May I was desperately trying to see Beartooth the night before another amazing but incredibly disparate gig. Unfortunately, logistics are hard and we couldn’t make it, so when I heard that the “really loud” Ohio rock squad were heading to my old haunt of the Midlands, I was all about it.

From the very beginning, with opening track The Lines, not one single scrap was held back. The perfect opener for last year’s Disgusting (the band’s first full length album) proved to be a belter of a live intro too.

Oshie Bichar - Bass
Birmingham O2 Academy 2 - 28/10/2015
Photo Credit: Nick Neuenhaus Photography @nickneuenhaus

So with the inexorable tone for the night set and the early mosh pits already kicked up, we were pulled through one of the most energetic performances I have ever seen. Ignorance Is Bliss, In Between, Keep Your American Dream the whole night was all rise and no fall.

Whilst that tone no doubt comes from the metalcore vein that runs through everything Beartooth make, that energy is all punk rock, and so are those crowd-involved lyrics. As hybrid’s go, it’s a great one to carry through.  

Kamron Bradbury - Rhythm Guitar
Birmingham O2 Academy 2 - 28/10/2015
Photo Credit: Nick Neuenhaus Photography @nickneuenhaus

Three years is hardly a long time for a band to be together, especially with member changes spattered over the past 18 months or so. That, and the fact that there’s just the one full length Beartooth album at the moment justifies the short set (because trust me, everyone in that building could have kept the energy up for a 2 hour show).  

But what they have done in that time is used their extensive and broad musical experience from previous bands to secure definitive anthems and tour the hell out of them with all of the right people. There’s been a steady and well deserved rise in recognition for Beartooth, and that has put them in the exact right environment for their new material to be unleashed into.

Of course they know that, and before they closed up their main set with Beaten In Lips vocalist Caleb Shomo took a moment to recognise the fact that this belter has made a huge contribution to their career.

I am so stoked that I got to see Beartooth on the last night of this UK run and have sky high hopes for the new music. I’m crossing my devil horns that it’s out before Download, but either way you’ll see me in the mosh pit.

Oshie Bichar - Bass
Birmingham O2 Academy 2 - 28/10/2015
Photo Credit: Nick Neuenhaus Photography @nickneuenhaus

STALK BEARTOOTH AT: 

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STALK NICK NEUENHAUS (PHOTOGRAPHER) AT:

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A huge thank you is owed to Nick for allowing us to use his amazing photos of the night (we failed miserably to get anything that could actually pass for a photo!) 

We need to talk about Twin Atlantic in Leeds last month

Sam McTrusty - Vocals & Guitar
Brudenell Social Club, Leeds
24/10/2015

I know. I know that when the wind of change blows some people build walls and others windmills. I now that change is remarkably inevitable and I know that change is supposed to come bearing gifts. But, change is exhausting.

My use of pretentious quotes might be ridiculous but my disdain for change is quite legitimate. I can’t be the only person to feel that change makes everything peculiar. Unsettling. How many times have you felt that you were getting on okay, and then that prat ‘Change’ rocks up and mugs you? Frankly, it’s a wonder Change hasn’t served time, the common petty criminal.

But much like that distinctly irritating wife from Breaking Bad, some people find that they want to try and live with the criminal. That’s the position I found myself in when I did something not nearly as iconic as my writing would suggest.

We road tripped to see Twin Atlantic again.

Now before anyone starts yelling at me, claiming I’m using long words and dramatic structure to legitimise the fact that I am a pathetic fan girl beyond help…I do have a point and I’ll get to it. If you weren’t going to claim that, and the thought never even entered your mind, then you really ought to be more observant because that is exactly what I’m doing.

Ever since Reading Festival I’ve been dying to see Twin Atlantic again. I spent a whole night in a strop because I couldn’t make it to their Perth show in September. Lost a whole other week when I found out the sneaky bastards were playing the Budweiser Live Tour and I couldn’t make it to that either. It’s not a feeling I’ve ever been fond of, missing out. Now I’m expected to adult all the damn time, it’s a feeling I get more often than I’m used to. Growing up is easily the most tedious of Change’s roles.

But just when Change and I were about to get into some serious hair-pulling fisticuffs, I fell down a flight of stairs at a train station. I busted my ankle up pretty bad and there were two girls (they hadn’t yet seen Change play that tedious role of his) who thought it was the funniest thing they had ever seen. At best, it was mildly amusing.

So I’m at home, curled up in a blanket fort, trying to convince my cat that he could TOTALLY cook Chicken Noodle Soup, when I got a Twitter notification. Twin Atlantic were playing a 400 capacity venue, on a Saturday, within 200 miles, for £5 a ticket.

Yes, I do have Twitter set up to notify me when Twin Atlantic do anything. Shut up.

I am just the best

Naturally, I bought two tickets and then I text my regular road trip buddy to tell her that we were

going to Leeds. I’ll never know if she actually wanted to go or if she realised pretty quickly that she never had a choice. Either way she was on board!

It's been along time since I was last in Leeds, for Slam Dunk in something like 2009. I went all the way up there by myself and met up with a girl who wasn’t exactly a friend. Don’t get me wrong, she was a really lovely person, incredibly beautiful and over the top in style, but I didn’t really know her. I’m not even sure why I was going to Slam Dunk, who was I going to see? In any event, six years later and I’m in my little VW driving back up North with a girl that I talk to about 5 times a day, to see a band that I adore. Alright I admit it; Change can be funny at times.

Leeds is just over 200 miles away from where I live. 9 months ago that would have seemed like we were travelling to the moon and back but since the last real road trip we took was to freaking Glasgow, 200 miles flew by. A change in perspective can be quite useful, new experiences can be terrifying but once you’ve already tackled it (and then some) it’s all just old news.

Then it was time for the show (700 words later, isn’t it funny how I still insist this is a music blog?)

After a brief emotional moment in the hotel (along with several hundred other things Change has also taken 2 stone away from me recently, it’s nice) we finally jumped in a cab and headed over to the Brudenell Social Club.

Ross McNae - Bass
Brudenell Social Club - Leeds
24/10/2015

As ever, a word about the venue. Brudenell is easily the most ridiculous venue I have ever had the sheer pleasure of visiting. As the name would suggest, it’s in a residential area with a Sainsbury’s local up the road, and not much else. The inside is as basic as the outside and that is precisely what I loved about it. Big fancy pants venues or festivals are magnificent. But for me there is nothing better than a small venue, with a great view of the stage wherever you stand (integral for a 5ft nothing girl) and a good bar, even if the bar staff claim my friend is ‘sassy’. That’s okay. She is a bit sassy, that’s why she’s fantastic.

Twin Atlantic casually strolled onto the stage, grabbed their instruments, took a second to look around them, and then exploded into one of the most abrasive and perfectly important Twin Atlantic songs of all time, Edit Me. This song aggressively throws forward the message that if you know it’s not right, then it’s not right and you can’t listen to it. They can’t edit you. Yeah. Suck it Change!

Next up was Fall Into The Party, the video for which was filmed at the first Twin Atlantic show I ever went to. We had no idea that show would be half as good, as iconic, as it was and the energy and impact of this ‘hip-hop’ track played a huge part in that. We were primarily there that night to interview another band and to see Scotland for the first time. But then all at once I fell head over heels for a band and had a hell of a lot to catch up on. Change works quickly, but I guess its work can be quite wonderful.

At this early stage in the show (though shamefully an overly late stage in this ‘review’) it became apparent that there are some things that Change just can’t get to. When I get the chance to see an incredible performance, I lose my mind completely. We were lucky enough to meet Twin Atlantic before the show, and I was gutted because I didn’t ask them (or throw all my toys out of the pram and FORCE THEM) to play The Ghost of Eddie. So when they went ahead and played it anyway, I lost my shit. Please see video footage for proof.

It’s hilariously embarrassing, but when you're at a show like this, Change demands a ticket. Change works alongside adrenaline, passion and alcohol to help you let go of everything you left at the door and focus on the one thing that you actually, really, care about.

What I’m trying to say is that The Ghost of Eddie was a highlight, but outside of that it’s so difficult to pick out which tracks were important enough to talk about. It was great to hear What is Light? Where is Laughter? from the 2009 album Vivarium, Crash Land was as magical as ever (and all the verses were in the right order this time) follow that with Yes I Was Drunk and the tears were inevitable.

Barry McKenna - Guitar (and the Cello obviously)
Brudenell Social Club - Leeds
24/10/2015

The second reason I love Twin Atlantic so much, has nothing to do with them at all. Leaving the venue after the first time I saw them, the crowd continued the show by blaring out the words to Heart and Soul in a perfect, giant, karaoke. The second time, at Reading, a girl I had never met before used her phone to light up the floor so that I could change the batteries in my camera. Here in Leeds we met two girls who helped us get to the venue, another girl complimented my hair, and two other girls said that I was a great person.

Clearly, Twin Atlantic fans are wonderful human beings. But surely it’s a little minute to suggest that only gratifyingly beautiful people listen to Twin Atlantic. Wouldn’t it be more wonderful to suggest that Change has spent some time in this scene. It’s worked alongside music and venues and fans and led us all to a time where we are revolutionarily nice to each other. I love Change for that.    

Sam McTrusty - Vocals & Guitar
Brudenell Social Club - Leeds
24/10/2015

But honestly, HONESTLY, this set was flawless. Bring on the days when Twin Atlantic can do a whole tour playing Free and The Great Divide in their entire, full blow, abrasive, glory. I wait with baited breathe for the next Twin Atlantic album, which they are in the studio recording right now. Apparently it’s completely different to everything they’ve done before, so I guess Change got to those guys too.

If Twin are embracing change then maybe I should to. I guess my disdain for change is a little unfounded, though not completely so I’m sure. It’s a bitch, let’s face it. But maybe without change there would be no butterflies.

Or maybe I should just admit that I’m obsessed with Twin Atlantic, quit trying to make that sound like some sort of life lesson and go and get some work done. I’ll post a real life, professional music review in a fortnight.

Me! Ver: Drunk & Emotional
Brudenell Social Club - Leeds
24/10/2015

Twin Atlantic meet Jules and Hayley
Leeds
24/10/2015

Finally, the Louder Now Grab Bag vs Black Veil Brides

Here it is! The final Louder Now Grab Bag victim at Vans Warped Tour UK 2015 was Jinxx of Black Veil Brides! 

It was a huge pleasure to be able to meet with Jinxx and have what was actually a pretty serious chat for us.  

He was, of course, lovely and had a small request for his fans to quit calling him a certain name.

Black Veil Brides also absolutely nailed their headline set with a hell of a lot of pyrotechnics. But who would expect anything less? We got some ridiculously amateur footage of it, which you can check out in our highlight reel (coming up later today). 

The Young Guns/Taylor Swift/Louder Now drinking game. Come prepared.

WE INTRODUCE TO YOU THE YOUNG GUNS/TAYLOR SWIFT/LOUDER NOW DRINKING GAME. 

THE RULES: Take a shot every time Fraser or Ben say the name Taylor Swift or any variation there of. 

THE RESULT: You'll be hammered. 

Young Guns are no stranger to the Louder Now Grab Bag because it once harassed them in a pub. True story.

Luckily, they haven't got sick of us quite yet (but that will happen) and Fraser and Ben were happy to face it once again. 

For anybody that doesn't know, Young Guns were recently robbed in Leeds causing them to cancel a date of their tour. Obviously, this is gutting for the band, the support acts, and the fans. The guys have released a list of the items stolen (which can be seen on their Twitter and Instagram accounts) so please do keep an eye peeled for any of it! 

They also have some stunning merch pieces, sales of which would really help them get back on their feet. You can find the link below. 

YOUNG GUNS CAN BE STALKED AT:
https://www.facebook.com/younggunsuk?fref=ts
https://store.universalmusic.com/youngguns/
http://weareyoungguns.com/
https://instagram.com/younggunsuk/?hl=en

Boy Jumps Ship vs the Grab Bag - we messed this up big time

So in reality this was the first interview we did at Vans Warped Tour UK 2015. As we all know, mistakes happen, especially on the first try. We all know that right?

So it turned out that the microphone was properly plugged into the recorder. Didn't realise that until the interview was over. It sucked a bit. 

Luckily the guys in Boy Jumps Ship are the nicest people in the world and they were happy to come and face it for the second time, and this time we even nabbed another band member. 

Watch it all unfold here:  

ROAM talked about DFS Beds with the Grab Bag...AND their new video of course

And here we see a Pop Punk band relaxing in their natural environment of Warped Tour before being pounced on by a jar of ridiculous questions. 

We met ROAM! What a crazy time those boys are having from touring with some huge names, releasing a typically hilarious video for new single Deadweight, and now playing Warped Tour. 

They completely ripped Warped apart when they took to the stage and even put out a lovely video of the highlights which is exciting. You can check that out on their Facebook but first, watch them face the Grab Bag...

Man Overboard vs the Louder Now Grab @ Warped Tour UK 2015 - THE MOVIE

Alright, we're not saying it's a feature length film or anything but we're still pretty stoked we caught all this on camera. 

We were lucky enough to meet up with Nik Bruzzese of Man Overboard at Warped Tour UK too and he had a chat with the Grab Bag about Rage Against The Machine, his several thousand injuries and the biggest influence in his life, his father. 

It does get a touch political, but then it always does when Rage Against The Machine are mentioned. 

Huge thanks to Nik for meeting with us! If you missed the first two Warped UK interviews with Black Foxxes and Tigress you can watch them right now on our YouTube channel. Interview number 5, with the so-pop-punk-we-bleed-pizza-sauce ROAM is uploading as I type.  

Watch Tigress go head to head with the Grab Bag at Warped Tour UK 2015

Believe it or not, their set at Warped was the end of Tigress' very first tour.

Not that you could tell because whilst they are a new band, they are no strangers to each other or the stage. 

Confused? Allow the Grab Bag to dig out the story for you in it's second video appearance! 

TIGRESS CAN BE STALKED AT:

https://www.facebook.com/TigressOfficial

https://twitter.com/TIGRESSofficial

http://tigress.tmstor.es/

https://instagram.com/wearetigress/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTev...

Did you miss the Grab Bag's video debut with Black Foxxes? Not to worry, here it is

Black Foxxes faced the Louder Now Grab Bag at Warped Tour UK 2015 and we filmed it!

It's no secret that the Louder Now Grab Bag has been getting a bit out of control recently but it came as a huge surprise to all of us that the lovely people over at Warped Tour UK allowed it to run havoc in their press room. 

As it was such a special occasion we decided that the Grab Bag finally needed to be seen in it's full glory so we got a microphone and a tripod, taught ourselves a few rudimental (and in no way impressive) Movie Maker skills, and headed over to Ally Pally. 

So here's number 1! First up we sat down with the sensational Black Foxxes after they rocked the Kevin Says Stage. We hope you enjoy it! 

Make sure you subscribe to our shiny new YouTube channel so you don't miss out on the rest of the Grab Bag's antics at Warped Tour UK, which will be posted sporadically between now and the regular posting day of Wednesday October 28th. 

We'll meet you back here then for a round up of our time at Warped and a nice little highlight reel! 

EofE - Germany, Tibia's and Bridges

EofE
London Hoxton's Underbelly
15/09/2015

Never, in its entire existence, has anybody returned to face the Grab Bag for a second time. Until now.

Last month (we’ve said it before but, our time management sucks) we saw EofE in Hoxton’s Underbelly ahead of the release of their incredible new self-titled album. It was there that EofE vs the Louder Now Grab Bag, round 2, happened.  

You’re bored. What do you do?

Luke: Err…I…

Dan: Is he allowed to say?

Luke:  I just play some games on my laptop.

Reece: What do you play on your laptop?

Luke: Football Manager usually!

Ever had an epic fail on stage?

Nicky: Every. Night.

Louder Now: Last time we saw EofE you were up on top of an amp. You must have fallen off of that at some point right?

Reece: I haven’t!

Nicky: Ahhhh now you’ve jinxed it!  

Reece: I haven’t had an epic fail, yet. In Rock City I did stand on my amp and I was wobbling a fair bit and everyone was laughing at me. I did think I was going to fall over I must admit.

Tom: I think your epic fail was when we were at the Great Escape and you stepped in that puddle. That was your birthday as well.  

Where is the worst place you have woken up?

Tom: Reece’s mums bed.

Reece: You can’t say my mum’s bed.

Tom: For comedic value.

Reece: But you’ve never been in my mum’s bed.

Tom: I have.  

Reece: You definitely have not.

Tom: I HAVE!

Nicky: We’ve all been there.

Who is your musical hero?

Dan: Slash. When I first got into guitar, I heard Sweet Child O’ Mine and was just blown away by his playing and that’s what made me really want to get into a band.

What is your favourite album?

Reece: It’s got to be the EofE one that you can get on iTunes.

Nicky: Nice plug, yeah!

Reece: It’s shit.

Dan: You mean the one that’s out on the 9^th of October?

Reece: Yeah that one Dan.

Dan: It’s our debut album if I’m not very much mistaken.

What country would you most like to visit?

Luke: Germany.

Reece: Why?

Luke: I dunno, just always wanted to go to Germany really.

Reece: Boring.

Have you ever broken a bone?

Tom: No, I haven’t.

Dan: I have!

Reece: I have, I fell out of a tree.

Dan: I use to skateboard religiously.

Reece: Yeah, not very well obviously.  

Dan: I broke my tibia playing football. I didn’t know for months. It was a crack, but if you imagine bending plastic until you get that white line, just before it snaps, that’s what happened. So I carried on playing for like three months.

Nicky: God, you’re so hardcore.

Dan: I was kickboxing, snowboarding…

Reece: Ha! Running marathons and fought a bear once…

Dan: It actually started to bend out, where it kept healing and breaking again. I went to the doctors and they just said “oh it’s fine, it’s just a bit of swelling” and then had an actual scan.

Reece: This coming from the guy who has to cover his hair from the rain.

Dan: What are you saying?

Reece: You make yourself sound really hard!

Dan: Well I am. Or I was.

On a scale of 1 to 10 how weird are you? Explain.

Dan: Probably say a 7.

Reece: You’re weird because you can break bones and carry on.

Tom: That’s pretty weird.

Dan: I day dream quite a bit.

Tom: You do day dream all the time.

Dan: It sounds big headed, but I can start a conversation whilst thinking about something else, and then just carry on.

Reece: No, no, no. That’s just called being rude and ignoring people.

Nicky: And yes, you do have a big head.

Is there one thing that you want to become better at?

Reece: Definitely guitar for Dan.

Dan: Your suppose to be answering for yourself.

Nicky: This is a hard one, because we’re so good at everything.

Tom: What’s the question again?

Reece: Listening for Tom.

Dan: Yours has got to be drinking.

Nicky: I’m great at drinking.

Dan: Hmm.

Nicky: No, because I get drunk really fast then don’t have to spend as much money.  I have a great time! I’m a happy drunk, friendly.

Reece: You abused me at Download.

Nicky: Well we went out for my birthday, me and Luke. Reece was there.

Tom: I was there as well. You were smashed when I got there and you’d only had four pints.

Dan: I’d like to be better at getting up early in the morning, because I really struggle. I have to pick these guys up for practice at about 9:30 and it’s hard.

Louder Now: Driving whilst tired is probably not the best idea.

Dan: It’s better than driving hungover because that’s horrible.

Reece: You’ve never done that Daniel because you abide by the law.

Dan: Everyone drives hungover.

Reece: If everybody jumped off a bridge would you do it?

Dan: Probably.

Reece: If it was going into water…

Nicky: What kind of bridges do you go across?

Reece: Have you never gone over a bridge with water underneath it?

Nicky: Oh WITH water.

What is your favourite memory of being in this band?

Nicky: Mine would be Download Festival. That was a highlight for me.

Reece: Yeah Download, or the process of recording the album. We had a great time doing that. We bonded, we cooked…

Nicky: I was sick in the sink.

Reece: You were sick in the sink.

Tom: We got that picture right at the end with Johnny Rocker to say that we had finished the album.

Nicky: It was over five weeks but we spent weekends back at home.

Reece: It was pretty intense, we would be in the studio for 10 and then we would come back at 2 Am sometimes and then back in pretty much straight away.

Dan: Some of the songs came together in the studio. You figure out the small bits. It’s like you go in there with a jigsaw piece and then you put it all together, and that’s when you see what can really happen.

Tom: You can see what you’re missing that way as well because you have pieces that you think might work but when you hear it back, and you’re building up the layers it makes sense.

EofE had a party!

EofE
Zigfrid von Underbelly - Hoxton
15/09/2015

It would be easy to say that EofE are talented beyond their years, but the reality is that the Black Country lads have got an extensive and electrifying career ahead of them. With so many milestones to reach, it’s for the best that they started out a little early.

The latest of those milestones came in the form of their sterling self-titled album, which dropped on October 9^th, and luckily they had a bit of a shindig to celebrate AND we went (this would be a really odd review if we didn’t…)

Tom Harris - Vocals 
Zigfrid von Underbelly - Hoxton
15/09/2015

              In amongst the new album tracks, that we hadn’t yet heard, the intimate venue was treated to some of the teaser songs that have been knocking about whilst EofE tour relentlessly. The thunderously sweet Bridges and Stars In Hollywood has been getting us excited for this album since we saw them back in March (FYI, that was the Grab Bag’s debut).

Turns out those songs were just pieces, and tonight we saw the completed jigsaw puzzle in all its glory. Live, this album is everything you want it to be: intense, theatrical and stunning.

It’s worth pointing out that if you like your vocalists with an outrageous range, have you met Tom Harris? Seriously, it’s extraordinary.

It wasn’t all about the new album though. Like I said, EofE have got a huge career ahead of them, and to get everything they can out of that they need to have as many plates spinning as they can, and that’s difficult.

Reece Luke - Vocals and Guitar
Zigfrid von Underbelly - Hoxton
15/09/2015

Oh what’s that? Perform a cover of Ed Sheeran’s Bloodstream and perform it as if you wrote it and blow everyone away? Yeah, no bother.

So, all things considered, EofE slayed this set, and just when you thought they had outdone themselves, that they couldn’t possibly have anything left in them, they played the “we’ve written an absolute belter of a song” card.

The video for Get Caught was unleashed at the start of September and both the video and the track are sultry and dramatic in excess. Live, EofE poured every inch of energy they had into this finale, with Reece deciding that a table top somewhere towards the back of the venue was a much better fit for him than the stage. Fair.

I’ll level with you, there’s a lot more to be said about this band. But seen as this is the very start of an incredible career, let’s call this review part one. Part two will come when they sell out their next headline tour, and that will happen soon, mark my words.

Dan Bremner & Tom Harris
Zigfrid von Underbelly -Hoxton
15/09/2015

Zigfrid von Underbelly - Hoxton
15/09/2015

 

EofE 
Zigfrid von Underbelly - Hoxton
15/09/2015

The Decline - Cats, Bodyjar and Wembley Stadium

Back in August (our logistics suck) we saw Australia’s The Decline bring their sunny skateboard punk rock to Kingston’s The Fighting Cocks. The Grab Bag is always out of control in that venue so it was only right it attacked The Decline whilst they were over the water!

Describe yourself in one sentence.

Pat: One time…

Harry: You’re just describing yourself, you don’t have to tell a whole story.

Pat: I know but I want to tell a story that describes me. There are so many sentences. One time I borrowed this cat off of somebody and I had to give it back so I got another cat to replace it but then I got given the other one, so then I ended up with two cats, also, I really like cats.

Harry: That was two sentences.

Pat: No! They were all commas man. They were all commas. Two cats COMMA I like cats.

What is your favourite song to play live?

Harry: Do you remember the name of the songs?

Ray: I do now. I’m new to the band but I do know the song names. I think… I Don’t Believe.

Harry: You don’t believe what?

Ray:…the song is called I Don’t Believe. It’s probably one of my favourite songs on the new album, and there’s a section that I get to sing.

Harry: We don’t let him sing much.

Pat: Just one section on I Don’t Believe.

Ben: So in that song Ray is actually stepping in for Cam (Cameron Baines) from Bodyjar, who actually sings it on the album. So he doesn’t sing often but when he does it’s in the most important spots.

Ray: And Cam’s one of my favourite singers as well.

Pat: Ray has a Bodyjar tattoo, they’re one of his favourite bands!

Where is the worst place you have woken up?

Ben: I guess in the van after sleeping for half an hour. Or maybe a park…but I can’t remember how I got there. Maybe I was bird watching…drunk.

What is your favourite venue to gig in?

Pat: Do we have to of played there before? Because if not then Wembley Stadium.

Ray: I don’t think I’m ready for 60,000 people.

Ben: We could play to 5 people there…

Pat: Yeah, be realistic now.

Ben: We’ve been pretty lucky on this tour. There was a place called Bar Ceferino in Barcelona that was pretty cool. It was a small capacity venue, maybe you could fit 40 or 50 people in there max. We played there after playing Resurrection Fest to a few thousand people, which was something we had never done before, and then we played to a small group and that was amazing.

Ben: We should open a bar in Barcelona called Bar-celona.

You’re feeling ill and can only have one home comfort, what do you choose?

Pat: This is hard because I really like pizza, and I really like cats, and my girlfriend so….pizza.

What is your favourite memory of being in this band?

Ben: Erm…waking up in the van? I don’t know, maybe the second show of this tour playing Resurrection Fest which was fucking insane, I had no idea what to expect.

Is there anything you know this week that you didn’t know last week?

Pat: UK traffic is pretty bad. That’s one thing.

Ray: Something from Karl Pilkington maybe?

Pat: Oh yeah! Karl Pilkington has some good stuff. He said that every time you remember something you’re actually remembering the last time you remembered it and not the first time it happened. I mean he didn’t say that but…

Have you ever had an epic fail on stage?

Pat: One time I fell over on stage. We were playing this weird bar like 5 years ago, but there wasn’t that many people there so it was okay.

Ray: At Resurrection Fest, in front of thousands of people, I was playing and I must have jumped and stepped on my leg. For like half a song we may have played without any bass.

Pat: I keep on forgetting to play this song called Wrecking Ball that we have. I keep forgetting that it’s on the set list so I just go straight into the next song where I start singing by myself and the rest of the band just doesn’t play. I’ve done that maybe 2 or 3 times on this tour.

Ben: It’s only been on the last third of the tour, so it doesn’t quite make sense because it was never an issue before.

Pat: It’s because we started adding this old song to the set and I always think that’s instead of Wrecking Ball but it’s not, it’s as well as Wrecking Ball!

The Decline caught up with their UK pals

So summer finished. I only know that because of the duvet that I’m cocooned in and the steaming hot soup I’m sipping through a straw.

But it was a fantastic summer and there’s no better way to wrap it up then by looking back at The Decline’s set at Kingston’s The Fighting Cocks in August. Nothing screams summer more than an Australian Skater Punk band, especially when they’re this much fun.

First things first, we sat down with The Decline and watched them face the Louder Now Grab Bag before their set. You can read that here. 

The Decline went full pelt with opening song, New Again, which is also the first track of their new album The Resister, released in July. Short and speedy, no other track could have got to the point faster. The point being that this band has so much energy it’s a wonder the drum kit didn’t get pummelled through the stage.

Ben Elliott - Guitar/Vocals
The Fighting Cocks - Kingston
17/08/2015

Next up was my favourite song from these guys, Giving Up is a Gateway Drug (also the second track on The Resister). A dedicated fan of explicit language, this song had me from the very first line. It’s another worthy example of fast paced punk-rock with a relentless drum track but with a downbeat mid-section to match the lyrics.

But I’ve got a problem with those lyrics, they’re a bit of an understatement: “I haven’t seen it all, just some foreign countries and a mattress for on my best friend’s interstate living room floor.”

Just some foreign countries? These Aussie natives have toured the States, Europe, the UK (holllllllaaaa), have just closed up a Japanese tour with our friends Versus The World and in a few days will be jetting off to Mexico. Just some foreign countries my arse.

I’m jealous of the frequent flyer miles but I understand. The Resister is album number three from a band who will celebrate their 10^th birthday next year. Tonight’s set spanned that decade long career and showcased the robust, energetic, decaying sunshine that is The Decline.

Tracks Excuse Me, 66B and $hit Yeah!!, all from the 2011 album Are You Gonna Eat That? were all highlights of the night because…well because The Decline have had punk rock nailed for a while now.

Pat gives up the mic to a fan
The Fighting Cocks - Kingston
17/08/2015

They’ve had it nailed for so long in fact that they can be half a planet away from home and still be surrounded by friends to have some chitchat with from the stage. And when that distance gets boring just get them up on the stage to sing with you!

When a band asks the crowd what song they should play next, and a discussion ensues, you know that there’s something pretty ridiculous going on. Pat (guitar and vocals) kindly wrote out a set list for me before he took to the stage (thanks Pat!) but that was COMPLETELY pointless. I told him afterwards that it sounded as if the set list had changed a bit. He smiled, chuckled a bit and said “once or twice I think, yeah!”

Ray Chiu - Bass/Vocals
The Fighting Cocks - Kingston
17/08/2015

But somewhere in there, around the middle of the set, they cracked out Almost Never Met You, the video for which was released this week (which is definitely the reason why I have waited so long to write this review, it has nothing to do with s**t logistics and laziness on my behalf). My challenge to you is to listen to this song and try to refrain from grabbing a board and pretending you know how to do rail grinds, flips and other stuff I learnt from playing Tony Hawks Pro-Skater.

The Decline were a pleasure to chat with and I’m so glad I got to catch them whilst they were over the water. They are a lot of fun to watch and are flying the flag for mindful punk rock with something to say.

The Decline Facebook. 

The Decline Twitter. 

The Decline Website. 

Beatsteaks made the KoKo dance/made us feel like idiots

Arnim Teutoburg-Weiß - Guitars/VocalsLondon, Camden Koko
25/08/2015

You know that feeling when you find out that the ‘new’ band you just discovered have actually been around for nearly as long as you’re dumb backside has been on the planet? Yeah that happened to me last month.

I saw the magnificent Beatsteaks at Camden’s KoKo in August and to say I was ill-prepared is a gross understatement. In fact to say it is an understatement is an understatement because, frankly, it’s taken me over a fortnight to recover.

It all kicked off with the undeniably punk rock Hello Joe from the 2004 album Smack Smash which has been knocking about, under my nose, for over a decade. The track pulled me in with its brash The Clash-esque opening and by the big-band finale I was hooked.

It occurred to me that no other band has ever looked so blissfully cheerful whilst sounding so sensationally fierce but my mind really started to blow when I realised that ‘fierce’ was just a singular string in a perfectly crafted bow.

Track three of the night was Milk and Honey which has a chorus tinted in a melancholy that Morrissey himself would be jealous of.  What Beatsteaks have managed to craft is setting those vocals to an upbeat and can’t-help-but-dance track that has been on repeat here for weeks.

Torsten Scholz
London, Camden KoKo
25/08/2015

Yes I am relentlessly referencing other artists to assure myself that I do in fact know some bands.

Missing Beatsteaks was just a lapse in concentration, I promise. Ugh, I can feel the hatred from here. 

By the time that we’re a few songs in I’m ready to throttle every single member of the crowd for not tracking me down and telling me about this band sooner, and then everything stated above collided in a single track that, whilst not being the latest single from Beatsteaks, quickly became my song of the moment.

Everything Went Black, from last year’s self-titled album, tells a dramatic narrative which was transfixing live but is also charmingly documented in its video, released in November. As you can probably expect it has that theatrical edge and a dash of ferocious aggression but overall you can’t help but dance to it.

And neither can Beatsteaks frontman Arnim Teutoburg-Weiß, though in fairness I don’t think he could stop dancing to anything. On the stage, up on an amp, in the crowd, on top of the crowd, that guy has some serious moves. I strongly suspect that he’s getting some sort of groove supplement from the hat’s he’s always wearing. Maybe I haven’t thought that through all the way, but it’s a possibility. 

Beatsteaks
London, Camden Koko
25/08/2015

A few tracks after Arnim crowd rowed his way back to the stage (yes, I mean rowed) guitarist/vocalist/keys Peter Baumann stepped up and proved that more than one member of this band can rule a stage. His beautiful rendition of Hey Du (which is performed in German) put the crowd into a trance and they serenaded him with the words right back.

When Beatsteaks re-joined Baumann on the stage for Ticket, the video for which was uploaded a month ago, Arnim had changed his hat. This fuelled my suspicions that headwear is the key to his magical musical powers.

The main set closed up with I Don’t Care As Long As You Sing, the sentiment of which perfectly summarises what is so fantastic about Beatsteaks.

Arnim and Peter
London, Camden Koko
25/08/2015

But that’s not where it ended, Beatsteaks were just getting started. They didn’t leave that stage until TWO encores later, including a cover of the massive Beastie Boys track Sabotage. They could have added on 10 more encores and played their entire two-decade-long discography if they wanted. The crowd had caught the contagious energy from the stage and would have stayed there for a week if they could.

The contained aggression of this band is astounding, sometimes sounding directly punk, but more recently on the lighter side of that coin. Whichever end of the spectrum the track is on its shrouded in an infectious dance beat and that is where the magic is.

Happy 20^th Birthday Beatsteaks, I sincerely apologise for missing out on the first two decades of your life.

Beatsteaks Facebook

Beatsteaks Website

London, Camden Koko
25/08/2015