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

The Beards - Beards, Beardless People and Stonking Beards

The Beards
Darren Iliffe Designs
http://darreniliffe.blogspot.co.uk/

To mark the start of the UK leg of The Beard’s huge European anniversary tour the Louder Now Grab Bag has gone face to face with guitarist Facey McStubblington.

It’s been four months since it first started claiming victims, and the Grab Bag has gained itself a bit of a reputation. But now it has finally met its match for ridiculousness.

Happy 10^th Birthday The Beards!

What is your favourite song to play live?
"There's Just Nothing Better Than A Beard" is my favourite song to play live because everybody sings this sentiment together with us at the end. It's a sentiment I feel very strongly about.

How would you like your band to be remembered?
As a group of men who were uncompromising in their stance on what was proven correct by the beardless genocidal cleansing of 2019.

Who is the first person you would choose to be stuck in a lift with?
Our frontman Johann Beardraven - as he is my spiritual leader and best friend. Incidentally, we are often stuck in lifts together as he gets so worked up about how much he loves beards that his constant jumping and yelling often disables the mechanics.

What is the best set of lyrics you have ever heard?
"An archivist needs a beard", because when you really think about it, it's SO true.

Have you ever broken a bone?
No. As a bearded man, my bones are unbreakable. I have, however, broken the many hearts of beardless men and women who want to bed me. But as I always say, if your beard ain't stonking, we ain't bonking!

Describe yourself in one sentence. 
An excellent ginger beard attached to an adequate human male.

GO TO SEE THE BEARDS!

Wednesday 16 September                          BRISTOL The Thekla

Thursday 17 September                                NEWCASTLE Think Tank

Friday 18 September                                      GLASGOW King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut

Saturday 19 September                                MANCHESTER Gorilla

Monday 21 September                                 NOTTINGHAM Rescue Rooms

Tuesday 22 September                                 BIRMINGHAM Temple

Wednesday 23 September                          LONDON Dingwalls

Friday 25 September                                      BRIGHTON The Haunt

Saturday 26 September                                SOUTHAMPTON Engine Rooms

Tickets are priced at £14 regionally and £15 in London and are on sale via www.seetickets.com or from the venues directly.

We went to Reading Festival 2015 and got really pathetic about it

The Louder Now bank account is, in a word, imaginary, and time often feels make-believe around here too. We accepted that we could only make it to one festival and, if that was the case, then we were getting our butts to Reading 2015. Only Saturday (seriously, please send us some money).

I’m going to save us all some time and tell you now that there was not one band that we caught at Reading that we found lacking. I did, however, feel incredibly lucky to have been there and I found the whole day a bit emotional.

For that reason, this is not going to be the most technical review you have ever read but instead quite a personal account of what happened that day for me. It also gets a bit weird about half way through. Sorry about that, but I do hope you enjoy it nevertheless.

We had planned to get on a train that turned out to have a lot in common with the Louder Now bank account in that it was non-existent. Off to a great start, I was already panicking (I do that a lot) that we would miss the Main Stage openers, which frankly wasn’t an option.

The metal god must have been raining down on us because thankfully that

Babymetal - Main Stage,
taken from the big screen
Reading Festical
29/08/2015

didn’t happen. We walked through the Main Arena just in time to see the almighty Babymetal take to the iconic stage in all of their pigtail and tutu glory.

Does anybody know who I can complain to about the fact that there isn’t a Babymetal video game yet? All I’m saying is that it would make all of our lives infinitely better and they would make a fortune.   

They were absolutely out of this world and danced around that stage with perfectly synchronised moves, all of which I now know off by heart.

I’ve researched a few English translations of their lyrics too and that made me love them even more. Especially these lines from their track Give Me Chocolate: “Can I have a bit of chocolate? But my weight worries me a bit these days. However, chocolate. Can I have a bit of chocolate?” Thank you Babymetal for providing my life with its own soundtrack.   

I looked at my Louder Now comrades, none of which had been to a festival before, and saw that their minds were blown. One band and Reading had achieved the complete mental annihilation of three otherwise sound people. It was time for a break.

We headed over to the Alternative Stage and caught Chris Ramsey do a bit of stand up. I always love catching the stand ups at a festival. Everyone sits on the floor, or doesn’t and gets called out by Chris Ramsey from the stage (which was a running theme throughout the day now I think about it) and it’s always good to have a laugh. Always.

Chris Ramsey - The Alternative Stage
Reading Festival
29/08/2015

I won’t ruin any punch lines but if you can catch Chris on his next tour then do. He’s got buckets of northern lad charm and I was giggling like a fool.

Ramsey’s set ran into Marmozets on the Main Stage so we rushed over and caught the main bulk of their set which was also fantastic. It’s been a huge year for them with a US tour, album of the year award and now the Main Stage at Reading.

With Josh Macintyre on his feet whilst playing the drums and Becca Macintyre giving some growls that would catch any ill-prepared viewer off guard, they owned that stage because it was what they were born to do.

I have such a soft spot for Marmozets. They were the first ever band to share some of my writing on their social media back in 2011 and I got the chance to thank them for it in 2013 at Radstock Festival. It’s incredible to see them doing these amazing things and it was probably when I was watching them up there that I began to get all emotional.

At this point the plan was to head back over to the Alternative Stage and catch Seann Walsh and then back to the Main Stage for Alexisonfire (I really wanted to hear them say their own name…)

But there was a change in the plan and the change was the signing tent, and it had the name ‘Twin Atlantic’ written all over it.

Right. I’m going to try my hardest to put this to you in a way that makes me not seem completely nuts (which means that we’re going to have to put my creative fiction skills to the test). Recently I’ve not been coping too well with the concept of being 23 (insert Blink-182 joke here). I am happier now then I have ever been but I panic sometimes that I’m a grown up, and have been for a long time. Way too long.

Rewind to the first time I went to Reading Festival, back in 2010. So much has changed since then. For a start I’m not in the same relationship I was back then (and for that I thank my lucky stars every single day). I went and got myself a degree, a car called Vince and a cat called Sherlock and this very blog seems to be exceeding all of my wildest expectations and proving something to me that I thought was impossible. Did I mention that we interviewed Cyrus from New Found Glory last week? I mean. Cyrus. From New Found Glory.

All of that makes me happier then I have ever been but we all miss being a kid right? When I was young I use to go to gigs because I loved the music. I loved losing the plot in the crowd knowing that what was on that stage was a million times more interesting so not one person was watching me!

In my short time on this planet I have done some insane things to meet my musical heroes. I once camped in an alley off of Shaftesbury Avenue in Central London for 18 hours to meet Gerard Way. Don’t tell my mum that though, I don’t think she knows.

And in addition to all of that, not a lot of people know this about me (haha) but I’m sort of a crazy b***h fan girl and I’m out of control. Once I find a band that I love, they quickly take over my life. They will be what I listen to on the way to work every morning. I will travel the country just to see them as many times as I can. See me for five minutes in the street? I guarantee you I’ll find a way of talking about them. Since May, that band has been Twin Atlantic.   

So, when I saw that they were going to grace the signing tent with their beautiful selves I saw an opportunity to re-live my youth. For an hour and a half, I sat in a que that I don’t think I actually had to sit in. I met a music photographer called Lauren (this is her website) who I had a great chat with about music, bands and working in this industry.

We were both really nervous to stand in front of this band and try to think of something to say and I’m so grateful that she was there so we could keep each other company and calm…ish.

Here are some pictures that Lauren’s friend took of me with the band. Huge thank you to both of those girls. These pictures sort of mean the world to me right now:

Just in case you were wondering, what I realised was that it is never too late to be a kid and sometimes meeting your heroes can just be perfect.

Anyway, the squad reconvened at The Bar and then we headed off to see Pvris and Atreyu.

Pvris will soon be running this scene. Fact. The Pit stage was insanely small for a band that has so much promise but it was a great introduction for the future headliners. I give it 3-5 years.

I also want to make a generic point that, nevertheless, is really important to me. I saw TWO female fronted bands at Reading. Both were unbelievably good. Neither were Paramore.    

Atreyu - The Pit 
Reading Festival
29/08/2015

Atreyu played their cover of Bon Jovi’s You Give Love a Bad Name so the child in me was kept pretty happy. It’s great to have those guys back from their hiatus and if their latest single is anything to go by then their upcoming album will be perfect. I can’t wait.

Then we reached what I now realise for us were “The Big Three”. Bring Me The Horizon. Twin Atlantic. Metallica.

I haven’t seen Bring Me The Horizon in roughly a million years. Also, did I mention that I’m really old? When my 18 year old colleague grabbed me by the hand and ran into the crowd with a force that would not be acceptable in any other situation, I all but ruined my underwear. I am so glad she did it.

Bring Me The Horizon (allegedly) Main Stage 
Reading Festival
29/08/2015

That crowd was absolutely insane. It was the most fun I have had in a long time. I remember feeling eternally grateful that it was raining for the relief but I belted out S – P – I – R – I – T ,SPIRIT, LETS HEAR IT. It’s impossible not to. Also a fact for you.

I’ve had my issues with the choice of bands higher up the line up for a few years and, I won’t lie, BMTH were one of the bands I was confused about. I’m not anymore. They well and truly shut me up. This new album is going to launch them out of this world and they deserve that.

I officially support a UK Bring Me The Horizon & Babymetal tour. Please make this happen. Please.

Twin Atlantic - NME/Radio 1 Stage
Reading Festival
29/08/2015

I think I’ve made my feelings for Twin Atlantic quite clear already. Needless to say their set was everything I wanted (sort of, I would have done pretty much anything for them to play The Ghost of Eddie).

Back in May I mentioned that these guys really love launching stuff at the crowd. Yeah, that hasn’t changed. Before any words had even been sung we were drenched in white streamers. Then there were butterflies and colourful streamers and then giant colourful balls. We loved it.

Twin Atlantic - NME/Radio 1 Stage
Reading Festival
29/08/2015

Usually I can tell you what songs were a highlight. I can’t this time, I’m sorry. If you haven’t seen Twin Atlantic live then you haven’t lived. They are the most fun, but just make sure your pipes are ready because you will sing along to every word.

On the subject of words. Dear Sam Mctrusty, you can sing those verses in whichever damn order you want to. We got your back. Love from the crowd.

Finally (I know right, it was a long day) we got over to that Main Stage to close up our day with Metallica. Now I missed the first hour or so (not my fault, blame Twin Atlantic and have them apologise for being so amazing) and I haven’t watched the replay but if anyone could tell me why there were hundreds of people on stage with Metallica I would be really grateful. It looked amazing, but I just feel like I was missing something.

Metallica - Main Stage
Reading Festival
29/08/2015

Metallica first played Reading Festival 18 years ago. I mentioned it before but one of the Louder Now reporters/squad members on the Reading field trip is 18 years old. That blows my mind. This band has been together for 35 years, have released 9 studio albums and have been an inspiration for other artists all over the world. That, my friends, is a true festival headliner.

And, as you would expect, they played that stage like it was built for them (which I suppose it was).

There were bass solos, guitar solos and I’m going to assume that I missed the obligatory Lars Ulrich drum solo (I mean that happened right?) They were mucking about with the cameras, James Hetfield was up and down his own platform, there were graphics of soldiers going to war. It was just exactly what you imagined Metallica headlining Reading to be.  

James Hetfield - Main Stage
Reading Festival
29/08/2015

When that riff for Enter Sandman engulfed that gigantic field, that was the mark of a day well spent.

But by far one of the most incredible moments of Reading Festival 2015 (Saturday only, please send cash) and the story that I will tell my nieces and nephews for years to come is this.

When we first got into the arena, back when Babymetal were singing about really, really, wanting chocolate (if you don’t know what I’m talking about, you haven’t been paying attention, scroll up and start again you lazy piece of work) I noticed that the rigs around the Main Stage had big nets full of black inflatable spheres (every time I describe them as balls people laugh at me, it distracts from the story) with Metallica written on them.

When Metallica were closing up their set we noticed a woman in full climbing gear at the top of one of those rigs. Her mission was clear, wait for Hetfield to go “Yeaaarh” (flawless impression) and pull the string.

Well. Hetfield went “Yeaaarh”, the lady pulled the string….and absolutely SOD ALL happened. Giant black spheres were flying everywhere apart from the left hand side towards the back. We got jack.

ME - Main Stage (not on it, obviously) 
Reading Festival
29/08/2015

So remember everyone, your day could be going really badly and you could be just about ready to give it all up, but at least you’re not a hundred feet in the air, strapped to a rig in the middle of a field kicking the crap out of a bag of giant black balls.

Thank you Reading, it was the happiest I have ever been in your field. I will see you next year if people send me cash. 

Love from Hayley xx