The Electric Ballroom in the heart of Camden Town was the
setting for what was sure to be one of the gigs of the year. The Menzingers
were in town with The Smith Street Band and The Holy Mess supporting them, I
doubt you will find many stronger line ups this year.
After a mad dash across London I made it to the Electric
Ballroom just in time to see The Holy Mess. I was incredibly excited to see
this Philadelphian three piece live after checking out their new album Comfort
In The Discord (I reviewed it here).They definitely did not disappoint. These
three punks took to the stage and burned through a set list featuring songs
from all three of their albums. I’m a big fan of bands who share vocal duties
and The Holy Mess are really great at this. Singing at the top of the lungs and
playing excellently at a great speed you can tell The Holy Mess really love
what they do. The passion and energy they put into their set really endeared themselves
to the Camden crowd and won them over many new fans. I am really looking
forward to seeing them again.
Up next, all the way from Melbourne was the incredibly
popular Smith Street Band. I suspected a decent sized portion of the crowd in
attendance tonight were there especially to see these four Aussie lads such is
their popularity. This would be my third time seeing them this year having
already seen them support Restorations at The Fighting Cocks in Kingston and
headline at Our Black Heart just one minute down the road from the Ballroom and
I was interested to see what their show would be like on a much bigger stage. In
all honesty I missed the feeling of intimacy you get at a smaller venue because
of the lack of barriers. You feel more like part of the band when you can get
up close and personal with a band and sing their songs back to them. And
singing songs back to the band is the name of the game at a Smith Street Band
gig. Wil Wagner is a master at writing incredibly catchy and honest songs that
you can relate to. Staples of their set such as Don’t Fuck With Our Dreams,
Sigourney Weaver and closer Young Drunk went down a treat as did new song
Surrender from the upcoming album Throw Me In The River (which you can
pre-order here). The song that stood out most for me tonight was When I Was A
Boy I Thought I Was A Fish. I don’t know what it was that song really captured
me and gave me a new found love for it. Despite the barrier The Smith Street
Band were absolutely brilliant, I wasn’t a big fan of the barrier but at a
bigger venue that meant that there were much more people to sing along with the
band and make it an even bigger party. The Smith Street Band are quickly
becoming one of my all time favourite bands, I think that should relocate to
England permanently so I can see them all the time.
During The Smith Street Bands set front man Wil graciously thanked
everyone for being there and always supporting the band. Then he briefly spoke
about the forty five minutes or so spent on stage was the only time in the day
when he felt right. Hearing a hero of mine say that was quite a big deal for
me, as someone who has had a difficult time of things lately being at gigs and
seeing my favourite bands play live is one of the few times in life these days
when I feel completely right. It was reassuring to hear that it’s not just me
who feel like this. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, going to a gig
and screaming along to a song is the best kind of therapy.
After releasing another album of the year contender in
Rented World in April The Menzingers are having another amazing year. Having
been lucky enough to attend their album release show at the tiny Old Blue Last
I was again interested to see The Menzingers on a big stage. Unsurprisingly
they were excellent. The Menzingers represent a new breed of punk rock band.
They play with all the aggression, honesty and passion you would expect from a
punk band but they also accompany that with some excellent musicianship. I
think this is why they are so popular, they have huge crossover appeal. As with
all the great punk bands, they play every gig like it’s their last. Guitarist
Tom May in particular was a ball of energy on stage, bouncing around everywhere
never slowing down. Like the two bands before them you could see how much they
loved being on stage and playing music and the Electric Ballroom crowd really
loved them. Everyone in the crowd knew the words to every song they played
whether it was from their debut A Lesson In The Abuse Of Information
Technology, their breakthrough album On The Impossible Past or Rented World. I
always think the stars of a Menzingers gig aren’t just the band but the crowd
themselves. Their songs manage to unite a crowd of strangers that few bands
have the ability to do. Whoever you happened to be standing next to became your
new best friend during the set as you sang along with Tom and co-vocalist Greg
Barnett. It’s very hard to pick a highlight from the set as every song sounded
amazing but Casey and Burn After Writing in particular stood out. The opening chords
of Burn After Writing are brilliant as an intro and the song is a nice slow
builder before launching into a huge chorus that the crowd adored singing along
to.
This gig was unbelievably good. Three of the best bands
around who were at the top of their game. This was my fifth time seeing The
Menzingers live and its been an absolute honour seeing them go from playing
smaller gigs at places like The Old Blue Last, The Borderline and The Underworld
to playing to 1000 plus people at the Electric Ballroom. I expect the next time
they tour they will be playing some even bigger venues such is their growing
popularity.
Check out The Holy Mess here: https://fucktheholymess.bandcamp.com/
Check out The Smith Street Band here: https://thesmithstreetband.bandcamp.com/
Check out The Menzingers here: https://www.facebook.com/themenzingers
Now listening to The Corner by Cory Branan
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