REVIEW: Funeral For a Friend
- Posted on May 21, 2007 8:36 PM
- 0 comments
Funeral For A Friend:Brixton Academy Saturday May 19
Review by Peter Coulston
Brixton Academy is one of my favourite venues for a number of reasons. I have seen some great concerts there but the area has a special meaning to me. I went to school in Brixton and my mother grew up there. She was a keen dancer, and, as a child, I remember her telling me how she used to go to the Brixton Astoria, as it was then, to see the great dance bands of the day. There is so much musical history in the place, and hopefully, it will continue to provide musical entertainment for many generations to come. This gig certainly attracted a very young audience, many of whom allowed themselves to be completely overwhelmed by the occasion; some even before they had even entered the place. Despite that, everyone was well behaved and having a ball, which is what it’s all about. For those unfamiliar with the terrain, there is a tube station at the end of the Victoria Line linked to a main line rail station, loads of buses and a car park nearby.
The layout inside is like all the other old music hall conversions, but does the job and is fit for purpose; i.e. lots of standing room and beer at reasonable prices. The show opened with The Haunts, a London based indie guitar band who gave a good performance. The audience where I was standing were a bit tetchy and wanting to see the headline act, so these guys were not appreciated as much as they should have been. Their material was well structured and some numbers, like “Underground”, were pretty hard to play. They were followed by a bunch of headbangers from Boston, Massachusetts. With three guitars and two good lead singers they certainly delivered, but for me, every song seemed to blend into the next. I cannot pick one song to comment on but have to say that they captured the audience far better than the previous band. It must have either been the American accents, the beer, or a combination of the two. They are called The Receiving Ends Of Sirens and they have a new album called “Between The Heart And The Synapse”. If you’re a headbanger, give them a listen.
Considerable reconstruction of the stage was undertaken before Funeral For A Friend emerged, the main purpose being to elevate the drummer to a position from which he could look down on all he surveyed. The set was a mix of old and new, despite the fact that they were there to promote their new album “Tales Don’t Tell Themselves”. Many artists in the past have alienated loyal fans at gigs by inflicting an entire new album on them when the punters are gagging for the old stuff. These guys did not make that mistake and, if audience reaction was anything to go by, got the balance just right. They all sang along with the ones they knew, and “The End Of Nothing” and “Roses For The Dead” were among the best. There was a lot of finger raising going on at one point as well. Of the new stuff, “The Great Wide Open” was a pretty standard rocker while “Raise The Sail” had good vocals and a very maritime feel about it, as does the whole album apparently. “Walk Away” is the single and is more commercial and user friendly than the others. After a symphonic ending, we were treated to a heavy rock encore which left us all happy. This band is still very heavy metal, but they do it well and that’s the main thing. The sound could have been better for all three bands and there seemed to be several instances of drums and microphones falling apart. I would expect this at small gigs where the turnaround time is minimal and the bands have to set themselves up. At this level, with the amount of setup time available, I think that the band should expect their equipment to be in top order when they go on stage. Not too much to ask.
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