REVIEW: Give It A Name
- Posted on May 21, 2008 2:17 PM
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Give It A Name Festival
Sunday 11th May 2008
Review by Emma Dalby
After saying goodbye to the glorious summer’s day we finally ventured inside the dark air-conditioned cave that was Earls Court. Surprisingly the festival atmosphere was not lost, the place certainly looked like a festival with discarded pizza boxes and empty cardboard pint glasses strewn about the floor, people sitting, lying and ‘hanging around’ everywhere and anywhere as if they were catching those rays that should ideally have replaced the Earls Court roof. The vibe was certainly there, and the cold concrete floor instead of grass didn’t seem to dampen the mood.
As we approached the stage area we found ourselves stopping to listen to a band on the second stage, they were called State Radio and they grabbed my instant attention with their socially aware, intelligent political inspired lyrics over reggae infused melodic punk rock. There were few people paying attention but sadly the music went way over the heads' of the young audience.
Next up on the main stage were Strike Anywhere who seemed to fare slightly better, upbeat and energetic as always, the politically aware punk rockers with the bouncing dreadlocked frontman gave there all to a fairly static but larger crowd. Strike Anywhere do have great songs and their set list reflects this. I couldn’t help thinking however that if the venue had been smaller the crowd would have been more involved. Instead their set feels a bit disappointing after the effort that went in.
Ready and waiting on the second stage following the Strike Anywhere set were the favourites with the younger audience, You Me At Six, a band full of clichéd stage banter and the perfect melodic heart-pullers. They sing about girlfriends and tell the crowd how much they rock more than Sheffield, it’s all a little too staged and a little too cringe-worthy for us old folks so off we went to find some overpriced beer.
On arrival back to the concrete floor we were just in time for The Blackout on the main stage. Now here’s a band that put some effort into things, their rockier approach and dancing girls with fire, yes fire!.. really do liven things up a bit. An exciting stage show made up for their somewhat un-memorable songs, but this didn’t matter, the audience loved them and well, they had fire didn’t they.
Next up were New Jersey melodic rockers Armour For Sleep, but unfortunately due to the very exciting ‘Guitar Hero’ auditions we missed them and just made it back to the stage for the beginning of Silverstein. The Canadian screamers were not on top form however, they had a good amount of people watching them and even a few sing-along moments, but bad sound problems dampened the set. They definitely didn’t grab my attention the way earlier bands had and it just felt a little stale.
Not to worry though as those political punks from Pittsburg were up next on the second stage. They drew a large crowd and dived straight in to tracks from their new album ‘Bright Lights Of America’. Anti Flag have had a recent surge in fans following their recent signing to a major label and although their politics largely consist of anti-Bush messages which still seem to fall on deaf ears within the young audience, they at least have a bouncy and upbeat approach.
Another beer break later and back to the stage for what I consider to be the clear highlight of the festival. They drew the largest crowd and the largest chants, an older audience appeared out of nowhere and we finally had something to look forward to, the band was Glassjaw and they simply blew away everyone that graced the stage before them. They played a short set of some new and unknown tracks, ending the set with obvious crowd favourite, Siberian Kiss. Personally I think Glassjaw should have headlined this festival, instead we get Canadian rockers Billy Talent and 30 Seconds To Mars to follow.
Billy Talent had a few crowd pleasers and pulled a fair audience, really though they were nothing special.
There was a long wait for headliners 30 Seconds To Mars, eventually though they appeared from behind a screen, with dramatic music to build up anticipation and Jared Leto in a leather cape decorated with day glo paint which stood out more than the music under those UV lights. The movie stars band are obviously liked for some reason, the crowd were singing to every word, hanging on every last word coming from Leto’s mouth, amid the seemingly constant swearing.
They definitely looked like headliners, although this was largely down to the props and little to do with their songs. Overall though 30 Seconds To Mars were not the highlight, there spacey 80’s infused rock doesn’t look like it works on anyone above the age of 18, it was far too dramatic and it felt very choreographed. I can’t help thinking whether Jared Leto is using his acting experience a little too much in order to ‘play the rockstar role’. Cynical maybe, but the dramatics put me off and led me to leave after only a few songs. Give it A Name was over for another year.
Related links:
Give it a Name tickets.
Punk / Rock concert tickets.
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