Page 51 - Black Velvet Rock Magazine Issue 103

BV103 pg51_BV103 pg51 24/12/2019 20:43 Page 1

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SKILLET / DEVOUR THE DAY - LONDON O2 SHEPHERD’S BUSH EMPIRE, 10.12.19
Considering it’s the first time they have ever played a show in London, Devour The Day manages to win over the crowd in no time. The trio put on
an energetic display as they perform a selection of tracks from their three albums. Songs like ‘Respect’, ‘Faithless’ and ‘The Censor’ are heavy and
vigorous. Frontman Blake Allison’s rough vocals prove to be a good match when the band delivers a cover of Nirvana’s ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’. By
the time they close their set with the hard-hitting ‘Good Man’, it’s safe to say that Devour The Day have secured themselves some new fans in Lon-
don.
It’s been over three years since Skillet last played in London. Glance around and the floor section is heaving, look above at the three levels of
seating and there is not an empty chair to be seen. Tonight's show is sold out. Many in attendance are seeing the quartet for the first time and all are
eager for Skillet to take to the stage; deafening cheers echo around the venue when they do.
“I feel, I feel it… invincible,” larger-than-life frontman John Cooper repeats, as the crowd joins in. As the band opens with the intensely catchy ‘Feel
Invincible’, it signals the start of a high-octane evening filled with powerful anthems and uplifting positivity. ‘You Ain’t Ready’ is the first song played
from Skillet’s latest album, ‘Victorious’, for which John is armed with CO2 Cryo guns, one secured to each arm. He blasts plumes of cryogenic fog
above the heads of the crowd. John is certainly a charismatic frontman; throughout the evening he makes sure that everyone feels included, no matter
where in this beautiful venue they are
located. While John may be the cen-
trepiece, the energy from guitarists
Korey Cooper and Seth Morrison,
along with drummer Jen Ledger, is
definitely not unnoticed; thrashing
around non-stop they each give 110%
and then some. The crowd are just as
pumped up - singing, jumping and
clapping along to the likes of ‘Whis-
pers In The Dark’, ‘Legendary’,
‘Lions’, ‘Back From The Dead’, ‘Unde-
feated’ and ‘Stars’.
Jen comes to the front of the
stage to sing the intro to ‘Awake and
Alive’ with John, before heading back
to pound the drums for the full electri-
fying, adrenaline-filled version of the
song. Joining them is Tate Olson; it’s
always great to see the cellist rocking
out onstage while adding another
beautiful layer of melody to the songs.
He makes an appearance a fair few
times during the course of the set.
John gets offstage and walks
along the front barrier during ‘Hero’,
holding his microphone into the crowd
for them to sing along to the chorus
as he dishes out high fives. Mean-
while onstage, Jen has once again
stepped from behind the drum kit to
sing and is rocking out with Korey and
Seth as blasts of steam shoot up in
front of the stage.
Rounding the main set off is a trio
of epicness - ‘Comatose’, ‘Monster’
and ‘Rebirthing’. As the band leave
the stage, the chanting begins, “One
more song, one more song…” The
crowd wants more and Skillet duly de-
livers with the hard-rocking ‘The Re-
sistance’. As the quartet say their
goodbyes, the cheers and whoops of
joy are once again deafening; if the
band were able to play all night, this
crowd would have stayed right there
with them. What a show.
During one of his speeches, John
acknowledges that the band not only
needs to come back over here more
often, but also to play more cities
when they are here. It’s clear that Skil-
let want to give the people who come
to their show the best experience they
possibly can; they certainly did that
tonight. More people deserve to get
the opportunity to see this band live,
so Skillet doing a proper tour of the
UK has to happen!
YYYYY
Penny Gower
John Cooper (Skillet) Photo
By Sam Gower

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