Page 58 - Black Velvet Issue 89

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HANDS LIKE HOUSES / I THE MIGHTY / DEAD! / THE GOSPEL YOUTH - LONDON O2 ACADEMY ISLINGTON
03.06.16
The queue for the Islington Academy is a long trail around the block, the atmosphere is rising and there are some very eager faces in the sea of
people filtering into the main room. The Gospel Youth are today’s openers on a packed line-up; they start a little shaky, but with good intentions and
the biggest crowd they’ve ever played to, they shine once they get comfortable. Their pop-rock presence on stage is humbling and modest, showing
their devotion to music. The audience soak in Samuel Little’s vocals, which are smooth and technically flawless, accompanied by bouncy guitar riffs
in ‘DST’. The intrigue of these openers causes a stir and could be a sign of what’s to come from them in the future.
Next come Dead!, who have a reputation of having a never-ending energy supply as they have been playing shows everywhere and are constantly
on the road this year. Their sound is effortlessly catchy mixed with some unique experimental chaos, and they stand up to the task of setting the
standard high. They even give the crowd some of their surplus energy just to show off a bit. The room suddenly comes alive during the electrifying but
short set, including ‘You’re So Cheap’.
I The Mighty are an overall cross-section
of several sub-genres in rock, but their pas-
sion for the genre as a whole comes in a clas-
sic performance and an emotional
rollercoaster of themes in their songs. The
Australian quartet haven't played in London
before tonight; their introduction is a very pos-
itive first impression on a British audience. To
be able to pull off a slower tune, ‘Slow Danc-
ing Forever’, to a crowd who want constant
upbeats is not something every band can do
but here they seem to have an avid following
and the applause after this song almost
blows the roof off the Academy. Their set also
included a brief appearance on stage by
Hands Like Houses’ Joel Tyrrell, which adds
to the anticipation and playing tracks from
‘Connector’ simply up the ante every second.
Once I The Mighty have left the stage,
there is a particularly friendly buzz in the at-
mosphere. Hands Like Houses are about to
perform their biggest headline show to date
and with it being over 10,000 miles from their
hometown, Canberra in Australia, this is quite
an achievement! Many faces in the audience
have been waiting a long time to see the
post-hardcore rock group return to the UK.
Now given their chance, it’s mightily impres-
sive to see the band return with not only a
headline tour but such a determination to ex-
cite and amaze. The Aussie group seem to
have struck the jackpot with their recent
album, ‘Dissonants’. Despite having to delay
the release, it was definitely well worth the
wait and the roar of the crowd agrees as the
band open with ‘I Am’, continuing into
‘Colourblind’ and ‘New Romantics’. An em-
bracing reception is nothing compared to the
enthusiasm expressed as frontman, Trenton
Woodley, introduces an older track ‘Wisteria’.
With all the bouncing around, you’d think the
performance would falter slightly, however,
Trenton’s vocals are powerful in both highs
and lows, with just the right amount of push
on hoarse edges in certain songs. And when
you think the performance can’t get any bet-
ter, Joel Tyrrell hands his guitar over to Chris
Hinkley of I The Mighty and bounces off the
stage into the crowd enjoying himself before
completing a lengthy yoga handstand side-
stage as the song finishes. Crowdsurfing ga-
lore follows too, what more could you want
from a small London show? Especially when
bands that enjoy themselves as much as
Hands Like Houses do are few and far be-
tween at the moment.
The band leave some favourites until
last. Before all the members have exited the
stage the crowd are already chanting for ‘one
more song!’ Ending with ‘Glasshouse’ and ‘In-
troduced Species’, the performance ends
with a bang and some added CO2 cannons!
Epic.
YYYYY
Annina Cremona
Joel Tyrrell (Hands Like Houses)
Photo By Annina Cremona
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