Page 53 - Black Velvet Rock Music Magazine Issue 92

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STATE CHAMPS / AS IT IS / NORTHBOUND – BIRMINGHAM O2 INSTITUTE, 17.03.17
It’s St. Patrick’s Day and as such, opening band Northbound decide
to bound on stage in St. Patrick’s Day masks (with green hats and big
beards). They take them off and throw them out into the crowd after a
minute, which is probably a good thing. Northbound originally began as a
solo project for Jonathon Fraser, who got together a backing band in order
to play electric shows on the road. If you’d never heard of them, you may
have assumed they were a regular band, but, for the record, Northbound
is Jonathon’s moniker, and he is the primary songwriter. Songs such as
‘Fade To Black’, ‘Leech’ and ‘Actor’ have emo tendencies, although they
are also delivered with enthusiasm and liveliness. Guitarist Charlie
Caruso, who also plays in the band The Blonde Tongues, is particularly
animated, banging his head and jumping up and down, and makes a wor-
thy addition to the line-up.
As It Is take the energy up to a whole other level though. The Brighton-
based band are re-
ally becoming one
of the UK’s bright-
est musical hopes.
The UK’s pop punk
fans are crazy for
them, and it’s no
wonder as they put
on an impressive
stage show, with
Patty Walters doing
high jumps a-plenty
(amazingly without
seeming to break
into a sweat). The
energetic set is
easy to convince
audience members
to go crowdsurfing
to and as such
Patty shakes/holds
hands with most of
the crowdsurfers
that drop over the
barrier in front of
him. Songs such as
‘Cheap Shots &
Setbacks’ and
‘Pretty Little Dis-
tance’ are glisten-
ing anthems for the
youth of today. ‘No
Way Out’ has a
harder beat with a
sense of despera-
tion to the lyrics,
showing that the
band don’t just
know how to write
bubblegum pop
punk, but can turn the volume up when needed. As usual, the band end
with ‘Dial Tones’, which sees Patty diving into the crowd. If for some rea-
son you haven’t checked these guys out yet, you need to dive into their
musical catalogue – and we’ll see you at the next As It Is show.
You need to make sure you have a lot of energy for a State Champs
gig. The band have a harder-edged pop punk sound. It’s fast-paced with
a prominent drumbeat throughout, although it isn’t until ‘All You Are Is His-
tory’ when the crowd’s singing matches the volume of Derek DiScanio on
stage. “That was the Birmingham we came to see right there,” he says
after the single, that was released in September 2015, is performed.
Derek talks about a lot of celebrations going on, such as the four-year an-
niversary of their debut album and how playing the main room of the O2
Institute is another milestone for the band and something to check off the
list. ‘If I’m Lucky’ is a rare slower song when Tyler Szalkowski plays
acoustic guitar along to Derek’s softer singing. The room is lit with lighters
and phones. ‘Breaking Ground’ is another fan favourite, while ‘Critical’ and
the very fun ‘Secrets’ wrap up the active show, the latter with a stream of
crowdsurfers coming over the barrier. By the end of the set, various mem-
bers of the band are sweating profusely – and if you’re in the crowd, you
probably are too.
YYYY
SBV
Derek DiScanio (State Champs) Photo By Shari Black Velvet

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