Page 51 - Black Velvet Issue 95

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WATERPARKS / CHAPEL / THE BOTTOM LINE – BIRMINGHAM ACADEMY 2, 29.09.17
It’s Waterparks’ first ever headline UK tour and it’s sold out. Waterparks mania has already begun, with some fans queuing at the venue from the
early hours, doing the whole tour, and even bringing a cardboard ‘Baby Awsten’.
The Bottom Line are the perfect band to open up for Waterparks. They’re full of energy and bounce. Opening with the Goldfinger-esque ‘I Still
Hate You’, this is fist-punching, pop-punk goodness. The only downside is that their set is short – only five songs in total – we’d love to see these guys
play for twice as long. Their set includes a cover of Weezer’s ‘Teenage Dirtbag’, which makes Wheatus sound better and ballsier than they have in a
long while. Frontman Callum Amies sings ‘Happy Birthday’ to a fan and they get the crowd to crouch down before their final song, ‘Record Player’, a
song that wouldn’t sound out of place in New Found Glory’s setlist. The Bottom Line guys are definitely a great hope for UK pop punk. They may not
be reinventing the wheel, but they’re keeping it well-oiled and in tip-top condition, ready for the long journey ahead.
Chapel are an interesting duo
signed to Rise Records. Their
Facebook ‘About’ section says ‘we
write music our parents like’.
Maybe they have hip parents. Ours
probably wouldn’t. The combo from
Athens, Georgia, sees Carter
Hardin at the mic and Kortney Grin-
wis behind the drumkit with a blend
of pre-recorded dancey, electronic,
indie pop music as the basis of their
sound. They stand out like a sore
thumb on a bill with Waterparks and
The Bottom Line, although the
crowd gives them approving ap-
plause. There’s a bit of a PVRIS
feel to them; they perform a cover
of Radiohead’s ‘Creep’, which
gives you an indication of where
they’re coming from, and it makes
a change to see a female drummer
who also gets more of the spotlight.
Carter mentions that she’s ‘under
the weather’, but Kortney doesn’t
let that affect the performance and
does a great job on the drums.
Singing at the top of their lungs
the moment opening song, ‘Plum
Island’, kicks in, Waterparks’ fan-
base is very enthusiastic for the
ever-growing band, with fans in the
front row even holding a cardboard
cut-out of vocalist Awsten Knight.
Songs such as ‘Crave’ and ‘Stupid
For You’ can do no wrong with their
quirky catchiness and poptastic
choruses. “Oh my God, I’m this wet
already, I was not ready to see
that,” says the tongue-in-cheek Aw-
sten, looking at the sweat on his
arm before the band play ‘Dizzy’, a
song Awsten says, “was not a sin-
gle at all; never was, never will be”.
The main setlist is ten songs in
length, shorter than you may ex-
pect, but featuring everything you
want and need, such as the lus-
trous ‘Mad All The Time’, the dance
party that is ‘Royal’ and the daz-
zling ‘No Capes’ from their ‘Cluster’
EP. At one point, Awsten asks
everyone to check that no-one’s
passed out by their feet, telling
everyone to look down at their feet
and check, which is quite funny.
The band end their show playing
’21 Questions’ for the encore. Aw-
sten starts the song on his own with
an acoustic guitar, with bandmates
Geoff Wigington and Otto Wood
joining as the song kicks in. The
only question on the audience’s lips
after this will be “When will Water-
parks return again?”

YYYY
Shari Black Velvet
Awsten Knight (Waterparks)
Photo By Shari Black Velvet

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