Page 47 - Black Velvet Issue 96

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ESCAPE THE FATE / SET TO STUN / SHIELDS – LONDON KOKO, 09.02.18
Friday night gigs at London’s historic and iconic KOKO club see the venue becoming a nightclub shortly after the conclusion of the headline set,
so the doors open early. Nonetheless, the Camden venue is far from empty when things get underway which is in no small part due to the fans’ ea-
gerness to welcome American rockers Escape The Fate back to the capital for the first time in almost two years but you also hope that another reason
so many have made an effort to arrive so early is to show their support and respect to Shields.
What should have been a memorable appearance for this hometown band will still live forever, albeit for very different reasons, as they open the
night barely a week after breaking the tragic news that guitarist George Christie had taken his own life. There are no words to describe the strength
and courage it must have taken for them to perform on this evening and given the circumstances it would be grossly unfair to offer any kind of judgement
other than to say if you were unaware of their situation you would likely think this was just another day at the office, which is hopefully the biggest com-
pliment possible and the greatest tribute they could have made to their fallen comrade.
Described as a three-piece sci-fi hardcore band SET TO STUN hit KOKO like a ball of fire, in particular the energy exhibited by Taylor Wong is in-
toxicating and it is often hard to take your eyes off him as he tears across the stage and on and off it like a mini tornado trying to break free of KOKO.
Their sound is perhaps just as oddball as the words they use to describe their band and this truly has a bit of everything here but once you get away
from the visual element of this trio of terrors it all comes across as a little disjointed and doesn’t completely click with the audience but what does click
is Taylor’s heartfelt tribute to the aforementioned George and his message to all those within ear shot and the roar of approval from those below and
above the stage is one of the loudest of this emotional night.
Tonight’s headliners are another example of a band with many descriptions to their sound, a sound which has evolved over the years since their
emo-based roots but what is clear is that the adjustments made to their tunes have been so subtle and well-placed that fans are lapping up everything
on offer here despite the fact that the age of the song means it could be completely different to the one before or the next they play. The passion those
on hand have for the band is immense and singer Craig Mabbitt in particular is fuelled by it as he spearheads the troops in blistering fashion and they
kick off with a trifecta of
tracks from their ‘This War is
Ours’ album, an album which
produces a significant chunk
of this 15-song set list which,
crammed into little more than
an hour means a pulsating
60 or so-minute assault on
the senses which Escape the
Fate stomp and charge
through like there is no to-
morrow. ‘This War is Ours
(The Guillotine II)’, ‘You Are
So Beautiful’ and ’10 Miles
Wide’ act together as a blind-
ing start to proceedings,
each building from the mo-
mentum of the one before
both inside the band and with
their audience and their reac-
tion to the third song is a
clear indication that we are in
for something special.
What helps make the
evening so special is the live
introduction of material from
forthcoming album ‘I Am
Human’, the title track dedi-
cated to the members of
Shields, both past and pres-
ent, and alongside ‘Do You
Love Me’ and ‘Broken Heart’
they not only add even more
variety to the Escape The
Fate show but more quality
as well and, despite recent
additions to the band’s CV,
they are welcomed with just
as much enthusiasm from
those on hand as any other
song they deliver here which
is hugely encouraging for the
future.
Wrapping the evening up
with a stunning cover of My
Chemical Romance’s ‘Dead!’
and the encore of ‘One For
The Money’ they leave their
audience hungry for more
but with things looking so
positive with their new mate-
rial hopefully it won’t be quite
so long a wait until their re-
turn.
YYYYY
Michael Coventry

Craig Mabbitt (Escape The Fate)
Photo By Brandon Thrift
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