Page 45 - Black Velvet Issue 97

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SUMO CYCO / SKARLETT RIOT – LONDON BOSTON MUSIC ROOM 26.03.18
The UK has barely recovered from
the storm dubbed The Beast from the
East when another starts tearing its way
across the country. The difference with
this one is it hasn’t brought any heavy
snowfall, nor was it predicted by any
weatherman, yet the chaos caused is
equally high. But anyone who had caught
more than a passing glimpse of Cana-
dian-born Sumo Cyco on any of their re-
cent support shows on these shores
would have expected nothing less than
an F5 Tornado when they returned for
their headline run.
While they might not share the same
kind of intensity and carnage as the
evening’s headliners, Skarlett Riot do a
fine job of getting the packed Boston
Music Room in London rocking. When
Black Velvet reviewed the UK four-
piece’s new album ‘Regenerate’ we
spoke of their increased confidence and
this is immediately apparent from the mo-
ment the band step on stage, spear-
headed by commanding frontwoman
Skarlett who is barely recognisable as
the same young lady from a few years
back. Oozing with this new found mojo,
they blast away with ‘Break’ which, just
as it does on the album, gets the set off
to a fabulous start. Powered by the
mightily impressive drum skills of Luke
Oglesby, which deservedly make for
more than just a simple backbeat to their
music, and fine-tuned by the equally high
skills of his brother Danny on lead guitar,
Skarlett is free to do what she does best.
With the support of her bandmates she
offers an unneeded reminder that they
are one of the best female-fronted acts in
the UK right now. All but two of the seven
songs come from ‘Regenerate’ and the remaining two are from their
most recent EP, underlining that their focus is firmly on their newer,
heavier material and so it should be because these are without ques-
tion the best songs they have ever produced, ‘Closer’ being a set high-
light where the slightly slower pace allows Skarlett’s vocals to shine
even brighter before ‘Warrior’ completes their night’s work in hard-hit-
ting fashion meaning that while almost everyone has come here to see
Sumo Cyco, there is a very good chance many will be making a point
of going to see Skarlett Riot in the future.
Sumo Cyco soon make their entrance and do so as a ball of fire
which shows no sign of being put out over their 14 song-strong, 75-
minute performance featuring a near even split of material from each
of their albums plus a hugely popular cover of the Red Hot Chili Pep-
pers’ ‘Give It Away’ which is barely recognisable against the original
and a great example of the band’s creativity. Sumo Cyco are truly a
band which needs to be seen live to be fully appreciated because as
crazy and as wild as their songs sound on stereo it is no comparison
to how they are in the flesh. Put bluntly, they are completely bat-crap
crazy. And it’s awesome. At their core is lead singer Skye Sweetnam
or Sever as she is known within the band, and her energy is not only
mindblowing but it is highly contagious, not only infecting the rest of
the band but the entire audience as well and right from the opening
notes of ‘Sleep Tight’ she has her Cycos in the palm of her hand.
Things really step up with ‘Free Yourself’ where the band is joined on stage by a crowd-surfing woman who is passed their way by the hands of
the audience and her unexpected presence on stage is both welcomed and applauded by the band and perfectly captures the spontaneity of Sumo
Cyco. This continues with ‘Fighter’, arguably the highlight of the night, made all the more memorable by Skye joining the crowd on the floor atop of
Matt ‘MD13’ Drake’s shoulders and despite the craziness of the scene there is no drop in the quality of their performance and this continues when
Skye heads for the bar and asks, very politely it should be noted, for “a shot of Jack” which is duly downed on top of the bar from where she continues
the song to the sheer delight of everyone on hand. This proves hard to top but that doesn’t stop them from trying as things start to wind up with ‘Move
Mountains’ in which the audience are directed to crouch on the floor and while there have been gigs in the past where more have followed such an in-
struction, Skye may be challenging the leader boards here with the highest percentage to obey her request. She shows her gratitude to this and the
explosion that follows and genuinely shakes the Boston Music Room with some crowd surfing of her own in the concluding ‘Undefeated’ and again
her performance remains on point. It’s a fitting ending to a wild night in London where Sumo Cyco are undoubted winners of the evening and leave
poised for greater victories in the future.
YYYY
Michael Coventry
Sever AKA Skye Sweetnam (Sumo Cyco) Photo By Andy Nicklin
CONCERTS