By Jessica Robinson
The night started with the doors being roughly half an hour late due to security staff not being there on time and the queue turned into a mini photo shoot for various people whilst they waited. It had taken some time but when the doors opened there was a buzz between everyone, and it was evident that people were more than happy to finally be in the venue to see some great bands. At first many people were trying to push their way to the stage, although due to the venue being so small there was no real way anybody could move.
When openers Charming Liars came onto the stage it seemed as though there were crammed in with not much space to move around although they made it work with mostly the singer making movements and the guitarists making small steps. They had a very stripped back dynamic which was enjoyable for the crowd as they seem to love the pop punk sound. There was a great base tone which the vocals complemented well and there was great lighting which was mostly purples and yellows. The backing vocals also complimented the sound and of the band well and the bassist was playing despite being a brace of a sort. The second song had the crowd up and moving due to the spacey and bass driven track although it was difficult to make out what the singer was saying due to the levels within the room. Charming liars overall had managed to keep the hype up within the room and had the crowd moving along and screaming randomly during intervals between songs. During a song called ‘Soul’ they made everyone within the room hold their phones up with the torch on swaying side to side. The use of the electric drum was a sound that fit the band well and added a great dynamic to the show which cause it to be more interesting as the added touches which embellish the songs.
Next were main support Woes. This set personally was a little bit more uninteresting although the same screaming girls from the first set that were screaming between songs seemed to love it. Once again the band members seemed crammed onto the stage in a manner that seemed slightly uncomfortable from movement. The singer came on stage wearing an obnoxiously matched top and shorts combo with a bucket hat meanwhile the rest of the band were dressed reasonably well. The first song makes the crowd jump and scream to the impressive drumming and instrumentation. The singer screamed “This is a punk rock show” and tells everyone to get up and jump which got everyone who can jump moving. It wasn’t quite a punk rock show which was disappointing especially for what you’d expect when a band says they’re punk although it’s to be expected that it is going to be pop punk when their influences clearly show. Movement on stage was an interesting dynamic between members as there was lots of laughing and again not much ability to move around. A girl in the audience constantly were screaming to buy the bucket hat off the singer although he said no to which the audience member seemed disappointed, the band then said that there will be bringing out a merch line which includes bucket hats. Woes then thanked The Faim for bringing them out on tour with them before playing a final song called ‘Money Shoe’ which got people moving.
When The Faim came onto the stage the audience let out a huge scream of excitement after an extended night of waiting for the boys to take the stage. The wait was more than worth it as the crowd was revived of energy once The Faim began with ‘Midland Line’ and although the band has been progressively changing throughout the course of the last few years touring, especially with their new album ‘State of Mind’ released on 13 September , the band’s energy and crowd interaction has remained and grown stronger. During on the songs early on in the set singer Josh Raven had grabbed an audience member’s sunglasses as various members within the crowd were wearing fancy sunglasses so pianist/bassist Stephen Beerkens and guitarist Samuel Tye were able to sport a pair too.
During the set the act played a combination of new songs as well as old songs such as ‘Tongue Tied’ and ‘Humans’ which both went down incredibly well with the crowd. The band’s movement onstage as well as the lighting was a great combination together as it always is whenever I have been to see them showing their consistency with performing as well as ability to improve. ‘Make Believe’ saw many people swaying with their flashlights out on their phones as well as a few people crying during the emotional song. ‘I Can Feel You’ saw Josh crouching down in the build ups to the chorus with the audience and then jumping along with the energy filled song every time. For the whole set the band kept the hyped energy up and had many build ups in dynamic even for the more emotional songs. Drummer Linden Marissen kept everyone tied together and played his parts for all of the songs flawlessly and kept up the crowds energy even though he seems a little more hidden from the band members due to the stage size as well as the fact he is enclosed behind a kit you can certainly tell he is there and enjoying himself. At one point during the set there was a slight issue with the drum kit with a cymbal which was quickly resolved.
The performance was strong on all fronts as the band work as a strong unit and, even though it is evident they push themselves to their highest abilities, they still have so much fun together onstage and interaction between Josh and Stephen showcased this strongly. Final song of the night ‘Summer is a Curse’ had everyone in the room jumping and screaming along even louder and harder as they knew it would be the last opportunity of the night to go wild with the band and it certainly was a great atmosphere to be a part of. The band interacted so much with one another and Josh certainly made it clear how much he wanted everyone to go crazy.
Despite a few issues within the show such as technical issues with the drum kit as well as doors being later than intended the show was energy filled and everyone seemed to have a great night. Upon exit many people from the crowd stayed behind to talk to members from the first two acts as they stuck around selling their merchandise. All the bands played great energy filled sets and it was ensured that there would be something that nearly everyone would like all night. It was certainly a night which was full of energy from both the bands as well as the crowd and a show which was enjoyed by all. It seems as though The Faim are in high demand to return sooner to Scotland than their next show in Glasgow on 9 December.
- All content © Über Rock. Not to be reproduced in part or in whole without the express written permission of Über Rock.