By DJ Astrocreep
It’s not so often that Deftones head over to these shores so what better way to celebrate Valentine’s Day with my special one (my hand) than by having our very own #Valentones (sic) with some live music. With a couple of very able supports in Drug Church and Denzel Curry, the crowd is very busy already when I arrive not long after doors. There’s just enough time to settle in my seat before the lights come down and our first act is on.
Drug Church are not new kids on the block, either by experience nor sound, and they get straight into action. Frontman Patrick Kindlon immediately tries to get the burgeoning crowd on board with his affable manner and does an excellent job of keeping the momentum going as guitars retune between songs and drawing plenty of cheers and response. The post hardcore unit have been going for 15 years at this point and that experience shows as they do a good job of filling a very big stage and presenting themselves as very much at home, playing absolutely tight as fuck, too.
Whether he’s demanding circle pits or 150 crowd surfers over the barrier, Kindlon is constantly on the mic, not letting the energy drop at all. The crowd are responding well all around the arena and it’s good to see it so busy so early for them. Even when they get to the last song of their 30 min set, the crowd are bouncing and loving life. Whether they are all known celebrants of the Church already or converts on the night, it’s a great opening set of the night that is enjoyed by quite a few down on the floor.
Denzel Curry takes to the stage and is quite different from Drug Church before. While rap isn’t generally my thing, I can appreciate they are really talented and very good at what they do. There is a good segment of the crowd that are clearly already fans and this helps carry in the general vibes of the show.
There’s a slightly weird pause before starting into an excerpt of Drowning Pool’s ‘Bodies’, though this aside, it’s a good performance and easier to appreciate than I’d maybe wondered about prior to the show. We even get a large pit just before the end of the set, instigated by Curry, who also reads the riot act on pit etiquette.
The spitfire delivery of Curry helps to hold the energy of Drug Church, despite the quite wide musical shift, in a manner I haven’t really encountered since watching Sugar Hill Gang a number of years ago. His delivery is excellent, almost enunciating while still spitting out the bars, while the tightness with his DJ is comparable to watching an experienced band knowing each other inside out for their timings.
It is actually refreshing to see that a lot of the crowd give them a good chance to impress and the room is all but locked out by the time we are even halfway through their set. It’s a very good introduction to an artist I may not have appreciated as much without the live setting.
Deftones are another band that have been around for a while but it’s a remarkable recent rise that has seen them move from the Manchester Apollo to the Co-Op Live arena, almost six times the size, and still selling it out. The band are absolutely tight and show no real nerves or such in the venue difference, seeming to fully embrace it, with a huge backdrop video screen providing a fully audio/visual experience for the evening, just to make it as immersive as possible.
The capacity crowd is absolutely up for it, having been well entertained already. They are loud and absolutely loving life right the way through the hour and a half set of favourites and newer tracks. The band themselves are really tight, fully primed through their set and not missing much at all, barely enough to realize it is fully live even. There’s not that much direct interaction with the crowd but that’s perfectly ok. This show is about the music, the ambience and a collective experience full of warmth against the wintery weather outside.
Launching into ‘Be Quiet And Drive (Far Away)’ is quite an opener, with even Moreno getting a touch carried away with it himself. He quickly regains his composure though, with ‘Rocket Skates’ and ‘Diamond Eyes’ only a couple of tracks later.
The middle of the set is where the latest album starts to creep into the set, while ‘Rosemary’ provides half of a short break in a run of five newer tracks. ‘Sextape’ and ‘Change (In The House Of Flies)’ come in just before the end of the main set, with a triple encore culminating in ‘7 Words’ to take us fully back to the beginning.
A fantastic night of music all around.
- Photos by the author.
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