Feed The Rhino + The Howling + Zoax @ Nottingham Rock City – 8th May 2014
Feed The Rhino are currently on the road for their ‘Wild Weekends’ tour, seven dates up and down the country just prior to their festival dates for this year and the release of their much anticipated follow up to ‘The Burning Sons’, ‘The Sorrow And The Sound’, due for release on June 16th. With The Howling and ZOAX in tow, tonight Rock City Basement in Nottingham was not only treated to three top bands but also a front man battle of the beards.
As this tour didn’t visit the Second City this time around, we ventured over into the East Midlands to check them out.
It would appear that certain cosmic forces are conspiring against me seeing a full ZOAX set and tonight those forces manifested in the form of a road closure, meaning that as I arrived front man Adam Carroll was already in full flow. He was stood atop an equipment case in the midst of the Rock City Basement audience, decked out in his fitted suit and bowtie, apparently attempting to garrote himself with the cord from his mic. It didn’t take me long to realise that’s all par for the course with ZOAX.
Having already listened through their EP ‘XIII’ a number of times, I was looking forward to seeing how their stuff translated live and I certainly wasn’t disappointed. Their juxtaposition of grooving melodies and staccato percussion seems to work even better live with Adam almost conducting the crowd through each track. His vocals were filled with passion and drive and his almost tranquil cleans flow faultlessly while still sounding edgy. Keeping track of him as he bounced around the entire venue was no mean feat, at times delivering vocals from other rooms, sat at the back with the audience or using members of the crowd as human mic stands. Adam’s performance, accentuated by his thick brogue, is most certainly a highlight of the ZOAX performance, but it by no means overshadows the rest of the band, whose performance this evening was spot on.
Beard rating 8/10
I’d not heard anything of The Howling before tonight and was immediately intrigued by their electronic, almost dubstep-like intro. I quickly realised that the electronic influence is very much part of their sound, including the use of some interesting guitar effects and ‘wubby’ synth tracks, all wrapped around some no-holds-barred punk rock. For me, that punk sound is the main attraction and best when front man Blacky’s vocals are at their most raw and the electronic elements have subsided. In comparison to his peers for the evening, Blacky’s performance was a little stationary, but solid non-the-less, and between tracks he seemed very appreciative of the turnout at Rock City.
Highlights for me from their very tight set were ‘Cut The Rope’ and ‘Feed the Panic’, the latter of which is catchy beyond belief.
I would say, with their hard-edged yet accessible sound, tight performance and growing fan base (including the likes of Noel Fielding and Tom Meighan) that we’re going to hear a lot more from The Howling in the near future.
Beard rating 7/10
The stage rebuild for Feed The Rhino took a little while, and included the gaffer taping of everything to within an inch of its life. Those of you that have seen FTR live before will know that this is a necessity when Lee Tobin and the guys are around, as it would seem their energy on stage is akin to an animal that has been caged against it’s will. Lee started the demonstration of FTR stagecraft as he meant to go on, using the lengthy intro to make his way onto to Rock City Basement bar and explode into ‘Flood The System’. From there, speaker stacks, stage monitors, equipment cases and walls were all fair game and were used and abused throughout the set. We’re all used to bands asking reluctant members of the audience at the back of the room to get closer to the stage, but it was the first time I’d seen a front man physically carrying people into the melee, a technique which wonders! Lee is truly one of the great front men out there right now, and for me delivers a live performance up there with letlive.’s Jason Butler and should be on everyone’s must see list.
There are bands that rely on physical shenanigans as a gimmick to carry an otherwise lackluster performance, but that couldn’t be further from the truth with FTR. Their physicality comes across as a true expression of their musical energy and apparent love for what they do. Likewise, their music goes much further than the generic chugging riffs and bland breakdowns that some of their contemporaries are currently offering up. Don’t get me wrong it’s still hugely aggressive and seriously heavy, but it’s much more than that, it’s full of intricate layers, all of which are there in their live performance.
After rounding up their set, a brief break lead into an encore of ‘The Butchers’ where Lee instructed the crowd to make room for guitarists James and Sam Colley, who made full use of their wireless setups by claiming the pit for their own as they smashed out the final track. In all, the only thing I would have liked is for the gig to be a little better attended, it’s clear that some people really don’t know what they are missing.
Beard rating 9/10
FTR Setlist:
Flood The System
Deny & Offend
Left For Ruins
Burning Sons
Give Up
Behind The Pride
Mr Red Eye
Tides
Nothing Lost
The Butchers
Review & photos – Steve Kilmister