Fightstar + Go:Audio + We Are The Ocean + more @ Wolverhampton Wulfrun Hall – 9th August 2008
First up were Rolo Tomassi, who grabbed the crowd’s attention with a brutal scream from their tiny singer and didn’t let go until they were done. Having a more traditionally punk sound than the rest of the bill they were not playing to their usual crowd, and their set seemed a little off [as admitted on their blog], but their attention-grabbing synth-flavoured hardcore at least ensured that everyone in the room was awake by the end of their set.
Following Rolo Tomassi were Furthest Drive Home, a very clean pop-punk band with catchy summer tracks that wouldn’t sound out of place on the soundtrack for the OC. Lover Boy had a couple of people singing along, and Forget His Facade has the sort of hooks that worm into the brain to reappear three days later. They sound a bit The Academy Is… circa Almost Here, and would fit in well among the FBR bands: decide for yourselves whether that’s a good thing or not.
Midas opened as usual with Sirens, but sounded like a much bigger band in the Civic than the last time I saw them at the Academy. The vocals weren’t as muddy and as such tracks like Damage Control and Red Shoes were cleaner and more impressive. They basically played the same set, but it went down well with the growing crowd, particularly Don’t Dance and Captain Kirk.
The sight of We Are The Ocean‘s name on the projector at the back of the stage was enough to start the shrieking. Almost post-hardcore with an ear for tracks you can shout along to, We Are The Ocean may not be selling anything new but what they do is done well. Ready For The Fall and a new track, There’s Something In The Water, were really well-received, while Nothing Good Has Happened Yet invited pits to open up across the hall as people remembered how to move.
Considering the previous bands and the headliners, Go:Audio were another odd choice for the bill, with their radio-friendly electro-pop. Their songs were the type that convinced me I’d heard them a hundred times before, but in an inoffensive sort of way, and it clearly didn’t matter to the flood of teenage girls that cram at what passes for the Civic’s barrier. She Left Me, their latest single, was greeted with a wave of hormonal screams from those wearing the corresponding t-shirts. The rest of their set was much of the same, late nineties faux-punk accompanied by eighties fashion and stealthy choruses that earworm into the consciousness.
The incredibly grumpy men behind me finally brighten up when Fightstar take to the stage at 10pm. They opened with Palahniuk’s Laughter and people started to come into the main hall from the bar, just in time for the circle pit that consumed over a third of the hall when Grand Unification Part 1 begins. Simpson’s voice is yet more impressive live, and part of what sets Fightstar apart from other bands in the scene. They have an enthusiastic fanbase, all raised fists and shouting along, while more than one bored girlfriend propped up the bar. Deathcar was kept in reserve, as strong tracks should be, and when it came the crowd rocked out the way it had been threatening to do all evening. With the b-sides/rarities album Alternate Endings out on August 11, it looks like there’s still more to come from Fightstar, and an audience greedy to listen.
Review – Jack Briggs
Photos – Lee Allen