Mindless Self Indulgence + Templeton Pek @ Birmingham Academy – 25th April 2008
Less than a year ago, New York’s Mindless Self Indulgence were playing a far from sold out Wolverhampton Wulfrun, yet on this tour their sudden rise to fame sees them in front of a crowd of well over 2000. Their fans seem to be getting younger, probably due to their appearances in Kerrang and bassist, Lynz’s marriage to My Chemical Romance’s Gerard Way, however tonight they are as loud, offensive and entertaining as ever.
First up are Birmingham’s own Templeton Pek who receive a warm welcome from their home crowd. Their sound is easily likeable, many of the audience who may not have known of them before quickly getting into their fast paced rock and catchy choruses. The rich double vocals and racing riffs of debut single, ‘If All Else Fails’ will surely see the success of the three piece grow and grow, especially if they continue to secure support slots like tonight’s.
The hysteria begins as Mindless Self Indulgence hit the stage, and from then on The Academy descends into chaos. From the jagged opening riff of ‘Shut Me Up’ to the end of the set, singer Little Jimmy Urine tears around the stage, launching wooden blocks at band mates and claiming, ‘I heard they’re closing this place so I don’t care what I do to it’. His huge stage presence demands focus on him at all times, the rest of the band constantly competing for attention from both the crowd and the photographers at the front of the stage.
A large part of the set is made up of material from new album, ‘If’ which is still yet to be released, however due to its availability on Myspace, most of the crowd already know the new songs word for word. The same can’t be said for the lucky fan who is pulled up on stage to join in with one of the band’s best known songs, ‘Faggot’, only to not know a single lyric, although it certainly adds to the unpredictability of the show.
The abuse flows freely; everyone from the barely teenage fans in the front row to the disabled area gets taunted at some point. As the back of Jimmy’s jacket warns, ‘No One Is Safe’, but then anyone coming to an MSI show must know what they are in for from a band who are known for being about as far from politically correct as it gets. With songs in their set like ‘Bitches’ and ‘Stupid MF’, its fairly obvious that they are a band with a sense of humour, a quality which anyone who calls themselves a fan has to share.
The energy on stage doesn’t let up for a second; if there’s something to jump off, Jimmy will hurl himself from it mid song as Lynz braves climbing out into the crowd, having to be rescued by security as the fans start to pull her in with them. The set ends with the furious, ‘I Hate Jimmy Page’ followed by one last bid for attention from Jimmy as he mimes along to ‘Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious’ in full theatrical style.
Following the gig, the band appear again for a massive signing session, meeting fans and scrawling their names on everything from shoes to faces. The fact that they have carried on this tradition from the old days, despite the rocketing numbers of fans at their gigs, along with their indie label ethics should silence any claims that Mindless Self Indulgence are selling out. They may be becoming increasingly popular, but tonight’s show has proven that their success is well deserved.
Review – Helen Catchpowle
Photos – Si Catcpowle