Slaves + Life + Shame @ o2 Academy, 19th November, 2016
It’s without a doubt the coldest day of the year so far, at least that was the case outside of the O2 Academy. Inside was an entirely different kind of heat.
You can tell it has been a while since I’ve ventured out to a gig as security has definitely increased, probably since the scandalous attack in Paris, but I was actually glad about it. After the despair from the traffic-filled drive into Birmingham and a short queue outside the Academy, I finally got to the venue, to be greeted by the dulcet yet strangely upbeat tones of Shame. This South London 5 piece dressed as though they should have been a Weezer tribute band, yet sounded like they had the ghost of Joy Division, with the attitude of The Fall flowing through them. Essentially they were a dark hypnotic punk band that had the attitude that you would expect from a young band. I was completely captivated by the front man’s presence. This was grassroots punk music to the point that they even packed up their own kit from the stage. You can see why Steve Lamacq has talked about them on his show on BBC 6 Music and they are definitely a band to watch for future success. A band that I really want to see again.
Next up was Life “from Hull in Yorkshire” as we were told by their lead singer. I was really excited by this new band. The lead singer reminded me of Jarvis Cocker, captivating from start to finish and he just made you want to watch his every move. Don’t get me wrong, their sound was far from the Britpop joy that Pulp brought us. This was punk music with a distinct message. From a song about “…one of those disgusting human beings Donald Trump” to one where you “go on holiday and see a sheep in a field and go baa baa baa!” you could tell that this was a band that creates a serious message without taking themselves too seriously. The O2 got into their sound and there were mosh pits galore to their track ‘Popular Music’. They ended by exclaiming several times “Let’s go fucking mental Birmingham” and so we did! Life is a band that hopefully will be around for a while – not just for this tour!
When Slaves finally took to the stage, I don’t think I have seen anything quite like it (certainly not for about 10 years). I’ve been a fan of the band for a while now and got to see them for the first time in December last year at the O2 Institute. At the time they had released their debut album and had built a cult following. This tour was celebrating album number two “Take Control” and we were treated to a fantastic set that celebrated both albums with the main focus on their recent record. They came on and burst into ‘Hey’ from their debut album – the entire ground floor of the Academy turned into a sea of pogoing people in complete unison. I am fairly convinced that you could have taken a picture from the back of the room to the front of the room with your camera on the floor. Front man Isaac Holman’s shirt didn’t even last for the duration of the song.
The Kentish band are there to simply entertain – as a two piece they create a sound that any three or four piece band would be jealous of, and have a stage presence worthy of recognition. ‘Play Dead’ was the opening track from album number two and it continued the mosh pits, and after a brief introduction, they followed this with current single ‘Hypnotised’, a frenzied three-minute punk anthem also from their second record, which they actually debuted in their December gig last year. Stu the drummer from support band Life joined the band on stage to perform ‘The People that you Meet’ just to add to the insane drumming that front man Isaac does and it actually really works.
Slaves continue to ensure that they are one of the most watchable bands of the decade with their exuberant energy and wit. Their cult following is certainly growing in size and the Birmingham date appeared to be the biggest date of their recent tour, Isaac gracefully thanked the crowd following my favourite track, ‘Despair and Traffic’ with “This is fucking big. Big up Birmingham.” He went on to thank Gary, a fan that has been to every gig they have done in the area from what I could recollect, “Big up Gary!”
Following a selection of tracks that included ‘Sockets’ from ‘We Are Satisfied’ and ‘Same Again’ from the new record, we were gifted a curve ball track with 15 second micro track ‘Girl Fight’ taken from the Sugar Coated Bitter Truth EP essentially a track that Isaac didn’t want to “…bore (us) with a long story so (skipped) to the end. This is what (he) saw!” After crowd pleasing ‘Where’s Your Car Debbie?’ both Laurie and Isaac proved that they are adding to their musical depth. Laurie switched to playing a synth on ‘STD’s/PHD’s’ and Isaac slapped on the bass for ‘Angelica’ showing as Laurie explained that “He’s what they call in the game a multi-instrumentalist”.
When you are different to the norm it is quite normal that initially, you will get strange looks or comments. As the set goes on it becomes more evident that there is a story behind all of their tracks, one of the standout stories was before the insane 45 seconds of ‘Fuck the HiHat’ – “No one shared our vision. Didn’t have any friends. Playing floors of the pubs to 5 people. They used to shout where’s your hi-hat? Where’s your bassist? What do you say to ignorant fucking cunts? Fuck the HiHat.” I certainly expected there to be a lot of crowd surfing but I would have to agree with Laurie that melancholic track ‘Steer Clear’ wasn’t one that I thought it was going to happen to, “You’re the best crowd we’ve played to. Crowd surfing to that song. You fucking lunatics!”
The band encored with three tracks, two of which happen to be my favourite Slaves tracks. ‘White Knuckle Ride’ proved to be just that, with some of the most intense mosh pits that I have seen in my many years of gig going. The final track of the set was ‘Spit it Out’, the intense crash cymbal filled punk anthem that opens their second album – another track that actually debuted in their live set last year.
In the year since I have seen them, Slaves have grown in stature, although they continue to remain an underground band. I wasn’t too sure how the new album would go down live, but I didn’t need to worry as it certainly impressed. I am fairly convinced that they will be headlining festival stages in the near future. All in all the whole evening was superb, with three bands not afraid to say what they want to say, and in an X-Factor driven mainstream pop culture this is great to see. It seems to be the case that whenever I watch Slaves I know “This is Life!”
Set List
Hey
Play Dead
Hypnotised
People That You Meet
Despair And Traffic
Rich Man
Sockets
Consume Or Be Consumed
Same Again
Girl Fight
Where’s Your Car Debbie?
STD’s/PHD’s
Take Control
Angelica
Fuck The Hi-Hat
Steer Clear
Cheer Up London
The Hunter
Lies
White Knuckle Ride
Spit It Out
Reviewer- Imran Khan
Photographer – Chris Bowley