WEDNESDAY 13
The Brook, Southampton, UK - 2nd April 2009
Line-up: Wednesday 13, Glamour Of The Kill, The Chelsea Smiles
Review by Jon Wilde, pics by Jon Wilde
My good buddy Steve and I were heading to the Wednesday 13 gig to record an interview with the man himself (to be featured on this website soon), so it seemed only fair to stick around and have a listen to the music too!
The Brook is a great venue with capacity for around 300 people downstairs and a similar number on the balcony. Sadly, as the gig was only half sold out, upstairs was closed. Fortunately, because of the design of the place, there was no loss of atmosphere. In fact, it would be fair to say the place was rather lively!
First on the stage were The Chelsea Smiles. We were a big fan of the recently released album, but didn't know what to expect from the live show. In the end they were pretty good. Front man Skye Vaughn Jayne, who does the singing but not the talking to the crowd (strangely) is a funny character. Physically, he's like a cross between Mick Jagger and Julian Clary. He's ridiculously camp, but hugely characterful and a great performer.
Musically the band were as smooth as honey and nicely entertaining. They reproduced the best songs from the album with aplomb and did a fine job of keeping the crowd amused. They aren't necessarily 'my thing' live, being neither aggressively heavy or overly melodious, but I'd certainly be happy if I saw them again :)
Glamour Of The Kill were a complete change musically. Where The Chelsea smiles played a punk orientated contemporary rock, GOTK were full-on metal mixed with, er, half-on pop. I have to be honest and say I've never come across their music before. Their intricately styled hair and fresh faces don't prepare you for the noise that emanates from the speakers.
GOTK really do know how to do heavy! They are reminiscent of Trivium and Bullet For My Valentine. The way they got the entire crowd head banging was bloody impressive. The way they got the mosh pit going so apesh*t was, well, just bloody. Quite a few noses didn't make it through the night...
Drummer Ben is already an absolute master of his profession, whilst guitarist Mike is simply awesome. These North of England guys are still young and are already ripping new ones nightly. The combination of broken kick drum beats, riffage you could kill people with and delicate harmonies and lead singing was a real surprise. It's been said in the press many times that this band are going places. At The Brook they showed exactly why they are earning all these compliments.
Wednesday 13 is of course built for the live scene. His music is perfectly agreeable on record, but live it's something else. He doesn't play the heaviest, most technically gifted sound. What he does is give you a 10,000 decibel party you'll never forget. Songs like 'Put You Death Mask On' and 'I Love To Say F*ck' are just stunning. Actually everything he does is such a barrel of ball-breaking fun there's nothing not to like. He is the master of the live gig, and for that we doff our blood soaked hats in respect!
If you were at this gig and would like to add your comments, head to the Contact Rock Realms page.
