Well, it’s been a busy ole time lately and so many things I intended reviewing/previewing so Spiral Architects update, Wooden Shjips album review, Sons and Daughters live, Bob Dylan film review are all to come… or maybe not…. but for the time being:
KORN – Brixton – 25th January.
Having missed the first support, those up next were Flyleaf and they seemed rather cool, although Brixton’s sound was unusually a little off at times. I think Flyleaf would have gone down better in a small venue but all credit to their stage presence, with no amp/monitor/drum kit too high for the bass player to jump off, and jump off he did. Vocals reminded me of Aimee Echo (Human Waste Project and the Start) which is a good thing and I will keep an eye out for them in the future.
So onto the headliners, a band who seemed to have evolved from their early debut of stripped down raw guitar/bass/drum/vocal approach to a more composed and produced outfit with an array of samples, keyboards, effects etc which is all cool stuff but it’s actually been the MTV unplugged that I’ve found most hard to put down these days… tonight however was definitely electric.
With the band going from a five piece to a four piece a few years back and then for the last album no longer having their own drummer, it was (or rather wasn’t) a bit of a joke when we heard guitarist Munky had left the tour leaving Korn as officially bass and vocals, so it was a big surprise to see the stage filled with an 8 piece band who to be fair were damn good.
Pulling from albums across the years, I was pleased and rather excited to hear old tracks such as Fagot, Shoots and Ladders (complete with bagpipes) and ADIDAS stand out as classics alongside latter day songs such as I’m Coming Undone and also stuff off the more melodic latest album all sounding awesome too. The additional musicians/backing singers etc in the end gave it all a bigger depth and unlike my concerns prior to going it didn’t seem to matter one bit that it was less than half of the line up that I myself know Korn to be.
www.flyleafmusic.com
www.korn.com
30 Seconds to Mars – Southampton Guildhall – 4th February
My mate had asked if I wanted to go some time back and I said yes although not having a clue who they were. We got tickets, he leant me the albums and I thought mmm…. It will probably be alright live…. Oh how wrong I could be.
Firstly, just to confirm I did have a cool night, support I thought were really good although I don’t like the name (Lost Alone) and I did buy their CD which unfortunately I’ve only listened to the once. They were a three piece with loads of energy and charisma, kind of Therapy? like riffs with more shouty / screamy vocals and I liked them. The CD is ok, probably wouldn’t have bought it if I saw them on MTV, but live they were out to impress and even if no-one else cared they won me over for sure and it’s always good to discover a new band.
Then after much waiting around, being surrounded by an apparently sold out (didn’t look it) crowd of more diversity than I expected… we weren’t the oldest people there, although some of the older folk may have been parental units for the youngsters… a great intro with cool lighting and shadowed images, the curtain dropped and it was time for Jared Leto’s ego to take the stage.
For those of you who don’t know, 30 Seconds from Mars is Hollywood actor Jared Leto’s band he formed with his brother (who was a damn good drummer and apart from the intro was the definite highlight for me). Jared Leto is an actor who all the girls fancy, which is fair enough, but on that basis it appears he can go on a sell out tour, with talent being secondary to looks you may as well go see a Robbie Williams tribute act.
They did go down well though, just not with me personally. Bands like to have sing-a-longs and hand claps, but is it really necessary to have crowd participation in EVERY song and sometimes more than once? …and the shouts of “go mental for me Southampton”, is all well and good if only you had a song heavy enough to go mental to. I love all types of music, but it’s just when a band acts like they’re something they’re not that it’s difficult to appreciate where you’re supposed to “go mental”… or maybe I’m just old… either way, it wasn’t long until they were gone and it was time to fall asleep on the journey home.
great reviews Teeth, look forward to the Wooden Shjips one too!
B