The Blackout
I’d only heard bits and bobs from The Blackout before this week, but seeing them live in Manchester on Wednesday night has made me completely fall head over heels in love with Sean Smith and his band of entertainers.
Not only that, but for once in the history of music, there were three pretty decent support acts on too… first up being the enigmatic rock infused Bob Marley sounds of The Urgency, who whipped the crowed into shape as the room began to grow with eager to please emo kids.
Frontman Tyler Gurwicz lends his mysterious and enigmatic aura to the whole event whilst drummer Guerin Blask bands around with his massive biceps and drop dead gorgeous Kevin Coffrin kept up the bass.
Despite not having heard of these guys before, I was straight over to their merch stand to get my paws on their CD - it's not often that a band has such a profound effect on me, nevermind the opening band - but these guys blew my little socks right off.
Next up were Hollywood Undead, who carry themselves as a bit of an underground, menacing act. Their faceless appearance, covered by masks and bandanas is intimidating, and for a band from Los Angeles, comparative to the thugs tearing the city apart in the riots of 1992.
Still, their brand of hip-hop infused metal is popular with the young crowd, who are sold on their visual identity. The band open with 'Undead', which modestly is a song about themselves and how amazing they are, pointing out they have tattoos, drink-drive Cadillacs with brass knuckles in the back and will "rock the whole place." The set appears to be getting more and more immature as time progresses.
That's not to say Hollywood Undead's music isn't infectious. Disregarding the actual lyrics, the deliberately aggressive tone and beats are reflected in the mosh, with a full circle pit opening and a steady stream of crowd surfers heading over the barrier. How could the crowd not react to a act made up of parts named Charlie Scene, Johnny 3 Tears, J-Dog, Da Kurlzz, Deuce and Funny Man?
But astonishingly, after only a couple of songs, five of the six members remove their masks, destroying any air of mystery they had managed to acquire. It seems the masks are simply for effect, and aren't part of the ethos of the act. Other bands have managed to pull off hiding their identity; Mushroomhead, Mudvayne, and GWAR to name a few, but none as famous as Slipknot or Kiss. In this respect however, the difference between Hollywood Undead and Slipknot is that the latter managed to keep the masks for a decade before removing them. Not two songs.
There's no doubt about it though, Hollywood Undead entertain, and are set to be around for a bit. There are no other bands on the scene like them, and this could well signal a new era of collaborative metal and hip-hop. Nu-metal has returned, only this time, it's heavier.
Second only to The Blackout lads were Silverstein, the is a five-piece post-hardcore band from Burlington, Ontario; who I imagine some of the folk here were a little more excited about seeing than the main act themselves!
I, in particular was rather excited to finally check out Billy Hamilton - not the sportsman but the Silverstein bassist - because he had been the object of my affections for quite some time now, and seeing him and his mates ‘bringing it’ in Manchester was just phenomenal.
With four epic albums under there belts, Silverstein are a band who really know how to work a crowd and put on a show for the paying public - from the rockstar lunges against the monitors to the frantic rushing around the tiny postage stamp sized stage.
To (vaguely) quote the infamous Peter Kaye - watching Silverstein live is just like listening to your battered CD that’s been played far too many times - proving just why they are an incredible live act, right at the top of their game.
Then came the moment most people had all been waiting for as Sean Smith, Gavin Butler and their band of Welsh followers bombarded onto the stage for a 45-minute blast of relentless energy-infused post-hardcore joy.
Playing all their favourites from new album, The Best In Town as well as a few of old favourites, the lads whip the crowd into shape as they deliver scream after scream into their pink and green slime shaped microphones - with Sean expertly matching his pink mic with pink Nikes, which clearly gives him extra Kudos with the fashion conscious party-goers.
To be honest, it’s great to see a hardcore band that isn’t led by a brooding man who acts like a cocky bloke every second, as Sean and Gavin swan around the stage, talking to the crowd in between songs and even getting everyone to kneel on the floor at one point - hmm, haven’t I seen this somewhere before? Atreyu on the Taste Of Chaos Tour 2008 did exactly the same thing.
Aside from that, the band do a great job at showing just why the UK is home to an immense collection of live acts these days, well apart from Pete Doherty, who they call an “overrated pretentious twat” - I guess you can’t like everyone these days eh Sean? And tonight you can say what you like, because you really are, The Best In Town.
See our The Blackout Photos here
FemaleFirst - Ruth Harrison
Photos by Andy Squire