Tag: Punk Pop

Biffy Clyro | El Rey Theatre | 2/14/14

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What band in Europe is big enough to headline over Nine Inch Nails at the  world’s oldest music festival in 2013? Biffy Clyro. Never heard of them? Well, you should.

Formed back in 1995 in Kilmarnock, Scotland, Biffy Clyro has released 6 albums, and sold over 1.1 millions copies of their albums in the United Kingdom. Back in the United Kingdrom, they sell out venues as large as the Staples Center which seats 20,000. On Valentine’s day, they played a venue with a capacity of 771; but they rocked it like it was an arena show.

Waiting for the band to take the stage, I noticed a couple standing in front of me wearing home made shirts that had the words “MON THE BIFFY” emblazoned on the back. I asked them about the shirts, and as soon as they started explaining the meaning of the phrase (a popular saying originated by fans which essentially is short for “C’mon Biffy Clyro”), I noticed their thick European accents.

As it turns out, they were loyal fans from Scotland who decided to follow the band to the states to catch their gigs. They are engaged to get married, and as it turns out they actually met at a Biffy Clyro show. I told them that this was my first time I watching the band perform live, and they assured me that it would not disappoint. They were right.

When the lights of the venue dimmed, and Sister Sledge’s song “We Are Family” (a song that the band plays before every live show) pumped through the house speakers, the audience erupted in cheers. The band took the stage, and immediately exploded into their set with such a fierce energy that it was quite exhilarating to watch. It was almost as if they were playing to prove to those in attendance that they were a band that needed to be noticed. And I noticed.

The band consists of  five players (with Simon Neil on lead vocals and guitar, James Johnston on bass and vocals, and Ben Johnston on drums in the forefront,  and Mike Vennart on additional guitar and Richard Ingram on keyboard in the shadows), and their sound was full, lush and expertly played. Both Simon and James demonstrated their masterful showmanship using the entire stage, and engaging all parts of the audience throughout the set. These guys know how to put on a live show and their repertoire was filled with raucous, pop-friendly, crowd pleasing anthems. I wouldn’t be surprised if they are performing in venues bigger than the El Rey the next time they visit Los Angeles. Not at all.

I would say that the highlight(s) of the evening was when the audience, who were all much better versed in the band’s music than I, sang along and Neil let the crowd do the singing. Being in the audience, engulfed in the sound of voices all around singing (rather well I may add) music unfamiliar to me, sent shivers down my spine. I hope that the next time I see the band perform live, I’ll be singing along with them.

  1. Different People
  2. That Golden Rule
  3. Who’s Got a Match?
  4. Sounds Like Balloons
  5. Biblical
  6. God & Satan
  7. Glitter and Trauma
  8. Bubbles
  9.  Spanish Radio
  10. Folding Stars
  11. Living Is a Problem Because Everything Dies
  12. 57
  13. Many of Horror
  14. Modern Magic Formula
  15. Black Chandelier
  16. Woo Woo
  17. The Captain

Encore:

  1. Opposite
  2. Stingin’ Belle
  3. Mountains

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Falling In Reverse & Escape The Fate | The Wiltern | 1/15/14

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How do you get me to go to a show for a band that I know nothing about? Offer me a free ticket.

The buddy of mine who went to the Nine Inch Nails concert with me last year gave me a call and invited me to see a band that he enjoyed listening to named Falling In Reverse. The band’s name rang a bell, so I looked them up online and came across the name of their lead singer, Ronnie Radke. I vaguely recalled reading some article in a music trade magazine about him starting his career up again, but that was years ago. The more research I did, I found out that in 2011 Ronnie had been named one of Revolver Magazine’s “Greatest Living Rock Stars” and in 2012 was on the shortlist both Kerrang’s “50 Greatest Rock Stars in the World Today”, “Villain of the Year” and “Hero of the Year”. I also read about his work in Escape The Fate, his issues with drug addiction, the family tragedy he went through, and his incarceration. Yeah, I had to see this guy perform live.

My buddy and I got to The Wiltern in time to see Escape The Fate, now fronted by Craig Mabbitt. Truth be told, the set was a little bit of a let down. For the first half of the set, technical issues seemed to plague the Mabbitt’s  microphone as his vocals were hardly audible. It was a shame, as the band seemed on point and heavy. Truth be told though, it really didn’t seem to matter too much as a good portion of the crowd sang along with most of the songs. It was a set that could have been better, but I’ll chalk the deficiencies up to the sound problems.

Thankfully, the sound for Falling In Reverse was just fine.

The crowd’s energy was electric, and they were screaming and singing louder than they had for Escape The Fate.  The music was more “friendly” than that of Escape The Fate’s insofar as it felt and sound like Falling In Reverse’s music had more catchy pop-hooks. “Good Girls, Bad Guys”, “Bad Girls Club” and “The Drug In Me Is You” are all solid, fun songs that had me shaking my groove thing with the twenty somethings standing around me.

Ronnie Radke commanded the stage with his presence, using his seemingly boundless energy to stride across the stage throughout the evening. In between songs he would address the audience, revealing both his goofy and humble side; reflecting on the weight he has gained since his career started grabbing at his non-existent fat during the following song, and thanking the audience for hanging in there with him through his tough times and being there, at The Wiltern, for the evening. All the accolades he received that I read about online … yeah, I can see why he got them. He’s a terrific performer and he sounded good.

I’ll be honest with you, I probably wouldn’t have known about, or gone to see, Falling In Reverse without my buddy inviting me.  I’m still on the fence as to whether I’d buy their latest CD, but I’m leaning towards yes because it’s really fun guilty pleasure, rock and roll music that I wouldn’t mind having shuffled into my iTunes playlist while I’m driving around town now and again. But I know for sure that if my friend were to invite me to another of their gigs, I’d gladly go.

Falling In Reverse Setlist:

  1. Rolling Stone
  2. I’m Not a Vampire
  3. Fashionably Late
  4. Champion
  5. Sink or Swim
  6. Goodbye Graceful
  7. Bad Girls Club
  8. Born To Lead
  9. Self-Destruct Personality (new song)
  10. Good Girls, Bad Guys
  11. Tragic Magic
  12. Raised By Wolves
  13. Alone
  14. The Drug In Me Is You
  15. Not Good Enough For The Truth In Cliche (with Escape The Fate)
  16. Situations (with Escape The Fate)

 

Unfortunately, the Flickr slideshow below is not currently available on mobile devices. If you are on a mobile device, please click THIS LINK to get redirected to the set of photos.

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