Little emo kids. Everywhere. I cannot escape them.Bearing the correct fringe, I manage to blend in well enough to not attract attention to myself, but lordy - everyone looks the same.
It's my first time here at the Forum (sorry, 'HMV Forum' for you politically-correct whores out there), and amongst the mopey rabble is actually a very nice venue. It reminds me of the late Astoria, albeit smaller and with a nice sit-down area at the back. Yeah, like hell are you going to sit at this gig.
Unfortunately missing first band The Urgency, I am instead treated to The Hollywood Undead. What label thought these misfits were a good idea? If you're going to do the whole mask thing, don't do a below-par Slipknot rip-off. If you're going to do the whole rap-rock thing, have at least some decent songs. And if you're going to rap, please - by all means - rap. But don't mime. Let the sample play out naturally, don't pretend to be singing the obvious autotuned playback. Also: if you're going to do any of this at all, be funny about it. A few jokes about how ridiculous you are wouldn't go amiss. Scary though, that most of the audience know all the words. Stupid emos.
Silverstein fare much better, though are hampered by a pretty poor sound mix. Guitars just aren't loud enough, drums don't rumble as much as they should. However, they do manage to get the crowd going like crazy, and Shane Told's falsetto notes hit the right places. Surprisingly heavy for their generic screamo pigeonhole, by the end of their set they manage to rock the hell out of the place. So kudos to them, really.
Now for the main course: Kerrang! darlings, The Blackout. Delicious but slightly superficial, their music isn't groundbreaking, but sure makes for a succulent dining experience. I don't know what's with all the gastronomic references; perhaps it's simply the way they make me want to gorge myself with heavy riffs and scorching vocals. Yum, yum and yum again.
The last time I saw them, their tightness as a band was only matched by their own onstage humour. I'm glad to report they remain as jocular as ever, and have honed their craft to a very professional degree. Professional at sonically ripping your head off. The first few songs are incendiary (I love that word), but bizarrely the crowd don't seem as kinetic as they were for Silverstein. This is reciprocated (another great word!) by the band themselves, and so while their effort does not dip, the average happiness they exude remains relatively low. I calculate it like this:
Crowd energy = C
Band energy = B
Happiness = A
So, C + B = A. Both C and B can be hampered by D, which is any accountable thing such as the quality of their sound mix, etc. Whatever values the first two have, they both have to come together well for the band to be happy with the show they put on. It's a simple equation, but it's an important one. Also, remember to divide B by E; the number of piss bottles being thrown at them.
Nonetheless, they throw everything they've got in the form of mass singalongs, sit-down-jump-the-fuck-up shenanigans and the like. A floor-encompassing circle pit for 'I'm A Riot? You're A Fucking Riot!' is the highlight of my night. But a message to the emo mosher: mosh when there's something to mosh to. Don't come in on the completely wrong beat, it just kills it. Stupid emos.
All in all, a good evening of to-the-moment, hip rock music. Though the 'rock' is slowly being taken out and replaced with 'fuck', what with all the sleazy grooves and verbal parleys The Blackout offer through their set. This is definitely not the best I'll see them - give it less than two weeks, they'll be brewing up a storm at Download Festival. But even if I wasn't completely taken with the tunes tonight, at least I can become a true emo gig-goer: a tight-fitting T-shirt for a fiver outside completes my transformation. As long as my internal organs don't collapse under the sheer skin-hugging tautness, I'll be able to go to the next Hollywood Undead concert *choke*. Stupid emos.
Overall - 7 / 10
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