Live Review

Billy Talent – The Roundhouse, London

• 15th Nov 2012

Knowing that Don Broco were kicking the Rock Sound Riot Tour off meant I was at the venue early. I honestly haven’t done that for years so boys, if you’re reading this, you should feel pretty damn special. Sadly not everyone had the same idea and they performed to a half empty Roundhouse. A fact he was probably secretly pleased about as he went flying across the stage. Apart from this tiny mishap, their co-ordinated dance routines, infectious songs and excellent presence mean they’ll be facing crowds far bigger than this soon.

Awolnation are, what can only be described as, a genre-spanner. But my word, they’re good at it. They somehow manage to skip from electronica to post-hardcore and reference everything else in between. Yet Aaron Bruno still manages to make it all perfectly coherent. A feat few bands can actually pull off and these guys do it with aplomb.

When Billy Talent hot the stage the crowd went wild and unsurprisingly they dived straight into their set. You don’t get a crazy floorshow or any microphone acrobatics with Billy Talent and you know why? You just don’t need it. They play perfect, passionate punk rock and their fans idolise them for it.

Every word that fell from Ben Kowalewicz’s lips the crowd sang right back at him. Unrelenting hero worship, right from opener Lonely Road all the way through to the encore of Fallen Leaves, Surprise Surprise and Red Flag. If you’ve seen Billy Talent play before, there was absolutely nothing that would surprise you, but then again, why change something that works so well?

In an unusual, but rather touching moment, Kowalewicz drew everyone’s attention to it being Remembrance Day and dedicated The Navy Song to “everyone’s granddad who fought in the war”. I’m pretty sure this is the first gig I’ve ever been to where grandparents got one of the largest cheers of the night.

All in all, The Rock Sound Riot tour had a great selection of bands that really complimented each other well but at the end of the day we were there to revel in the greatness of Billy Talent and revel we did!

Venue: The Roundhouse, London
Support Band: Don Broco, Awolnation