Live Review
Taste Of Chaos Tour – Manchester Academy 2
I’m not going to lie, a venue so small, and some bands so big; it was supposed to be the rockstar event of the year, and Manchester would be my time to catch it.
However, something was bound to be wrong, the top half of the bill looked fantastic, as for the others, well the fact that hardly anyone had heard of them coincided well with the talent. I’m not kidding but MUCC were only worth my attention for 1 and a half songs, ok, I know they’re not from round here, but still, a little bit of originality doesn’t count for the awful racket they made. Little known Manchester band SMUDGE were on after, and after being so shocked from the first band, I was hardly up for paying attention, but they bought me back to life only to be KNOCKED DOWN TO THE GROUND again, after Horse the Band.
Now I’m not going to continue commenting, because some people may have liked it, and to be honest how busy the room was when I went back in for As I Lay Dying showed that luckily not everyone had given up hope. AILD were amazing, tight riffs, great energy and a fantastic set, dirty metal moves and some moves Black Sabbath would be jealous of.
Story of the Year were the ones to watch though. And what a great set, if not a little too short, they put on. The amount of charisma and energy this band have never ceases to amaze me, starting off with “And The Hero Will Drown” and playing loads of new songs off this year’s album and the older classics, and although we didn’t get a spectacular array of stage gymnastics, there were leaps from the speakers, during “until the day I die” and a lot of moving about and jumping around. The sound was fantastic, it’s just a shame they weren’t on the top of the bill.
I have to put it out there that I don’t normally have time for Atreyu, but being all caught up from the performance before I thought I’d stay for a bit. The screams and the jumps of Manchester’s teenagers is almost terrifying, and rightly so, Atreyu pull off spectacularly well, making you question certain rock magazines that give them so much stick. The guitars slam you in the ear, the bass catches your stomach and the lights make your eyes bleed, but that’s what the fans love, hey. Playing a real eclectic mix of old and new songs, the highlight of the night has to be the final song, where singer Alex gets the entire crowd on their knees and as the first beat kicks in you’ve never heard such a scream.
It was a good night, though not worthy of sell out status, hopefully the line up will be better next year, with the correct ordering too! Think about it Rockstar!