Concert Review- Hell Is For Heroes, Kinesis And Bluebird, London Astoria, 5.1.2003
Posted by Phil McCann on 05.22.2003
Heaven and hell have never been closer!
There are some bands that should succeed and are let down by their label, see Red, Vex. There are some bands that should succeed and let themselves down, see any metal band that self-destructed due to drugs. But some bands DO succeed, and Hell if for Heroes is one of those bands. From their roots in Symposium, a vastly unheard of band, into the hard-rock phenomenon that swept the U.K with the release of singles Nightvision, I Can Climb Mountains and You Drove Me To It, Hell is for Heroes should be headed for the heights that Muse reached in 2001, they are that good and that well known. However for this year they have to settle for an amazing album, and an Astoria show full of devout fans, hock damn these guys can’t catch a break.
3-2-1 here we go again, the Astoria hosted 411mania’s secondary concert reviewer, for the band that I just pimped large, and as usual it was a Gay Club that works really well as a medium sized gig venue. The atmosphere was pretty good, with the usual Astoria crew who seem to have unlimited funds to go to every gig under the sun, but overall good crowd, so go to London and go to a gig, you probably won’t regret it…random thought.
The support bands lined up for the night were Bluebird and Kinesis, now Bluebird I know little about, and you are actually a comedian if you think I’m researching, so if you know them shout at me. Kinesis are an up and coming UK band that I didn’t give too stronger review back in September when they supported InMe at Aldershot. However the band have ‘made it’ to the dizzy heights of headlining the Garage in London, and actually have a great sound to them.
First up however, Bluebird. They didn’t make a great start, with a couple of ok, but not memorable songs, and with a…how shall I put this…a really gay on-stage presence. This didn’t put me off, but the lead singer had some dancing classes that needed booking. So that continued for a few songs, then the lead singer decided, ‘hey this’ll liven them up’ and hopped off the stage, walked over to the barrier and climbed up on it right next to me. The guy went insane, jumped into the crowd and started a pit around him, then left and got back on-stage into a rant about negative reactions being as good as positive. Well after that cheap heat segment (credit. Scott Keith), the crowd livened up and gave the band a good reception to leave to. In my view they were above average musically, and temperamental live, but still worth seeing if you have cash to swim in.
Next up were Kinesis in the third time I’ve seen them live (I saw them headlining upstairs at a pub in Bedford, with the Gods of UK rock at the moment- Reuben), and now I knew the songs, and could really get into what they were playing. The band has a happy-rock sound, with that screaming Vines -like tendency that I mentioned all those months ago. Most notable of the set-list were ’Billboard Beauty’, ’…And They Obey’, and ’Everything Destroys Itself’, which are all available to buy in some form, I do believe. The band entered in an energetic performance, one which was received well by the crowd, and I think made themselves a few fans, in fact I’m sure some people were there to see Kinesis, and not Hell is for Heroes…but not many.
Hell is for Heroes are what many people are calling the future of British rock. I don’t disagree at all, their songs exude energy and emotion, and their album ‘The Neon Handshake’ is my pick for album of the year so far. There is no but here, these guys are part of the future, and hopefully they’re part of a future that does not mimic them, but compliments and works with them to further the bulging rock scene in the UK. Thursday May 1st was their chance to prove it live, a bit melodramatic I’ll admit, but when it came down to it there were many there who expected a hell of a lot from the band, and they delivered.
Starting off, surprisingly, with (excuse my the end of my use of italics, it’s time consuming when I know all the songs) ‘You Drove Me To It’ after using the ‘Five Kids Go’ intro the band hit hard and fast, sending the crowd into a mass of jumping, shoving and good ol’ fashioned moshing (m/). The song is an anthem, perhaps the bands anthem against their adversity, and it showed with the crowd’s sing along response, which continued throughout the night. The band then played ‘Five Kids Go’, ‘Out Of Sight’ and ‘Nightvision’ to further illuminate the crowd’s joy. This may sound like mass-hyperbole, but being there would’ve proved something- this band are electric, seriously, they can do absolutely no wrong.
Hell is for Heroes went on to play every track on their album including the brilliant ‘I Can Climb Mountains’, the rip-roaring ‘Sick Happy’, and the other superlative in the bunch ‘Disconnector’, three of my favourite songs on the album. All came off amazingly well live, and left the crowd in near frenzy. I believe ‘Sick Happy’ rounded off the night, but I can’t be sure, and it didn’t matter- they ruled, and could’ve played ‘Slow Song’ last and still allowed the crowd to go home with coat hanger smiles on their faces.
Hell is for Heroes are doing some of the UK’s summer festivals, which is kinda useless to you because they’re all basically sold out, but surely will tour again at some point this year…they have to, there are too many people almost gagging to see them live. For Hell is for Heroes to break into mainstream would be brilliant, it wouldn’t ruin liking them, because they appear too good to become commercial, too focussed to become the next InMe- a shadow of their former energy live, a band in need of a break. Hell is for Heroes at the Astoria were brilliant, and I can imagine them selling out the Brixton Academy sooner or later, a seemingly natural progression, and one which shouldn’t ruin their performance…but I digress this tangent has gone on far too long.
If you want rock, hard rock, whatever Hell is for Heroes are classified as, well then go and buy the album and pay to see them live. I have no stronger recommendation than I do for this band; they are flying high and musically in the top echelon…what more can I say?
The 411: Word up…the code words are Hell is for Heroes.
