Gigs

Gig Review: Aiden + Kill Hannah + Brigade + Serpico

Venue: Solus, Cardiff
Date: 29 March 2008

Arriving at the venue 10 minutes before the stated door opening time, my soggy Converse were pleased to see that the doors were already open, however my ears were less pleased on discovering that the 1st band of the night, Serpico, had already begun their set.

Hailing from Edinburgh, this five piece were put together by frontman Mikey Serpico. Lucky his last name wasn’t Smith or Jones then. The band play a fusion of metalcore, emo friendly rock, with a slice of Maiden-esque riffs to go with it. The set is short, predictably for a band who so far have only released an E.P, however their debut full length is expected later this year. The standout tracks were ‘400 Blows To The Head’ and the awesome ‘Kultura’. I was particularly impressed with lead guitarist Steve Patterson, whose solos were intricate, and he definitely gives the band an edge.

Next to take to the stage is Brigade. This four-piece has been around in some form since 2003, led by Will Simpson, Charlie’s brother (Fightstar/Busted). I was really impressed with Brigade; they played an infectious blend of all-out rock riffs with highly charged vocals, you get a real sense of passion from seeing the band play live. There are obvious comparisons with both Hundred Reasons and Hell Is For Heroes. Their set ended far too soon for my liking, particularly as they now have two albums out with the recent release of ‘Come Morning We Fight’. I sense that Brigade won’t be playing this low down the order many more times in the future.

After what seems an eternity, Chicago-based rockers Kill Hannah finally take to the stage. What’s noticeable straight away is the increase in noise level, or should that be the number of screaming girls. The band’s three guitarists all have green lasers attached to their guitars as well as white lights. It’s a simple thing to do but it helps create a spacey type of atmosphere which fits well with the band’s music. Vocalist Mat Devine spends the entire set removing pretty much all of the top-half of his clothing, not particularly responsible considering the young age of the majority of the crowd. He seems to share a lot of stage mannerisms with Ian Watkins of Lostprophets, whether that’s intentional or not I’m not sure. The band have a couple of albums out, and play a large amount of work from the recently released ‘Until There’s Nothing Left Of Us’. Their set drags on for me, but the majority of the crowd are really into it.

Headliners Aiden arrive on the stage in darkness, with vocalist Wil Francis quietly singing before the band launch into a couple of numbers from their new album ‘Conviction’. For me though their set doesn’t begin until they play ‘Last Sunrise’ from previous album ‘Nightmare Anatomy’. This song is quicker, heavier, and Wil is a lot more energetic on stage; these are the strengths of Aiden as far as I’m concerned. The new material is a change of direction for the band, a sign that they are maturing and trying something different which should always be applauded. However for me it doesn’t work, but then the vast majority of crowd who sing every word would disagree with me. I enjoyed ‘I Set My Friends Of Fire’, where Wil demanded a circle pit, which raised a smile as it seemed most of this young audience didn’t have a clue what that was. However that did also make me feel very old. Another highlight was the track ‘Bliss’ off the new album, where Wil plays an acoustic guitar which I didn’t know he did, which adds a sense of integrity and passion to things. The band end the gig with ‘World By Storm’, which is a good finale to the gig, with the crowd giving all they’ve got to sing the repeated line of “Its in our head, its in our hearts, the world by storm”.

For fans of: Hell Is For Heroes, AFI, Head Automatica
Band links = Aiden / Kill Hannah / Brigade / Serpico

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