Full Blown Chaos

support First Blood + Since The Flood
author PP date 29/10/07 venue Underworld, London, UK

I hadn't originally planned on attending Full Blown Chaos's set, but given the relatively high profile support acts and me finally embracing their latest record "Heavy Lies The Crown" with new enthusiasm, I ended up scheduling an interview with the band to find out a bit more about them (will be posted next week) prior to checking out what their liveshow looks like. The show was set to be at the Underworld, probably my least favourite venue of London as you may recall from a couple of my previous reviews from the venue. I just can't stand the idiotic pillars that seem to block a small part of the stage no matter where you decide to stand. I guess that wasn't such a big problem tonight, as hardcore bands are usually renowned for their active live shows, so I figured I'd catch a decent glimpse of every member of stage even if the right side of the stage was blocked from where I was standing at.

Since The Flood

Since The Flood was the first act on the bill. I had briefly checked them out on Myspace almost a year ago upon recommendation by our scribe TL who wrote a stellar review of the band back in January. With only a few Myspace listens worth of experience on them, I won't be able to put any names on the tracks, but that doesn't matter because the band put on a storm of a liveshow from the beginning. Staying true to the hardcore ethics that both their music and their message speak so loudly for, the whole band was full of energy, jumping all over the space and storming across the tiny stage. This was clearly one of those cases where the stage size didn't live up to the needs of the band, which is quite surprising considering they were only the first support band tonight. If the band was any bigger, the floor would've been one big wallowing sea of fists tonight. A stellar performance, which really set the standards for tonight.

7

First Blood

Next up on the bill was First Blood, who are still riding on the massive hype that exists for no apparent reason. They play basic from the books hardcore with heavy focus on massive breakdowns, so I don't see how they're different from anyone else in the genre. Regardless, I was intrigued over what it is that makes this band so good because I wasn't particularly impressed by their latest full length, so I was expecting the band to completely rip it on stage. That never happened. Instead, what happened on stage was very consistent with the album - straightforward, and perfectly fitting to the hardcore mold. But what's even worse, was that the entire freaking dancefloor was full of ridiculous trend moshers. What is it about this kind of music that makes people in their teens act like complete assholes, clenching their fists together and waving them around like windmills while throwing karatekicks around, destroying the concert experience for us normal people? I mean I wanted to be up close and actually check out the band live, but should I have done that I would've been afraid for my fucking life. Now tell me that's the right atmosphere at a concert, where people who actually wanna witness the music live are afraid of their lives near the stage? Props for the band though for having a great marketing machine behind them, because nothing else explains why they are so popular right now.

5

Full Blown Chaos

After having talked to Full Blown Chaos' frontmant Mazzola just before the show, I was even more pumped for their live show, given the enormous amount of attention that First Blood had drawn only moments earlier. Surely the headliner would get at least twice as many people moving on the floor, given how they are musically far superior to them? Well, apparently not. For almost the entire duration of their set, I could've walked from the back of the floor to the front without any fear of bumping into anyone. There were five, maybe six people on the floor, while everyone else had either left or were sticking to the walls. What kind of treatment is that to the fucking HEADLINERS of the night? Disgraceful, if you ask me. As such, there isn't much to write home about Full Blown Chaos' set. The first three or four songs the band was really trying to get the crowd going, jumping around the stage being energetic and all (though nowhere near Since The Flood), but thereafter it all just faded away, and I don't blame them. Few bands want to first witness their support band absolutely slaughter in terms of crowd participation, and then face a brick wall straight after. Even fewer can keep it together and put on an amazing performance even without any crowd to draw their energy from, in fact it's damn near impossible. Shame on you, tonight's concert attendees.

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