Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes

support Demob Happy + Woes
author PP date 19/03/18 venue Lille Vega, Copenhagen, DEN

It's not the first time Vega is guilty of this, and frankly, they should sort it out. If the show start time on the ticket, website and Facebook event says 20:00, then that's when the support bands step on stage, not a second earlier. It's an absolute travesty to arrive at a virtually empty venue at 19:55 only to hear "this is gonna be our last song!" by hyped pop punk act Woes, who have apparently been given green light to start at 19:30 already. I mean how difficult can it be to update the website and post about it on the Facebook event on the day of the show where people have been asking for time schedule to no avail. There's just no excuse, and everyone loses if you don't do it: the band plays an empty show, fans miss out, and the venue misses out in bar revenue. Alas, there is no review of Woes tonight, whom I am told performed a bouncy, high-energy pop punk show that otherwise would've been right up this writer's alley...thanks, Vega.

Demob Happy

Demob Happy

Next up is Demob Happy, whose very presence on the stage oozes of classic rock star persona vibes. Though very humble in their chatter to the crowd, there's just something eerily rock'n'roll about their look and sound on stage. Stylistically, we're somewhere between grunge and Oasis-style alternative rock from their later, more experimental era. There's a dreamy atmosphere to the music where high pitch croons and smoke-laden stage dominates an expression that's accentuated by fuzzy pedals and droning bass grooves. The songs have a subtly catchy vibe to them, but on first listen, combined with their static showmanship, they just aren't something to write home about. Not to even mention that their chosen indie-flavored grunge/alternative rock sounds rather dated in today's music industry. Decent alternative rock, but that's it.

6

Frank Carter

Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes

"Are you ready?, Frank Carter screams at us in what feels like a foreshadowing manner. The band has already formed a unique relationship with the Danish crowd, thanks to the unforgettably intense BETA show one and a half years ago that ignited a mutual love between the band and its audience. Legend of that show has lived long and spread far, only accentuated by their equally successful Copenhell and Roskilde Festival performances. So tonight, as Frank later tells us, is dedicated for the Danish fans as he nostalgically keeps referring to the BETA show as the best show that he has ever played during his entire career: "We have played Denmark loads of times. Copenhell! Roskilde! But the crown of it all...was BETA". Those of us that were there agree - if there ever was a 10/10 rated show it is that one.

Frank Carter

So expectations are meteorically high for the group's first club show in Denmark since then. Unsurprisingly, those expectations are met and then some, as Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes lay VEGA to waste like no other band has done before. Whether it's Mr. Carter climbing onto the balcony rafters to vault himself into the crowd, the guitarists crowd surfing, ladies stage diving in droves because, as Carter tells us, he will cut anyone's fucking head off if we try any funny business, or the orchestrator himself standing on top of people's hands while screaming to the mic, there's no shortage of explosive energy tonight.

Frank Carter - the moment he vaults himself off the Vega balcony

At the same time the crowd dynamic is nothing short of electrified: all the way from "Trouble" through to the epic finale of "I Hate You", the sing-alongs are massive and more often than not enough to allow Carter some time for more antics rather than to sing all the passages. The crowd simply takes care of it. "Vampires" makes the venue look like a sea of trampolines was just placed underneath the crowd, and "Loss" has even the most annoying chatter in the back of the crowd calm down as Frank tells us to go home and tell someone that they matter in a touching memoir of one of his friends that he lost. We've heard it before at their other shows but it always comes with a different twist, which is why it all feels so genuine.

Frank Carter

As a treat to the Danish fans, the band plays a rare track off "Blossom": "We never really play this one because people don't really know what to do during this song... I'll tell you what to do: dive off the stage!, Frank commands us before the band tears through the hardcore-laced "Primary Explosive". And then another reference to the BETA show - because of how wild the concert was, the band actually started a tradition by playing "Fangs" twice for the first time ever back then. Tonight, they feel it's only right to do the same as it was invented here in Copenhagen, so we hear "Fangs" twice tonight as song #2 and song #15.

Not a moment goes by where the energy wouldn't be classified as stupendous. Frank is constantly crowd surfing, the audience is singing their hearts out, and the dynamic is nothing short of magical. As such, Frank stands staring at us like a mental asylum escapist towards the end in approving fashion, before finishing it off with the classic anthem of misanthropy: "I Hate You".

Frank Carter

If you're still in doubt after reading this review, you really need to experience a Frank Carter performance live. They are unquestionably the best live band in the world right now where no bruises are spared and the band gives its 110% every single night.

9

Setlist:

  • 1. Trouble
  • 2. Fangs
  • 3. Juggernaut
  • 4. Vampires
  • 5. Wild Flowers
  • 6. Spray Paint Love
  • 7. Acid Veins
  • 8. Loss
  • 9. God Is My Friend
  • 10. Paradise
  • 11. Snake Eyes
  • 12. Lullaby
  • 13. Devil Inside Me
  • 14. Primary Explosive
  • 15. Fangs
  • 16. I Hate You

Photos by: Peter Troest

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