Trusted Few

support Puto Diablo + Billy Boy In Poison
author TL date 05/12/08 venue The Rock, Copenhagen, DEN

Friday the 5th of December was always planned out to be a day where PP and myself drank ourselves into a stupor with a group of friends, but when it turns out that some of the heavier of Denmark's up-and-coming bands have teamed up for a combined christmas show at The Rock, giving away admission to facebook friends for free, there doesn't seem to be any reason the two opportunities couldn't be allowed to compliment each other. Effectively, I find myself at The Rock in the company of some friends and some pints early on, and while PP covers Less Than Jake's appearance on the other side of town, I'm getting ready to take in the first set of the evening - That of Copenhagen's own metalcore outfit, Billy Boy In Poison.

Billy Boy In Poison

Billy Boy' is a band we here at Rockfreaks have had under surveillance for a while, as they're probably the most noteworthy band in Denmark to pick up on the rampaging metalcore trend. Okay, so maybe they're a bit late for that, but hey, let's give them the time of day before we send them packing shall we? That's my attitude for tonights show anyway, and that doesn't turn out badly for me. While I've glimpsed Billy Boy' in one or two shows earlier, I certainly wasn't expecting them to have improved to the level on display tonight, because even while the sound isn't doing them any favours and their material is still a bit predictable for my taste, the band's display tonight is one of undeniable quality. You can tell that these boys must have spent a fair amount of time in rehearsal, because they play their stuff with a technical proficiency and a showing confidence that belie their underground status. I've seen much bigger bands play much shittier shows, and if BBIP can keep this kind of performance as their standard, I might just have to upgrade my expectations for them. I still have to keep my grading a bit in check though. First because the crowd turn out and response by this early point isn't that much to write home about, second because the sound, as hinted before, is blurring the complexity of the band's guitarlines and third because I simply can't shake the notion that BBIP would be an even better band if vocalist Bjørn had a slightly more varied expression beyond his hardcore roar. I don't mean I want AILD-style pretty parts here, but some more varied growling or screaming would help to repair the monotony the sound-quality otherwise can't help to coat onto the show.

7

Puto Diablo

As for Puto Diablo, the last time I saw them they were headlining above Trusted Few, I wasn't expecting anything, and by the time that show ended even I had to reluctantly admit that it was pretty good. Tonight the roles have reversed, and unfortunately Puto aren't AS good as last time. It's hard for me to accurately put my finger on it, but somehow I just don't have as many positive memories from this one. Quality of sound and lighting being lowered to 'support band mode' the band's array of tools is diminished, and left to their own devices, the end result is a show that's alright, much the same as BBIP's, but not downright impressive. The on stage jokes and banter don't seem to make it all the way through to the audience and Danni's vocal parts are close to overstepping the border into the annoying here and there and it's a shame considering how good Puto manage to sound on their recorded material. Even with a show that's typically energetic for them, it just doesn't sound or look good enough to really blow me away, and while Johan from Trusted Few's appearance for a closing cover of Katy Perry's infamous "I Kissed A Girl" does get the crowd going somewhat more than have been the case earlier, it's a bit too little, a bit too late in my opinion. So yeah guys, end verdict is good but not great, but hey, go see Puto Diablo next time they're around your parts anyway, we've seen that they're capable of a good show!

7

Trusted Few

Okay, so if you're totally new to all these Danish bands and you're checking out the myspace pages as I link them, I can see that you might find it hard to believe that they're the top dogs on the bill tonight. If you're a regular though, it'll probably be hard for you to face the fact that it starts looking like I've been right in my hyping of this band, seeing how they've climbed to the top of tonight's lineup as well as how they seem to have drawn by far the largest crowd. - And even if all that is a coincidence, one fact that can't be ignored tonight is that Trusted Few, like BBIP, have improved more than even I would have expected them to. Again, it seems like this band have done their homework, and their appearance tonight is endlessly more confident than anything I've previously seen by them. Bassist Andreas and singer Johan especially impress me by more consistently dishing out vocal notes that have previously seemed to only be accessible to them on record. Both of them are their usual bouncy selves, with guitarist Philip taking a more cool and concentrated stance which is also typical for him by now. The biggest improvement can be found in Johan though, as he seems to have so much extra energy, lowering his screams into bark-ish growls at will and making sure that each and every word finds its way to the back rows. The crowd show their appreciation, and while their numbers are dominated by more curious newcomers than mosh-eager scenesters this time around, the slightly mellower response is still warm enough to express the point. TF find the time to both test some new material on us (sounding as promising as I've come to expect from them) as well as extend their set to contain more old songs than planned for and even allowing their groupie no. 1 to sing a few lines of one of them (forgive me for having forgotten which one). In any case, this is TF more consistent and well-sounding than ever, and with the biggest crowd I can remember seeing for one of their shows, and the result of this is obviously that this one easily rivals their best. You know, I thought I'd get sick of seeing them after a few times, but so far, that doesn't seem likely to happen anytime soon.

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