On Sunday (19/10/2008) I covered the first gig since my final Open University exam. It was Zebrahead at The Cockpit and I'd got a guestlist place. It was meant to be a photo pass, but there's no pit at the venue so I just had to get as close as I could without being crushed or annoying people. Luckily it wasn't packed and I managed to find an OK spot at the side of the front of the stage. I really enjoyed the gig.
More photos online at pushtofire.com/livephotos.html
I prefer photography, but here's the review I did for pushtofire.com:
The night started with a band called Kids Can't Fly. You might have heard of them as Fandangle's ex-trombone player is the singer/guitarist in KCF. Seeing Ryan fronting the band didn't seem out of place though; this dude has a voice and a good one at that. KCF are a typical pop punk band but the ska punk influence is there as there was a hint of brass in a number of the songs. The venue was pretty busy and people from front to back seemed to be enjoying the set. As did I.
Paige from London played next. I'd never heard of this band before and I don't think many other people in the room had either judging the lack of enthusiasm from the audience. Numerous attempts from the singer to get people to clap their hands to the music failed and the band looked slightly disappointed at being ignored. They also had a pop-punk sound, but more commercial - think Fall Out Boy, You Me at Six etc.. I liked them and there was some potential there. And despite the unenthusiastic crowd, the band certainly were enjoying being on the stage, playing their music.
And finally, Zebrahead. Their set was awesome and so much fun to be a part of. And I say this because we were truly part of the show. The usual band-audience divide was dissolved and it made it such an enjoyable gig. Their set had everything... as well as great music (old and new material), there was constant crowd surfing, fans on stage, jokes and banter, skanking, a circle pit attempt and don't forget the drinking, there was lots of drinking. The band declared that it was the best gig they've played on the tour... and yes, I know every band says this at every gig, but for once I did start to believe that the statement could actually be true. They played for over an hour and their encore included a performance of Anthem with help from Ryan of KCF. The atmosphere was great and I went away knowing that everyone had enjoyed it as much as me.
