Madina Lake at Corporation, Sheffield

Madina Lake made their return to Sheffield as part of their UK tour on Monday. It was the first UK tour for the band since Matthew Leone’s life threatening accident and it left an excellent feeling knowing the support he has.

The first band up were Super Happy Fun Club - 6/10
They put on a good, although nowhere near as ‘fun’ as their name implies which is a little disappointing. The music was good but some of the vocals seemed weak, however these are nice guys and deserve support, also have some of the best merch around.

The main support for the night came from My Passion - 9.5/10
This was a superb performance, having seen them play a few years ago the band now has a heavier sound that they pull off to an exceptional standard. The only thing I could complain about was Laurence’s sunglasses when he came on stage, thankfully he took them off after a couple of songs.

Madina Lake 8/10
This seemed like a slow start but once it got it was superb. The Chicago four piece blast out the likes of ‘Never take us alive’ and ‘let’s get outta here’ along with songs from their new album ‘World War III’. Occasionally it became emotion as Nathan Leone referred back to the life threatening accident his brother had and its good to see him back doing what he truly enjoys. Overall this was a great night, even if you aren’t sure about Madina Lake its still worth going.

Enter Shikari at O2 Academy, Sheffield

Enter Shikari are back touring the UK for the first time in around 2 years. After going to the Sheffield gig of this tour you can take my review from 2 years ago, read it again and double up the awesomeness, that will give you some idea of how good these guyus are live. The point that they have gotten better, slicker and more insane is unbelievable. but, Im getting ahead of myself a little here.

Anyone who has tickets to see the Shikari boys on this tour, you're in for a treat. I can say that knowing it will be true no matter where you are. The support bands Let:Live and Your Demise are really good rock/screamo bands, I admit I dont know their songs but a lot of people got really into it and it warmed everyone in the audience up nicely. However, to the dance/dubstep ES fans these may not be for you.

Anyway, speaking of 'warming up' one of the first things I noticed once the 2000+/- people were crammed in and waiting for the band was just how hot it is! I was sweating before ES even came on stage!

The fourpiece from St Albans come on stage to masses of cheers and screams, launching straight into the first song Destabilise. With 2012 bringing the their third full album the tunes keep coming; Mothership, Zzzonked, Return to Energiser and No Sssweat to name a few. Recent releases Quelle Surprise and Sssnakepit are thrown in alongside songs off the upcoming album such as Arguing With Thermometers.

All made for a frantic, uncontrollable pace that you have to go with as if you're on a themepark ride. The pits appeared pretty vicious but anyone who fell down was helped back up which was good to see.

The music was loud and quite simply brilliant, the banter was funny ("Cool me down Steve!" For anybody who was there) and the show was superb. I cannot recommend going to see Enter Shikari highly enough, Karl Pilkington should add it to his An Idiot Abroad bucket list!

You Me at Six at O2 Academy, Sheffield

Rating: 4/5
11/03/10 O2 Academy, Sheffield

Beginning the night with a rousing sing-along of Blink 182’s All The Small Things sets an appropriate feel-good tone, and it appears Sheffield is in good voice this evening, even before a band has hit the stage.

It’s barely 7:30 when We The Kings kick off, but this place is sold out and is already absolutely packed. The opening track from their new album Smile Kid, called She Takes Me High has an infectious chorus that gets the room bouncing and singing along as they exceed every expectation of an opening band.

Frontman Travis Clark has the crowd eating from his hand as he displays his impressive range during Secret Valentine. Other highlights include new single Heaven Can Wait, crowd favourite Check Yes Juliet and a cover of Jimmy Eat World’s hit The Middle; a nice touch for anybody not familiar with We The Kings.

A fantastic opening band playing unashamedly good pop punk anthems.

Next to take to the stage is Forever The Sickest Kids. The Texan six-piece are bursting with energy and the crowd are still in full voice as they surge forward during opening song She’s a Lady. Despite promoting their recent EP The Weekend: Friday, they only played one song from it, preferring older material from their 2008 release Underdog Alma Mater; not that the crowd seemed to mind.

Their most famous song Whoa Oh! (Me vs. Everyone) goes down well, but for all the crowd love them, this performance doesn’t feel like everything it could be. FTSK are a decent band, but their material is nowhere near as strong as that of the other two bands on show this evening.

When You Me at Six finally hit the stage, the crowd once again burst into life as the drum intro to Safer to Hate Her gets them bouncing with so much force the whole room appears to be shaking. After the first few songs, the sounds of air-raid sirens from the beginning of The Consequence blared through the room for just a little too long, before the simple black backdrop was dropped, unveiling a much more impressive stage, and the band waste no time in bombing around it. Most of the new album, Hold Me Down is showcased, and sounds awesome. The occasional nod to their debut effort Take Off Your Colours is well received, particularly The Truth Is A Terrible Thing and Jealous Minds Think Alike.

Another high point of the night was the tear-jerking Always Attract, the token ballad of their set. Mobile Phones, Glow-sticks and the occasional lighter (most certainly belonging to someone well under the age of 18) filled the air. Singer Josh Franceschi’s typically “emo” lyrics do well in the transition from upbeat rocker to this slow, mushy number.

The encore capped off a fine performance. Save It For The Bedroom and Underdog gave the fans their last chance to jump around and scream their lungs out. A heartfelt thanks for supporting them and allowing them to play on such stages was a classy touch from the genuinely humbled Surrey Quintet.

Words by Joe Denny,
Pictures by Damon Fowler,
Comfort in Sound

Bowling For Soup at O2 Academy, Sheffield

Rating: 4/5
23/10/09 O2 Academy, Sheffield

Only the coldest hearted person couldn’t smile at a Bowling For Soup gig. Despite having families, businesses and being in the band for 15 years, they really haven’t grown up at all. And that's what people love about them as the ‘Party In Your Pants tour’ rolled into Sheffield.

The Leftovers were the first support band up. As they’re signed to Bowling For Soup lead singer Jaret Reddick’s record label, it could explain why they’re on this tour. However, after a few songs it was clear to see they are here on merit as well as connections. The songs off recently released album ‘Eager to Please’ are fun for everyone to jump around to. The Leftovers have a retro sound tinge, it’s the sort of thing that makes you think of a 1960s American diner. They were an enjoyable band to watch, and although their American banter with the crowd grated at times, it was still a good way to start things up.

MC Lars was next up, accompanied by British band Failsafe, who provided the musical side of things for the king of nerdcore. Behind all of the bands was a big projector screen showing band logos or videos to accompany the songs. With MC Lars I could have spent the whole gig just watching his videos, it was a show all of its own. Musically Lars’ rapping may not be to everyone’s tastes but he samples songs that everyone knows, so the least people did was some light head banging.

Zebrahead drew a huge crowd and as they came on to the stage it looked like they could be the headliners from the frantic reception of the Sheffield crowd. They have a party attitude and co-frontman Matty Lewis lets everyone know with the occasional shout of “Happy Hands” and the whacky waving arms fly up around the academy. Zebrahead played an amazing set, the sound quality was top and many were thankful for some good high energy pop punk. The best highlight was a cover of Avril Lavinge’s ‘Girlfriend’ featured on Zebrahead’s upcoming female covers album ‘Panty Raid’. And, the (for legal reasons, not a ‘wall of death’ but) “wall of sunshine, rainbows and lollipops” followed by hugs and dosey does, deserves a mention.

After a slight delay Bowling for Soup took to the stage and launched straight into ‘The Bitch Song’. On a night that had been all about having fun and partying no one does it better than Bowling For Soup. It was a comedy act as much as a rock show, everyone laughing at little comments like guitarist, Chris talked about how he’s going to have sex with every member of Zebrahead. Jaret saw a blown up condom being punched around the room and says “That is the biggest condom I have ever seen, I feel sorry for the girl that has to deal with that!”. The fun and frolics continued all night.



Aside from the comedy some music was also played. BFS play a good collection of material from their new album ‘Sorry for Partyin’ including songs ‘No Hablo Ingles’ and ‘Hooray For Beer’. But mix in some older stuff that the faithful fans will appreciate. The night was topped off with hit song ‘1985’, toward the end of the song Jarrett stops and tells everyone to sing the chorus. Everyone knew it and heartily obliged, it went a step further as the next request was to sing it with an Antonio Banderas accent. Everyone gave it their best. The last request was for a falsetto version and most people again tried their best, some guys decided it was best not to join in that one. It brought to an end a great night, everyone was thoroughly partied out.


Words, pictures and video by Damon Fowler
Comfort in Sound

Eastpak Antidote Tour at Rock City, Nottingham

Rating: 5/5
10/10/09 Rock City, Nottingham

For many the East Pak Antidote tour is a dream line up: The Ghost Of A Thousand (TGOAT), Four Year Strong (FYS), Anti-Flag and Alexisonfire. It seems like a tour put together by the music gods, themselves. Four bands that are having a real impact on today’s music scene. No doubt the live show will always match up to expectations, tonight they graced the infamous Nottingham Rock City stage.

TGOAT kicked things off at a ruthless pace, with a circle pit opening from the very first strum of the guitar. As TGOAT are arguably the heaviest band on tonight, it’s not much of a surprise. Frontman, Tom Lacey endeared himself to the crowd, apologising for the early doors opening, so now ‘we’re missing The Simpsons’. Lacey himself looks like a rather gentle and passive person when you see him but on stage is a different story. His screams were loud, powerful and raw, and to make sure you were listening he jumps into the circle pit himself.

‘Knees, Toes, Teeth’ was the best song of the set, a tuneful beast of a song, mixing Lacey’s screaming and softer vocals, and carrying an ‘anthem’ feel about it. TGOAT are the only British band on this tour and before the last song Lacey calls “Let’s show these Americans how it’s done,” sparking some crowd surfing from Lacey. By the end of the set the audience adored him and the rest of the band.

Next up were Four Year Strong. Expected to be the softest band of the night with some pop infused rock but they turned up the guitars and drums and showed they’re not pushovers. The circle pits carried on from TGOAT and even grew in size. Throughout their set they wheeled out big tracks like ‘Heroes get remembered, legends never die’ and ‘Abandon ship or abandon all hope’.

Anti-Flag announce their arrival on stage by telling everyone to raise the ‘peace’ sign high in the air. Musically, Anti-Flag are a great rock band and that come across, however love it or hate it they are a political band. On the agenda tonight is the economy, with Justin Sane (guitar/vocals) saying how the bail-outs should go to the poor. The message is good but a bit hypocritical as people paid £15+ to get in, then another £15+ for any merch. When they played music everyone loved it, especially a cover of The Clash’s ‘Should I stay or should I go?’ and the circle pit still didn’t rest!

Rock City must have been close to bursting when Alexisonfire took to the stage. They jumped straight into ‘Heading for the Sun’ from their latest album ‘Old Crows/Young Cardinals’ and quickly followed it up with fan favourites in ‘Boiled Frogs’ and ‘We are the Sound’. The sound was amazing with George Pettit’s and Dallas Green’s vocals mixing perfectly. By then the circle pit was vicious and took up most of the floor. Definitely a circle pit worth of such an intense performance.



One particular highlight of the set was when Alexis were joined on stage by Chris #2 from Anti-Flag, when the song finished Chris and Wade (AOF guitarist) kissed and hugged. Wade went on to express how that had made his dream had come true.

Overall, this was truly amazing performances from all four bands. The audience didn’t disappoint either, with energy flowing between them and the bands all night. It’s fair to say that a few people had some bruises after it.

Words, Pictures and Video by: Damon Fowler
Comfort in Sound

The King Blues at Corportation, Sheffield

Rating: 4/5

The King Blues have nearly sold out every show on their current UK tour, Sheffield is no different. The Londoner’s attract an eclectic array of fans as they mix ska, punk, reggae and numerous other styles together.

Imperial Leisure was the first support up. Just from looking you could guess what they would sound like, the trumpet players are a bit of a giveaway. That’s right they’re a ska-rock band but don’t judge too soon. The songs were lively and really hit home tonight, maybe the feel good factor that seems to come with every King Blues gig was in the air.

One highlight of Imperial Leisure’s set is when they get an over 18, female member of the audience on stage. She’s encouraged to take her top off with frontman Dennis joining in, stripping down to his underwear. When the girl didn’t return the courtesy he jumped straight into the next song and the havoc of the circle pit.

After that exciting start P.O.S had a lot to live up to. To say the crowd was sceptical of the rapper is an understatement. Through the first song the majority of people seemed uninterested. But, his charm, humour and banter with the audience bring them round. P.O.S’s songs are good but rapping was not on the menu tonight so no one was too sure what to think. Kudos must go to P.O.S though, by the end of his set the whole crowd had changed their opinion from the start and everyone was jumping with their ‘rapper’s hands’ in the air bobbing up and down.

It had been a long time since The King Blues last played in Sheffield and it was good to have them back. Musically every song carries with it a feel good vibe, and through their music The King Blues got across their political message. They have strong opinions like any good punk rock band, and slate the British National Party (BNP) throughout. Their message of togetherness and equality got resounding cheers of support all night long. With the passion they ignite, I doubt theyve ever had a bad show.


New song ‘Headbutt’ got the audience involved, with frontman Itch playfully using the line ‘when she kissed me it felt like a...’ and the audience screamed back ‘Headbutt!’ Mixed in with the popular ‘Let’s Hang the Landlord’, ‘My boulder’ and ‘Save the world, get the girl’ is a cover of Dizzee Rascal’s recent hit ‘Bonkors’. The audience sung along all night, they were clearly a dedicated bunch of King Blues fans.

For an encore Itch gave the option of “an old peom, or a new poem”, it was a clear win for the old and so Itch recited ‘What if punk never happened’. It’s truly awe inspiring to watch. If Itch ever decides for a career away from music then motivational speaking could be the way to go.



Words, Pictures and Video by: Damon Fowler
Comfort in Sound

V Festival Review

Although V Festival may be the most mainstream and Pop orientated festival around, there were still some great rock bands to liven the place up. So if you want to know how Lilly Allen, James Morrison or Elbow went down you may want to look elsewhere.

Saturday 22nd August, Chelmsford

Raygun (8/10) are the first band to make a real impact in the Union Tent with their catchy pop/rock sound. They come blasting out with recent single ‘Just because’ which gets the crowd and front man Ray Gun into a bouncy and excited mood. Maybe guitarist, Adj, got a bit too excited as he mounts Ray during the set. As long as no one was hoping for some serious music then Raygun are enjoyable and entertaining.

Jet (6/10) seem to have been around for awhile and yet not have much of a back catalogue. This is the case when they take to the 4Music stage. Playing songs that are enjoyable but quickly forgotten, it’s obvious everyone’s waiting for one certain song. ‘Are you gonna be my girl’ goes down a storm and is a highlight of the day, but the rest of the set lacks, still they manage to please the crowd.

The Killers (5/10) headline the V stage and the expectations of a band from Las Vegas to put on a show are huge. To put it bluntly they don’t deliver. For every song the crowd knows and is excited by, it’s followed by an unknown without the hooks you’d expect. This seriously hinders The Killers getting into any sort of rhythm with the crowd and in the end their set feels drawn out and underwhelming.


Sunday 23rd August, Chelmsford

The King Blues (10/10) are maybe the best thing to hear to get you up and excited for the rest of the day ahead. Despite having an early slot on the 4Music stage, they attract a large crowd and The King Blues reward those present handsomely. ‘Save the world, get the girl’ goes down especially well, it’s plain to see that TKB have the passion and desire to be a huge success, not only that, they have the songs to back it up. Even singing the last song in Italian doesn’t stop the all round feeling of pleasure at seeing this band perform.

Biffy Clyro (7/10) are the most notable and token ‘rock’ band on the main stage this year. This is also the first time all weekend it sounds as though the volume on guitar and drums has been turned up, which is a refreshing change. Biffy have amazing song, even with album tracks sounding like hits. Lead vocals and guitarist, Simon Neil gives it his all and the aggression and energy is plain to see. The only thing that detracts from Biffy Clyro’s set is the lack of crowd interaction, although that may be due to them not having a big crowd compared to the pull that the mainstream acts have.

Damon Fowler
Comfort in Sound

Madina Lake at The Corporation, Sheffield

Madina Lake celebrated the release of their new album ‘Attics to Eden’ with a gig at Sheffield’s Corporation on Monday. With Kill Hannah pulling out of the main support slot, the crowd welcomed their replacements The Audition who themselves had a new album released on that day.

Yashin start off the night followed by Flood Of Red, both are good young bands and are well received, Yashin a little more so than Flood Of Red. However, due a long queue and slow entry a lot of people missed one or both of these bands.

The Audition really step up the atmosphere coming on stage and straight into ‘Warm Me Up’, a great song that starts up the mosh pit which continued all night long. The Audition’s songs, even if you don’t know them, are very catchy, great pop/rock hooks and some great Bass playing from Timothy Klepek. The only downside was that Danny Stevens’ vocals were difficult to hear and make out from the rest of the noise.

Madina Lake appear on stage to a huge reception of clapping, cheering and general excitement. Fans had the chance earlier in the day to meet the band at an album signing, which shows how far they have come in such a short time, since forming in 2005.

The atmosphere, as Madina Lake plays through songs such as ‘One Last Kiss’ and ‘Let’s Get Outta Here’ was amazing. Nathan Leone leaping into the audience got everything going as the mosh pit grew in size and energy from one song to another. People who arrived to see what all the fuss over Madina Lake was about may not have liked the music but it doesn’t matter, the feeling of having a great time dragged all in. Three or four large balloons provide another high point, especially when guitarist Mateo Camargo swung his guitar head at one popping it and sending tickertape everywhere.

Recent release ‘Never Take Us Alive’ is a huge high with the whole audience jumping up and down. The night ends with a quick encore of ‘Me Vs. The World’ which the crowd loved. Madina Lake may not musically be to everyone’s tastes, but going to one of their gigs is a great experience that anyone can appreciate.




Damon Fowler
Comfort in Sound

The Sounds at O2 Academy 2, Sheffield

The Sounds formed in Helsingborg, Sweden in 1999. They consist of Maja Ivarsson (vocals) Felix Rodriguez (guitar), Johan Bengtsson (bass), Jesper Anderberg (keyboards) and Fredrik Nillson (drums). Last night (28th March), they found themselves in the confined quarters of O2 Academy 2 in Sheffield.

The night got off to a bad start, doors were put back thirty minutes due to ‘technical issues’ and then once inside it took another hour of waiting before we got the support band. Eventually we got to see the support band, an upbeat and lively band from Sheffield called Orange 38.

They had catchy songs, the vocals of Paddy Orange and Sophie Bramley-West worked well together, and they were genuinely likeable - Something that was very important in front of a crowd waiting for an hour and a half more than scheduled. As the only support act It’s not a long wait till The Sounds take the stage.

The Swedish quintet started out with ‘Living In America’ which got the crowd in a good mood and ready to jump and dance. After a couple of songs, front woman, Maja Ivarsson said we will be treated to some new songs tonight that we will like, because she likes them. The new songs include; ‘4 songs & a fight’, ‘No one sleeps (while I'm awake)’ and ‘Dorchester Hotel.’ All have that similar The Sounds vibe but Maja is right, the audience does like them.

Amongst playing the songs they are best known for like; Queen of Apology and Painted by Numbers, at the mid point of the gig things were slowed down with ‘Night After Night.’ Only Maja and Jesper Anderberg were left on stage, the latter on keyboards. Everyone sings along to this song and there is no better feeling than hearing hundreds of voices unified in having a good time, it’s maybe the highlight of the night.

The night is finished off with ‘Tony the Beat’ a great song to round off the night, and by now most people have let the delayed start slip from their memory. At the end of the gig Maja said they will be back later this year, I would recommend going to see them as it proved a fun and enjoyable night.



Damon Fowler
Comfort in Sound

Fall Out Boy at the MEN Arena, Manchester

The MEN Arena in Manchester is a huge venue for any band to play, and Fall Out Boy have arrived at those heights yet it seems like only yesterday they were playing small cramped venues that only the loyal fans knew about. After the release of their latest album Folie A Deux the arena is packed, quite literally, to the rafters.

Hey Monday start the night off, a band compared to Paramore and it is easy to see why however, do not think that this means they are the same. Hey Monday lack the excitement and style that Paramore have but this may come later in their career. The audience react well, possibly due to Fall Out Boy’s support of them, lead singer Cassadee Pope appears in the ‘America’s Suitehearts’ video. Yet most of their songs are average but some, such as ‘Homecoming’ and ‘Arizona’, are quite catchy.

The main support comes from Kids in Glass Houses. It is plain to see that most of the audience like them and they put in a good performance, with good catchy rock pop songs. The only criticism could be lead singer Aled Phillips’ cringe-worthy Welsh/American accent.

After a couple of hours of support bands and waiting the crowd demand Fall Out Boy and that’s exactly what they get. They kick their set off with flames and a lights show that could impress anyone. They play through the hits like ‘Thnks fr th mmrs’ and ‘Sugar, we’re goin down’ with style. To keep the more hardcore fans happy lead singer Patrick Stump does a brief exert of secret track ‘Lullabye’.

FOB play five songs from their latest album (not including lullabye) and all go down very well from the flashing guitars of ‘I don’t care’ to the extra pounding drums in ‘Disloyal order of water buffaloes’. Bassist Pete Wentz shows he is becoming an old pro at talking to the audience as girls screams come from all around with every word he says. It becomes obvious why Pete does the talking as he encourages Patrick to tell a story while some technical issues are sorted out. To say Patrick’s story is not funny would be an understatement but it is endearing and he acknowledged this after the next song saying ‘that last story is a good example of why I don’t talk on stage.’

The night is rounded off with an encore of ‘Dance, dance’ and fan favourite ‘Saturday’. Fall Out Boy knows their audience and performs to and above expectations. The have definitely grown into a more mainstream popular band but still keep their charm.



Damon Fowler
Comfort in Sound

My Passion at Corporation, Sheffield

Sheffield had its chance to see rising alternative stars, My Passion as they brought their rebellious metallic punk sound to Corporation. This was My Passion's first headline show in Sheffield and it follows recent acclaim from 'Kerrang!' and 'NME' magazine as well as a top 3 spot in the Kerrang best of 2008 Readers Poll and a Number one spot in 'Rocksound' magazine, My Passion are emerging as potential stars.

The night begins with Freefold (with a rather embarrassing typo of 'Freehold' on the schedule sheet). They do well to generate an atmosphere which was very relaxed, the other bands watching amongst the crowd, with only thirty to forty people there. They are followed by Here's To Tragedy who again maintains the level of entertainment but the crowd seems to saving themselves for the headliners.

The audience step up the energy as My Passion emerges, for such a small venue the room and freedom prove useful to jump and dance around. The music, whether you like it or not, it's undeniably infectious. The band looks to be enjoying themselves screaming, singing, punching and kicking their way through songs Play dirty, Day of the bees and new single Thanks for Nothing, amongst others. The only complaint from the audience would be of the short 35 minute set. Still My Passion end on a high with Never Everland showing why they deserve page space in Kerrang and Rock Sound. It hasn’t gone to their heads as they come straight off stage and into the fans, having chats and signing anything put in front of them.

The band and fans await the release of their first album, 'Corporate Flesh Party', the album comes after years of support slots from artists such as; Jeffree Star, The Automatic, Kill Hannah and most recently Innerpartysystem. So tonights headline slot could be a sign of things to come.



My Passion's debut album is released on the 25th of May, and can be pre ordered now at http://www.mypassionfashion.co.uk/

Damon Fowler
Comfort in Sound