Sunday 2 October 2011

Blacklisters @ Nation, 1st October 2011


So I can safely say I finally experienced a pit at a Blacklisters show. Well… yeah fuck it, I would call it a pit. And to top it off I actually initiated it. Ignore any hints of self-centeredness in that sentence because I did it out of pure frustration. Normally I prefer to dance my own way and hope someone else has the balls to make that big jump into the mass to create the spark which lights up the pit for the rest of the show, but this time it wasn’t going to happen, and I just couldn't hack being surrounded by mannequins unwilling to lose a drop of their 3/4 full pints of beer. Although Billy (BL singer) did slop his way into the crowd a couple times whilst on his usual possessed ramblings, it didn't seem to be enough to get people REALLY moving, and as soon as he moved back onto the stage the shoving stopped. 


Talons presenting some crazy violin moshing


It was around 3 or 4 songs in, I think during OK47, when I decided to jump on the guy in the middle wearing a BL t-shirt - I figured he of all people would be most understanding of my actions. And fortunately, he was! The running basslines built the tension so fucking well, and when the screaming garbles of nothing are thrown on top it mixed with ejaculations of cymbal and screeching guitars it stirs something uncontrollable within me. At one stage there were about 4 of us tangled in a swaying bunch, tripping over the guitar pedals, smashing glasses and knocking shit over. It felt good, really really good. I was so sick of keeping things bottled in, I wanted to let it the fuck out and the music was so right for it. When we all fell on the ground I hit my head pretty hard but it didn't phase me, I kind of wanted more, so on the way home I picked fights with anyone who looked at me, especially girls in mini-skirts and stilettos (THEY LAV A GOOD FOIGHT!) and then I downed a couple of WKD’s and smashed the bottle over my eyeballs.  



It’s a shame BL doesn't get on the hardcore/punk circuit, I'd kill to see the band playing to an entire audience going ballistic, as I'm sure the band would too. I know for a fact that fans of BL really love the music, I just get the impression they are just too afraid to express it physically. Take what you will from that, but when I'm hearing Billy scream combined with those evil, twisted guitar/bass riffs and pounding drums I can't control myself anymore. And there's no way in fuck that I'm the only one there who feels that. No way. I think it’s mostly to do with the locations and nights they play at, take the Brudenell for example, most times I’ve seen them there the audience isn’t really a heavy, loud crowd so a pit never materialises. To be honest if I hadn't jumped into the front line like I did I don't think much else would have happened, call me egoistic but I know from past experiences it would've been tame as fuck. The only times people went uncontrollable were when I flung myself into them, there were even a couple of moments when I had the entire front space to myself. But despite my bitching I loved every moment of that show; the energy was there although it did need a little coaxing, and a certain few people really let some shit out. But hey, maybe I'm wrong and no-one out there wants to start a pit. If that’s the case, then all the more reason for BL to give the Leeds grind/hardcore/punk scene a shot. If you're unsure of what I'm talking about check out collective zine http://www.collective-zine.co.uk/cboard/.

And so they ended their set on trickfuck, always a good way to end it. Everyone at the front became one big sweaty orgy of yells, sweat and t-shirts, and my ears were still ringing 24 hours later.

Yes, you are just a trick fuck


The two other bands that played that night were really good too, normally I would write more but I've already written a load and can't really be fucked.. Check out their myspaces though: 
David's Lyre:
They were a nice and warm group with some solid drum beats and well blended guitar/synth riffs. The singer had a pretty resonating voice, and I had a pretty comfortable chair so I was loving it.

Talons:
A group of what I assume to be students played some insanely theatrical instrumental madness, which at times reminded me of stuff like Children of Bodom, just less carcinogenic. The two violins were a really good addition, without them it wouldn't have sounded as impressive, and the fact that you could hear them through the ridiculously fast drumming and guitars was awesome. More props to the drummer, that guy was a serious machine. Haven't seen drumming that intense since the wildlife fest.
We destroyed that glass

And then the guitarist got mad at us and went home
Oh, and here's a link to some BL music: http://soundcloud.com/blacklisters/sets


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