Despite reports that Camden’s Electric Ballroom was on fire during the recent riots, the counter reports of someone “throwing stuff and breaking a window” were far more accurate, and as the crowds poured in it’s clear that tonight is going to be nothing but a giant party.
First up, Punktastic caught the end of SAVE YOUR BREATH [7], who were on fine form and deserve more than almost any another band of their ilk to be on these sorts of bills. Recent album ‘Vices’ seems to be doing the business for the band, and hopefully they get enough of these types of support slots to get that fabled “dial-a-support” tag that is often the true indicator that things are kicking off big time.
At the other end of “appropriate support”, we have FIGHT LIKE APES [6]. There’s no doubt that the band are on the wrong bill as their synth driven indie stylings seem to fall very flat on tonight’s crowd, but aside from the awful move by someone somewhere to get them the main support, they’re a solid unit and one that’s having success on their own merit. They will probably head back to Ireland cursing the decision from above, but hopefully it’s lesson learned for a booking agent or two!
After a short interlude, Pop Punk royalty and “good dudes, back hard” NEW FOUND GLORY finally take to the stage, and tear through a set carrying the usual hits with a surprise or two (BOY CRAZY!??!!) thrown in for good measure. The band have been and are an inspiration to so many of the new generation of Pop Punk, and there’s no question that their live show is a big part of that. That their back catalogue is so extensive means that by the time they come off stage there’s a feeling they could have just kept going for hours, but it’s great to see the band carrying on with such momentum. Tuesday night feels very much like a Saturday night tonight, and New Found Glory prove once again that being good live is pretty much everything.
See more photos from the show in our gallery