Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes
After what was essentially a Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes tribute band(Yonaka) and a band featuring a vocalist who channeled the spirit of Patti Smith, Strange Bones, (CHECK THEM OUT), Frank majestically emerged from the red mist, whilst the drummer pounded the intro to Snake Eyes. Frank's swagger and a serious scowl into the eyes of everyone in the audience let us know what we were all in for. After Frank and the boys bellowed the first few songs of the set there was a short break for the highly energetic crowd to catch their breath during which time Frank addressed the crowd about a highly important subject. He echoed Slaves' Brixton Academy gig last year, at which they addressed their admirable intentions of clamping down hard on sexual assault committed against woman at gigs.This was warmly received by everyone, and added to the real sense of community that Frank always creates at his shows. Wild Flower followed, which he incidentally dedicated to all the women in attendance who were now crowd surfing on mass. At this point I received a tap on my left shoulder, and 'lift me up please!' in my ear, and whilst I had my semi-serious analytical face on, I happily obliged. One thing that did stand out about the audience was its variety in age demographic. In Frank's Gallows and Pure Love days, the audiences had been almost entirely teenagers and young adults. Frank's growing maturity as an artist is really starting to become evident not just on the new record, but his shows. Other crowd pleasers such as Modern Ruin and Lullaby cemented the band as being one of the most energetic and promising live bands around, as circle pits and mass crowd surfing endured relentlessly.
8/10
