The queue outside
of the Concorde 2 was full of punk rock fans of all ages dressed in home made
punk jackets complete with studs, spikes, safety pins, badges, and patches. As
the night went on, the layers of leather were slowly peeled off revealing more
and more flesh until half the venue was full of naked torsos glistening with
sweat. This striptease was much like Canadian punk rockers Billy Talent’s
performance, as the revelations during their set kept on coming (and I’m not
just talking about lead singer Benjamin Kowalewicz’s tattooed chest!)
Before we talk
about unbuttoning shirts and sweat soaked fans, credit must be paid to the
support band ‘Time Is A Thief’ whose job of ‘warming up’ the crowd was already
being done by the venue’s scorching temperatures but they certainly got things
sizzling. The Irish foursome had an impressive stage presence and commanded the
rowdy crowd well, treating them to hard-hitting riffs, and searing vocals as
they played their way through a striking, classic rock set. The unsigned band
proved they have the potential to take the rock stage by storm, and have the energy,
raw passion and song writing ability to sell out tours of their own in the near
future.
After the support
act’s exciting performance the anticipation in the room was electrifying, and
moments before Billy Talent burst onto stage there wasn’t a person in the room
who wasn’t chanting their name, clapping their hands, or stomping their feet.
The quartet sprung into the venue as crowd favourite ‘Devil in a Midnight Mass’
ripped through the speakers to kick off the first show of their festival warm
up tour.
The band erupted
the room into a pit of rip-roaring fury as they exploded through their set list
accompanied by an intergalactic light show. It’s a testament to their
unrelenting energy that halfway through second track ‘Living in the Shadows’
all four band member’s black shirts were glued to their bodies by sweat. Cue
unbuttoning.
Front man
Benjamin Kowalewicz joked about the heat as he writhed, wriggled, thrashed, and
crashed his way across the stage all night.
Throughout the set
he told the crowd how excited he was to be back in Brighton: the place where
his mum was born and his grandparents were married.
As a celebration
of drummer Aaron Solowoniuk’s first live performance since he underwent
open-heart surgery four months ago, the band chose to debut their brand new
single ‘Viking Death March’. A politically motivated song that incorporates the
high-energy drumming, tight guitar riffs, and unique screeching vocals that
Billy Talent are famous for.
One of the
highlights of the night was during the breakdown of ‘Try Honesty’ when all you
could hear was a room full of adoring fans chanting the lyrics ‘Forgive me
father, why should you bother now?’ with only the bass line whispering through
the speakers for company. Spine tingling moments like these are what make great
gigs magical, and as Benjamin Kowalewicz said what makes slugging it out on
tour all worth it.
When they returned
to the stage to a room full of chanting fans demanding an encore lead guitarist
Ian D’Souza performed a rip-roaring guitar solo proving why he’s considered one
of the best guitarists in the genre.
They saved the
best ‘til last with ‘Devil On My Shoulder’, ‘Fallen Leaves’ and ‘Red Flag’ keeping
the crowd slamming around for as long as possible.
Before the sweat
soaked punk rockers left the stage for the last time they made one more
revelation that Brighton was first on their list of places they wanted to
return to on their UK tour starting later this year. After a performance as
impressive, and infectious as that there is no doubt that Billy Talent tops
many lists as greatest live band you could hope to see.
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