An Evening With Anathema - O2 Academy Islington - 21/5/10

(To be printed in PowerPlay Magazine Issue 121)

(^ Appalling quality photo of Vincent Cavanaugh courtesy of my camera phone)

Watching their An Evening With concert, you’d be hard pressed to tell that Anathema were suffering from a wealth of technical problems as every note remained perfectly delivered and not a single beat missed. Having quietly taken the stage with new cut, 'Thin Air', it didn’t take long for Anathema to start providing some much-appreciated fan-service. The audience showed their love throughout - the reaction to 'One Last Goodbye' was stunning, with the crowd drowning out the band by the end of it. The aforementioned technical hitches even led to one of the evening’s best moments with guitarist Danny Cavanaugh’s impromptu acoustic performance of 'Are You There?' demanding only awe. Having such a varied discography, their set saw them drawing on frantically energetic cuts like 'Empty' to balance out the more subdued performances such as 'Flying'. The encore even saw Anathema really looking back, delivering the roaming bass and crunching riffs of 'Sleepless' to the clear joy of many. Juxtaposed with further new material such as the beautifully melodic 'Universal', the variety of songs gelled surprisingly well, their seamless integration effectively acting as a testament as to how consistently well Anathema have progressed from their days of doom metal to their modern prog-rock melancholy.

Most bands live, as good as they may be, are entertainment. Anathema live, however, are truly an experience, performing entirely on a level of their own. Few bands have managed to send shivers down my spine like Anathema have and the rest of those attending were clearly just as enamoured.

KISS - O2 Academy Islington 2/3/10

Note: This review was originally written for Powerplay Magazine, but as it stands I have no clue if they've used it. If they have, I'll presumably have to remove it. You should pick up Powerplay Magazine anyway, it's rather good and I tend to be in it most months. End plug.

^ I actually took the photo this time round.

By KISS standards, the Islington Academy is effectively the box-room of venues but walking in and seeing that huge, lit-up KISS logo and the multiple stacks of amps has never made the hall seem so big. On a smaller stage, KISS lose none of their pomp with Gene Simmons’ constant antagonistic pointing and demonic gestures during cuts like ‘Cold Gin’ made all the more disturbing by his copious salivation over the stage. Keeping the crowd entertained throughout was Paul Stanley’s natural swagger and brief banter coupled with some great audience participation on rock gems like ‘Love Gun’. Of course the full stage show wasn’t present, but the confetti storm during ‘Rock And Roll All Nite’, followed by Paul smashing his guitar made the night feel much ‘bigger’ than it really was. Of particular note was how the newer additions to the band responded to the audience. Tommy Thayer has clearly come in to his own, assuming the role of the Spaceman brilliantly and was more than obviously enjoying himself, feeding off the undeniably huge energy present in the 800 capacity venue. Eric Singer was no slouch either, not only proving himself a great drummer, but also delivering a fantastic vocal performance during ‘Black Diamond’. It was great to see all four members acting as a cohesive band, showing KISS as more than just Paul and Gene’s group.

The only negative aspect of the concert was its disappointingly short length. Having been told to expect a fifteen song set, the proceedings were clearly cut short with staples such as ‘Deuce’, ‘Shout It Out Loud’ and ‘Lick It Up’ unfortunately missing. Despite this however, the concert proved itself worth every penny as it truly was a once in a life time opportunity to see KISS in such an intimate setting. One might think that without the intricate theatrics such as the pyro and the blood, KISS live would fall short of entertaining. On the contrary, KISS unquestionably proved not only that their music is more important than the visual show, but that they still have the ability to enthral a crowd on the strength of the band itself rather than the extra additions.