King 810 @ 02 Islington 26/09/14
King 810 (band review here) are a relatively new band on the block and have consequentially have been bombarded with publicity. This tour, the first part of the Download Freezes Over string of tours, was the first time king 810 had played in the UK thus making the date at Islington the first London date. King 810 were accompanied by London based doom metal group Hang the Bastard and Welsh rap band Astroid Boys (correct spelling trust me)
First up were Astroid Boys, well at least i think so. While at the bar, the ambient sound track stops suddenly for a louder sound to take its place, with zero introduction, a man and his Mac start pumping out sounds in what I guess was a warm up DJ set from the band. After this the full band came on stage and introduced themselves and generally had a good time. Although not my musical preference, Astroid Boys' presence on stage was fun with maximum crowd interaction and general banter with band members and members of the crowd. Look out for their latest track, lovingly named by the crowd, Fuck her Right in the Pussy or for radio listeners F her Right in the P-juice.
After Astroid Boys came Hang the Bastard which I knew nothing about before they came on apart from the fact that they were going to be heavy as hell with a name like their's. Hang the Bastard waltz on stage played their set and left; albeit a good set with some crazy riffs. Hang the Bastard's lack of interaction baffled me as i was unsure if it was part of their persona or mystique but looking back through previous live footage (journalistic research and all that) they have engaged or at least spoke with the audience on more than one occasion. Other than that down, Hang the Bastard's set was great and was quite refreshing or at least palate cleansing from the rap endure previously.
Hang the Bastard left the stage and the King 810 gang prepped the stage with "Caution" tape (like that found in the War Outside video). After a short interval the band came on and made every mistake Hang the Bastard made, absolutely zero crowd interaction. That being said, the pit started without instruction and did get quite rowdy quite fast. King made sure to play a wide variety of tracks from their debut with both electric and acoustic tracks making an appearance. During the acoustic tracks, David Gunn sat down by the side of the stage making his hidden from anyone more than five feet away. In the spirit on variety, Gunn also performed a live version of an Anatomy track which, although a task to remember, felt out of place.
To sum the night up in one word, that word would be underwhelming. I was expecting a great vibe from the band and a lot of energy transfer but really all i got was a live album performance.
[Side Note] - I have noticed my camera's photo quality is deteriorating fast so expect better quality live photos in these posts before the end of the year.
